a light that never comes ohh oh ohh ♪ ♪ ohh oh ohh oh ohh oh waiting for a light that never comes and i told them nah ♪ ♪ you don't know me lightning above and a fire below me you cannot catch me cannot hold me you ♪ ♪ cannot stop much less control me when it rains it pours when the floodgates open ♪ ♪ brace your shores that pressure don't care it breaks your doors say it's all you can take better ♪ ♪ take some more ♪ i want to see some hands right now ♪ ohh oh ohh ohh oh ohh oh ohh oh ohh ♪ ♪ ohh oh ohh oh waiting for a light that never comes

the nights go on waiting ♪ ♪ for a light that never comes i chase the sun waiting for a light that never comes ohh oh ohh ohh oh ohh oh waiting for a light ♪ that never comes jump jump jump jump ♪ #

tonight on "nightline" -- strippers for jesus. they're on a mission. an unlikely group of suburban women hitting the clubs. >> nail polish or lipstick makes you fear good. >> their leader, a fearless former stripper who said she found jesus and was saved. she said nothing can stop her from saving others. >> we pray for courage tonight, the bouncers, the management, anybody that is going to get in our way to reach the women. ♪ the story of my life >> the biggest boy band ever? from the amas to central park, one direction is back with a bang. a new album, a new tour, and tonight we are in the dressing room for a more personal look at the story of my life. ♪ story of my life

>> it is our lady gaga special. just in time for thanksgiving, the outrageous artist is pairing up with crazy characters from human to muppet. ♪ >> announcer: keep it right

good evening. thank you for joining us. everybody loves a good old-fashioned story of redemption, especially around the holidays. but have you ever heard of strip church? it may sound paradoxical, but for a group of suburban moms led by a former stripper it is never too late to be saved. they have the prayer circle to prove it. david wright joins their leader as she head back to the clubs for one unlikely recruiting job.

pope john paul said the opposite of love is not hate, but use, as in using another person for sexual gratification. >> if you want to gather around. >> reporter: the christian tradition teaches love is all about giving yourself to other people. >> we pray for courage to night. we pray for humility. and we just pray that, security, bouncers, management, any bed th -- any bepd thody. lust is taking and coveting. taking a glance. lust is a mortal sin. why would born again christians venture into the lion's den of lust. because they're missioners. >> reporter: when i think of missionary work, i think of mother teresa, and the poor of calcutta, that sort of thing, i don't think of stiletto heels and a strip joint. >> right.

where did jesus hang out? who is going to go back and love these girls? some one has got to do it right? >> reporter: jamie hideman used to be one of the girls and lead a group, divine, in orange county, california, part of the strip church network. their motto, jesus loves strippers. they invited us as they made their round, distributing pink papers bags, stuffed with goodies. >> these are salted chocolate chip. how bad can that be? >> reporter: sugary treats and items. >> nail polish, lipstick makes you feel good. >> reporter: hoping to win hearts and souls. >> we feel it is a nice little touch that you know you can make someone feel loved. and feel special that day. >> reporter: jamie was a stripper for three years. now she is not just frying to save souls, she is trying to save women and offer them a chance for redemption. >> amen. all right.

>> reporter: it is not an easy task. first up, saturday nights is starbuck's. after some liquid courage and energy in the form of a latte. >> let's do it. let's load up. >> off off to the clubs. >> nick, can you let us know when we are five minutes away. >> reporter: first stop, seedy topless sports bar in anaheim. >> hi, how is it going? good to see you. the bouncer lets them waltz right in. not our cameras. we had to wait. >> good. >> yeah, really good. they all were appreciative to the bags. thanked us for coming. asked us why we did this. >> jamie said one girl seemed ready to hear their message. >> just told us a horrific story. how a guy, ejaculated on her. she was so disgust she'd had to pour alcohol all over her bedod to feel clean. she is trying how to get out.

>> reporter: jamie can relate. >> at first i loved it. a party every night. i got a lot of attention. i thought i was able to control men. men always hurt me in the past. >> reporter: then six months after she started stripping, everything changed. >> i was raped. >> you were raped? >> by one of your customers? >> one of your customers. >> in the strip club? >> in the strip joint. >> after this happened. i got to see the dark world i was living in, how twisted and scary it really was. >> reporter: after that something switched off inside her. you kept dancing for two more years. >> i did. because i -- i dent know whidn' to do? >> reporter: you got tough? >> angry and tough. i was an empty shell of anger. directed at every man that came in front of me. >> reporter: she since found christian compassion even for the men who frequent the places. she sees them as sinners, just as she was. >> back then i would say scum of

the earth. today i would say, wounded and broken. >> reporter: guilty of lust. in our society, it is everywhere. ♪ strip clubs and dollar bills >> reporter: she says the dark side of the business tend to get lost in a culture where pop stars like miley cyrus celebrate the sexiness of pole dancing. what's the difference between miley cyrus twerking or a lap dance in a strip club, venue and performer. >> for the girl that want to be loved, doesn't come from a good environment and looks to stars to resemble, and you go be like, and oh that must be how much it is to be sexy? it just helps them think that's how it is supposed to be. and puts them in the environment where, men that are unhealthy and wounded and broken can take advantage of them. knowing that other dancers must feel trapped as she did. that motivates her to go off to

the clubs. not all the strippers want to be saved. at the library gentlemen's club we spoke with a dancer who goes by the name crystal. she asked us not to show her face. she told us stripping paid her way through law school. >> i garage waited law school. i have two kids. i am working on passing the bar. and i work at a law firm, as soon as i pass i am an attorney. >> then you will stop here? >> i will. i will come back and visit. i like it. appreciate what it is giving me in life. if i am not inflicting harm upon myself or another human being it is fine. >> reporter: lust paid your way through law school? >> absolutely. it's fun. fun to be flirty a little bit. everybody has the side of them. when you embrace it, it's fun. >> reporter: there is nothing wrong with the human body. and what we do is -- is a legal form of entertainment. we have licenses. we pay taxes.

we, do all those things. >> do you buy it? >> no. i don't. >> she insists she is not trying to save strirppers in a moralistic way, as booklets in the pink paper bags would seem to suggest. >> the strippers, with the strip church network. stories from the bible that just show how much jesus loves the girls and how much god does not judge. >> she is trying to save them on a much more basic level. >> 100% of the women get sexually assaulted or raped in the industry. >> reporter: 100%? >> yeah, 100%. pretty high. when people think they love what they do. you can't. there is no way. >> reporter: tonight the bouncer at this club turns them away. >> hi. how is it going? we are just here to drop off gifts for the girls. the missionaries are told they can leave their bags outside if they like. >> there is no way. okay. >> reporter: which they do. despite rejections like this she keeps going. because she believes in this mission.

>> i lived in the shame of it for ten years. it still destroyed me. i had no one to talk to about it. i felt look people would beep disgusted by who i was. >> reporter: if some one had come up to you -- and shoend w d there was an after life, there was life after stripping,ou would have seized it? >> yeah. exactly. >> after a long, saturday night at the strip joints, she's found her after life. ♪ ♪ this its amazing grace ♪ >> reporter: sunday mornings at church. she prays she scan hecan help oo follow in her footsteps. i'm david wright for "nightline" in california. >> hope springs eternal. our thanks to david wright. coming up for us, lady gaga found the only folks who love costumes as much as she does. but first, one direction fans have a lot to be excited about between, the band's any new album and a new tour. we have got the story of their life.

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one direction may just be the biggest boy band on the planet or perhaps ever. with a new album and new tour, they're steering a billion dollar business. but even as they conquer the four corners of the earth, the boys will be boys. backstage, they're already to bare all. and "nightline" co-anchor

cynthia mcfadden is there. >> reporter: the biggest boy band in the world got up very early this morning and rocked a frigid central park. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: a mega gma concert. >> this is how you roll? >> this is how we roll? >> not this early? or this cold? >> their new album, "midnight memories" the number one album in 97 countries around the world. one single which has 50 million youtube hits is a highly personal ballad. ♪ the story of my life >> reporter: "story of my life." in part the new album is a response to criticism that the band doesn't write their own material. when weep sat down with them for an exclusive last

they promised that was about to change. one of the criticisms, you play guitar, most are not playing instruments and not writing much of your music. >> not true. not true. >> our next album, we wrote, what? >> 10 songs. >> 10 songs. >> i don't know -- >> ten songs. there are 13, 14. we wrote the majority. >> reporter: lyrics and music? >> lyrics and melody. >> reporter: to those who say they're a creation of simon cowl's x factor. we talked to ty colmer. >> he did have a hand in putting them together, you can't manufacture the success one direction had. they're having success that you see once in a generation. >> reporter: itch they're worried about overexposu overex doesn't show. last weekend they took home two

american music awards. >> this is fan voted. we love our fans. you are incredible. >> reporter: last saturday was 1-d-day, seven hours of live streaming. today they announced their 2014 north american stadium tour. >> this will be the biggest tour ever. >> reporter: how do they prevent overexposure to the point where they're going enough. >> i think overexposure is something they aren't worried about right now. they are only looking to saturate the market even more. all of this on the heels of their highly entertaining documentary, this is us. we were permitted unprecedented access. allowed where millions of teenage girls would love to be in their dressing room. >> going to take a shower. going to wear some jeans.

>> yeah. >> and a shirt. >> very see-through. >> reporter: while harry goes to shower. nile is dressed by the stylist. there is a sense this is a safe haven. a place they can reveal? >> the first time we got. all of us got, just crosses. and, screws that keepup together. keep you grounded thing. my mom hates tattoos. >> what does it say? >> one of the word from one of our new songs. a line from the new song. >> reporter: hold it. an exclusive. >> a line in one of the songs. i figured it out. i take it to heart. every tim i se. it gets scary when you have load of people screaming. >> reporter: they're trying to break the boy band mold. no matching outfits. no dancing.

and so far, it certainly is working. some say they could be the first ever billion dollar boy band. why is one direction so successful? >> i think they have the full package. you have five, very talented, very good looking young men. and i think that they had the initial appeal, but then they have come out with just a string of really catchy and irresistible songs. i feel like -- they, they are actually getting belttter with each record. >> the band insists the music matters most. but the heartthrob aspect of the band's appeal is lost on no one. certainly not them. >> reporter: any one show me a tattoo we haven't seen before. what have we got? ha-ha. i'm not going to stop you, harry. you are absolutely kidding, but it was exciting for a minute. >> reporter: you can't blame a girl for asking. for "nightline," cynthia mcfadden, in new york.

>> i applaud the girl for asking. let's ask, will one direction go the distance? let us know what you think? tweet us. up next for us, how did lady gaga become romantic rivals with miss piggy? put your hand together for some "applause" our thanksgiving special. coming up. it's so much better that way. [ male announcer ] have the right partner at your side. consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long.

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lady gaga would never be described as predictable. when we heard she is collaborating with new creative partners. it was clear sunny picked the unlikeliest of characters. here is abc news's cameron mathisen. >> reporter: lady gaga may have become famous for outrageous outfits and videos like "bad romance." ♪ i want your ugly >> reporter: but her take on thanksgiving is surprisingly traditional. >> hi. >> how are you? >> reporter: celebrating with the muppets for the special she and kermit perfo a duet of her song "gypsy."

♪ i don't want to be alone forever ♪ ♪ i don't want to be alone forever for ♪ >> reporter: you seem to have really good chemistry. you work together very, very well. >> we look each other a lot. >> i am a little lower on the food chain t there is chemical stuff going on. we both have monsters in our lives. big ones too. >> do you call friend little frogs? >> i could. a good idea. >> a good idea. >> maybe tadpoles. yes, we don't, don't, broadcast that. miss piggy may hear it. off-limits any discussion of their alileged love triangle wih miss piggy. >> next question. >> reporter: hit a nerve. let's talk thanksgiving. and the muppets gave georgia creative input on the show. >> we stillfinale.

>> let me if i press too hard, or not hard enough. friend, no waiting. >> how duo we make this the greatest finale in the history of finales. >> chickens. >> and? >> didn't get any further than that. >> rubber chickens. >> i like that idea, fozzie. >> sir elton john performs a new version of one of this greatest hits. ♪ gaga and the jets >> thanksgiving day? >> kind of about the food the i love the food on thanksgiving in particular. in the swamp. we have cricket casserole. >> we have been talking about togetherness. how it is really fun to celebrate -- the holidays with people that you love, how that is the most important thing?