On the night of Friday, April 25, the auditorium lit up with passion and performance as the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Christian Club sponsored a talent show with one goal in mind: to spread the love of the Christian faith.

The Christian Club is an active club founded by Kemuel Stephen Santosh that meets weekly to study biblical principles, serve their community and share their love for their faith.

The talent show was illuminated by a wide range of performances such as dancers, singers, instrumentalists and other groups.

The evening opened with the Euphonixs, a Bridgewater-Raritan High School student-led group of singers, who performed the song “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys.

Among many performers, singing talents included Sofia Mathew, Ann Roy and Navya Kolati singing the song “Wildflower” by Billie Eillish; Mars Springsteel singing “Winner” by Conan Gray; and Jorelle Enriquez singing “She Used to Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles.

Instrumentalists also performed, including Luke Gill playing the piano while singing “Tin Roof” by Blessing Offor; Sofia Mathew playing the piano while singing “There was Jesus” by Dolly Parton; and Zach Williams and Shermayn Jacinto playing the guitar while singing “Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead.

The last performance was by Nicolas Molinilla, who danced to the song “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC.

As a result of the event, the winner of the talent show was singer Jorelle Enriquez, while dancer Nicolas Molinilla won second place.

Providing closure to the event, Kemuel Stephen Santosh stepped up to the stage to give a short message about his faith and his beliefs about Jesus.

Although the talent show was a valuable way to fundraise for the club, the greatest purpose of the event was to foster an emotional connection between people through faith.

Kemuel Stephen Santosh, the founder of the Christian Club, describes his ambition to set up a talent show for the Bridgewater-Raritan High School community.

“I didn’t really have much motivation for doing this at first because I had never even imagined that I could run a school event, but the Holy Spirit was working within me and helping me to work out things and do what needed to be done. God had put in my heart how people needed to hear the message of love while having a fun night,” he said.

Kemeul described the unique experience he underwent during the event in which his devotion for spreading his love for his faith took precedence over the cost of attending the event. He explained that he was fine with letting people watch the talent show without paying as his intention was to spread his love for Jesus to as many people as he could.

While organizing the event, Kemuel also struggled to have all aspects of his talent show roll out successfully and described his journey to overcome his complications.

“Prior to the event, during rehearsals, we were a mess. Everything was going wrong and I was stressed and anxious. During the ten minutes I had before the doors opened, I went and sat by myself in the cafeteria to read the Bible, helping calm my nerves. I read Psalm 55 and 56 in which I memorized the verse, ‘When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.’ I trusted in God and got the night started,” he said.

As a result of the success of the event and the mission that it supported, the Christian Club decided that they will be hosting a talent show annually.