THE MAGAZINE OF THE
MESS AGE | ISS
201 UE 20 SUMMER
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Moment of Truth Higher Manchester 2016: full report, photos and testimonies
ALSO INSIDE
Teaching
from ANGUS BUCHAN and ANDY HAWTHORNE
UK Vision
CARL BEECH
ANDY’S RANT
A rescue shop within a yard of hell Dear friends, Several times a month I have the privilege of showing visitors around our Headquarters here in Manchester. There are always plenty of ‘wow’ moments as I guide them around the Genetik building where our bands have recorded down the years; walk them past our Academy students listening to a lecture; or take them into the MEC to see team members working in our on-site businesses. It’s been especially exciting in the build-up to the Higher Tour to introduce guests to our amazing creative teams and share our big plans to reach masses of young people for Christ, not only here in Manchester but right across the UK (reports and pictures from the first leg of the Higher Tour start just over the page!) But best of all is when I get to introduce our guests to team members and staff who take the time to share their own amazing ‘only God could do that’ stories. That’s when they realise what all this is really for – changing lives in Jesus’ name. Suddenly what might first appear just an administrative base for a charity becomes what it really is – ‘a rescue shop within a yard of hell’, as CT Studd once said. Since the last issue of Flow, Carl Beech has joined us as UK Director with a vision to roll out Message ministry further across the regions. Starting on page 20, you can read some of Carl’s hopes and dreams – and I’m certain you’ll be really encouraged! What started in my friend’s spare bedroom over twenty years ago has grown into a multi-level, multi-region strategy to reach the least, last and lost in ever greater numbers and in partnership with others, see them going from being the problem to the answer. Thanks so much for all you’ve brought to the adventure and be assured, as I love to say as often as I can, that the best is yet to come!
Founder & CEO The Message Trust
P.S. OPEN DAY – SATURDAY 9 JULY 2016 If you’d like to visit Message HQ yourself, there’s a great opportunity coming up this summer! Come hang out with our mission teams, visit our on-site businesses and hear some of the amazing stories. It’s going to be a great day out for the whole family. Join us, starting at 10am! Find out more at message.org.uk
The Message Trust is a registered data user and only uses personal data in connection with its charitable purposes. Registered Office: Lancaster House, Lancaster Campus, Harper Road, Sharston, Manchester, M22 4RG. The Message Trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 3961183 Registered Charity No. 1081467 VAT Registration No. GB 727 177616
IN THIS ISSUE
04 Cover story
We look back on Higher Manchester and share some incredible stories
Editor Alistair Metcalfe
18 News update
The latest from The Message family
Associate Editor Ian Rowbottom Design & Illustration Simon Baker Samuel Bloomfield Hannah Beatrice Prittie Bethan Wilson Matthew Varah Wilson
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Picture Editor Hannah Beatrice Prittie Additional Photography Anna Hodgson Mark Lamin Josh Semans Rachael Silvester Contributors Carl Beech Andy Hawthorne
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Subscription & Supporter Enquiries E: info@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300
Giving E: giving@message.org.uk T: Tim Emerton 0161 946 2328 Contact E: flow@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300
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Flow - The Message Magazine Lancaster House Harper Road Sharston Manchester M22 4RG www.message.org.uk/flow
OUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT The paper used for flow is manufactured using pulp sourced from sustainable sources from within Europe. It is 100% TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) and is manufactured to ISO14001 standards.
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20 UK vision
We hear from Carl Beech, Message UK Director, about our plans for the nation
24 Bible truth
Andy Hawthorne on why reading the Bible every day can change your life
26 A new man
Cyril’s incredible story of transformation
28 Angus Buchan
Guest teaching from the legendary evangelist and author
30 Feeling inspired?
You should be – find out how to get involved
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HIGHER 2016
HIGHER 2016
LIFTING JESUS HIGHER SPECIAL FEATURE: HIGHER MANCHESTER, FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2016
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ou just had to be there. Our ears still ringing from two hours of blistering live music, a holy hush had fallen across the Apollo. Testimonies had been shared. The gospel had been faithfully and powerfully preached. Now was the moment for response. As the house lights went up, it became clear that many, many hands had, too. Hundreds of young people had just had taken the first step of a lifetime’s journey with Jesus. Four weeks, 55 schools, 23 youth groups and events, five explosive gospel concerts at the O2 Manchester Apollo. Through it all, 30,000 young people heard the good news and at least 2,000 chose to follow Jesus. And this was just the start.
HIGHER 2016
e went public with The Higher Tour in May 2015, with a special launch event at the O2 Manchester Apollo, the site of the very first ‘Message’ event in 1988, and the Planet Life events during the 1990s. It felt a little like coming home. Those who made it along to the launch will remember a siren call from guest speaker Danielle Strickland. ‘Wake up!’ she said, speaking without notes from a text God gave her just moments before. ‘There’s a plan God has for you – a purpose. He dreams of what you could do in the world. And it’s bigger than you. He longs to wake up the church, a generation, a whole nation to his presence.’ Higher Manchester 2016 was an awakening. It was first light of a new day for our city and,
Opening Act: Trained here in Manchester, South African mission team KineticIV (Previous page: Twelve24 on stage performing – what else? – ‘Higher’)
Dream team: (left to right) Jamie Hill, Andy Hawthorne, Sarah Hockley, Tom Butler and Ben Jack led the Higher Tour’s 18-month development
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we pray, for our nation. For over a year, God had been speaking to us from Isaiah 60: ‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you…Lift up your eyes and look about you: all assemble and come to you’ (1,4). Four times, God brought the text through visiting speakers and prophetic voices. ‘It couldn’t have been clearer what God was saying to us,’ Andy Hawthorne remembers. ‘It was time to put the lamp on the stand again. There has never been a large-scale mission to young people in screen culture. We needed to marshal all our energies, all our creativity, all our teams to make it happen.’ Encouraged by research from the respected Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute which
In late 2014, the work began – casting vision, raising funds, gathering leaders, training young people, and crucially, lots of prayer for every aspect of the tour.
HIGHER MANCHESTER WAS AN AWAKENING, THE FIRST LIGHT OF A NEW DAY
HIGHER 2016
discovered that if 10% of a population holds an unshakeable belief, this always results in their belief being adopted by the majority, we set ourselves a bold target. If, in partnership with churches and other agencies who share our vision, we could see 200,000 young people becoming Christians and being planted in local churches, perhaps the transformation of youth culture in our nation could be within our grasp.
‘God keeps his promises’ B E N JACK
To be honest, it is quite hard to put into words just how amazing the Higher journey has been as we developed the tour over 18 months, and as we took it live across the region in February and March 2016. The easiest thing to do is to share some of the stories that came out of Higher Manchester. Stories like Tyler’s, on pages 12–13. Stories like Adele’s, who after a life of addiction and finding temporary love in all the wrong places, accepted Jesus as Lord and felt like a new creation. And stories like the hundreds of other young people from all sorts of different backgrounds - from those desperately seeking, to those seemingly without need for anything. Only the God of the Bible, the God who saves, restores, and transforms could be behind all that we have seen. As great as the shows at the Apollo may have been, no one who left the events truly transformed and saved by faith did so because of that. They left that way because the gospel was prioritised and proclaimed, and because God who is mighty to save keeps his promises. Ben Jack is the Higher Tour Manager
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HIGHER 2016
Higher Manchester began with the goal of visiting 50 high schools across Greater Manchester – and in the end our teams exceeded that number, reaching one in four high schools in our patch. Booking in so many schools visits in a tight three-week period was no mean feat, and was expertly coordinated by Sarah Hockley and Sam Taylor from Message HQ. Higher Manchester schools visits – a mix of lessons, assemblies, workshops and lunchtime and after-school gigs – were fulfilled by LZ7, Twelve24, BrightLine, Vital Signs and Kinetic IV from the Message family, supported by Chip Kendall and Good Weather Forecast. Lessons were not only informative, but also infectiously fun – bands had kids on their feet, singing, dancing and taking part. ‘The staff who attended with their classes were impressed,’ wrote one teacher. ‘I think they expected something tame and irrelevant. Surprise surprise, serving Jesus can be fun and worthwhile! They also said they were impressed with the values the band were instilling in the students.’ Another remarked, ‘A pupil sought me out after the event and said, “They were amazing – I really connected with the things that were said. They really made me think about the choices I make now and in the future.”’ In schools, bands partnered with local church youth workers and volunteers, helping to make initial contact with students ahead of the Apollo nights and follow-up. In lunch 8
breaks and after school, tickets were on sale for the Higher Apollo shows and kids were encouraged to download the Higher App. ‘It was so great to be able to concentrate on Manchester schools,’ comments Twelve24’s Ryan Griggs. ‘The more we did, the more we wanted to do – there was such a buzz because God was doing so much. In some people’s minds the main thing was the Apollo nights, but we found God wasn’t waiting for the “main thing” to happen – he was working from the start.’ Several of our bands saw young people asking to become Christians in conversations after school. For Twelve24, this included a staff member: ‘One teacher, after seeing our assembly, later said to one of her colleagues, “If there was a church like that, I would go.” It turned out that this colleague goes to Ivy and she replied, “There is a church like that – mine! Come along with me.” She did, and she became a Christian that Sunday!’ Evening gigs at youth nights in Greater Manchester and beyond were another opportunity to spread the Higher message. ‘The Eden Bus came to Liverpool to promote the nights at the Apollo with Vital Signs performing to give the young people a taste of what to expect,’ remembers Eden Netherton team leader Tom Grant. ‘As we heard more about what was planned we knew this was an incredible opportunity to bring young people from our community to hear the gospel presented in a powerful way. We took a group of 30 made up of many young people we have an ongoing relationship with.’
We jumped on board with Higher right from the beginning and we’re really glad we did. It has been a real catalyst for growth in our church because it’s focused our Christian youth on mission. Right from the off we involved our young people, bringing some along to the launch event in May last year to catch a glimpse of what was going to happen. We told them, ‘This youth group is no
longer about us just investing in you; we want you to look beyond yourselves and to look out.’ They got it straightaway and by the time of the Youth Launch we had a group who were fired up and ready to go. We were seeing responses to the gospel even before the Apollo gigs. Twelve24 came twice in the weeks leading up. One night we had a crowd of 60 kids and 30 of them responded. We didn’t have bands in schools but still off the back of the youth training event in January some of our
Hands up: Twelve24 performing and taking lessons in Trinity High School, Manchester in the weeks leading up to the Higher Apollo nights
H ARPE R
youth started a Christian Union in their school. Higher Manchester has been an incredibly positive experience for our whole church, start to finish. We already had a heart for mission but Higher meant we were mobilised and resourced in a way we couldn’t have achieved on our own. We’re ready to go again – just name the date! John Harper is the Youth Worker at Hill Cliffe Baptist, Warrington
LESSONS WERE INFECTIOUSLY FUN – BANDS HAD KIDS ON THEIR FEET, SINGING, DANCING AND TAKING PART
HIGHER 2016
‘It’s focused our youth on mission’ JO H N
HIGHER 2016
EmilyHuetson @emilyhuey1
One word for the Higher Tour! Amazing!!! Blown away with it all so many people were saved! #higher @thehighertour 10:41 AM - 21 Mar 2016
ONLY THE GOD WHO SAVES, RESTORES AND TRANSFORMS COULD BE BEHIND ALL THAT WE HAVE SEEN
HIGHER 2016
Becky Hunter-Kelm @BexHK
Sweet night taking my youth to the #highertour #manchesterapollo decisions for #Jesus #gohigher #ifeelold 7:35 PM - 18 Mar 2016
Show Time: A five night run at the O2 Manchester Apollo is a big deal by anyone’s standards. Higher shows were complex explosions of DJ sets, live performances from bands, personal testimonies and gospel preaching. It took the whole Message team, production staff, plus dozens of volunteers to make it all happen. All five nights were covered in prayer by a dedicated intercession team at the Apollo (below, right)
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HIGHER 2016
Thousands of young people made a response to Jesus during the Higher schools tour and Apollo nights. Here’s one of our favourites...
A M I R AC L E F R O M G O D TYLER’S STORY
by Rachael Silvester, Message Academy student
hen we first visited the TLG Centre in Harpurhey on placement, the first thought in my head was, ‘Vital Signs NEED to come here.’ The Centre is for young people who have not been able to cope with mainstream school and I knew Nick and Marvin’s stories would really speak to the young people here. We prayed about it on Academy… and two months later we watched as Nick and Marvin performed and shared their testimonies with the TLG kids in the hall! A large number of students booked to go to the Friday night Higher Apollo show, but one lad, 16-year-old Tyler managed to get himself excluded – not for the first time – which meant the staff couldn’t take him on the trip. We knew Tyler really needed to find hope and hear the gospel, and were gutted when we found out. All we could do was pray that somehow he would come. On the Friday, I was filming outside the Apollo and someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Tyler! He’d come by himself. During the gig that night I went in the prayer room and asked everyone to specifically pray for Tyler, that he would encounter God for himself that night. When it came to the response time, I was standing near him and I saw his hand was among the first to shoot up! He gave his life to Jesus. Later, he ate McDonalds with us and told us he is changing his life for the better. ‘It blew my mind how many people on stage sang or rapped about God,’ he said. ‘I want to be a better role model for my siblings and people in my care home.’ He got out his new Higher 12
Bible and my friend Jess showed him which bits he would like reading. When I told him I had got the people in the prayer room to pray for him he smiled and said ‘Wow, my stomach feels funny, I didn’t know anyone actually cared about me.’ We prayed for him at the bus stop. After we finished he asked if he could do the same! He prayed for us and thanked God for the amazing night he’d had. He had bought himself and a friend tickets for Sunday night. Then he pulled his cannabis grinder and lighter out of his pocket and smashed them on the floor saying, ‘I won’t be needing these anymore.’ Friday night was just the beginning for Tyler. It was amazing to see him at the Apollo again for the Sunday Higher celebration – this time with a friend. He stood with his arms in the air singing the worship songs and even got on stage to share his story of salvation from Friday night. He is eager to grow in his faith, starting with the the AAA Sessions in his local church. His teachers at TLG say his whole attitude has changed and he seems completely different. They have taken him back for his final term as he has shown such a change in behaviour since Higher. On Easter Sunday, Tyler got baptised and told all of his friends and family of this new change in his life and how he is now a Christian, following God. What an incredible transformation so far, such a miracle from God! Please continue to pray for Tyler’s future, that he continues to walk with Jesus and learn more about his new faith.
HIGHER 2016
HIS TEACHERS SAY HIS WHOLE ATTITUDE HAS CHANGED AND HE SEEMS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT Above: Marvin, from Vital Signs, answers Tyler’s questions in school
Below left: Nick, from Vital Signs (pictured on the cover), preaches on Friday when Tyler responded
Left: Tyler with his Higher response pack Below right: Tyler shares his story of salvation at the Sunday night celebration
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HIGHER 2016
The climax of each Higher Apollo night was clear gospel preaching, with each evangelist’s message focusing on one of the Four Points (www.thefourpoints.com). Each night hundreds of young people prayed out prayers of commitment, and moved forward to receive packs containing special Higher Bibles, full NLT versions of God’s Word with brand new ‘getting started’ resources. But it wasn’t just young people who responded to Jesus. A volunteer St John’s Ambulance worker heard the gospel message, realised this full life wasn’t just for the young people, and responded there and then. And an 83-year-old lady jumped to her feet when the question ‘Do you want to live?’ was asked from the stage, and with tears in her eyes said ‘I do! I want life! Where can I get a Bible?’ After the shows, the hard work of follow-up got underway. Many young people attending came with schools or youth groups, helping make the transition smoother. Some churches 14
EACH NIGHT HUNDREDS PRAYED OUT PRAYERS OF COMMITMENT were excited to see new young people joining them the following Sunday. More have been delighted by new members along to youth groups and events. Church and youth leaders have shared many stories with us of how Higher has helped young people on the fringes of youth groups step across the line and make a decision to live for Christ. ‘We’ve been praying for many years for one particular lad in our youth group,’ says Emma Gaze from Ivy Youth. ‘He’d been to loads of our events and heard the gospel countless times but because of his background, he had decided he wasn’t interested in Christian faith. But on the second night he came up to BrightLine after the gig clutching his new Higher Bible to his chest, saying “This is it for me, I’m in: I want to follow Jesus.”’
HIGHER 2016
Hand to hand: Every young person who made a response to Jesus was given a Higher Bible and access to firstclass follow-up resources
‘Higher kickstarted young people’s faith’ E MMA G AZ E We were involved in all of the Apollo nights in some way. Our youth group came with their friends on Wednesday, our Eden team brought the young people they’re working with on the Thursday; Friday we brought our youth café outreach along, and on Saturday a couple of the schools we worked in came under their own steam.
be able to pray with a couple of girls who put their hands up, to speak life and good things over them. They said to me: ‘Why have we not heard this before? This is good news: I’m loved! There’s a plan, a purpose for my life! Why have we not heard this?’
For us, it accelerated in the week before the Apollo gigs. Three schools we’d been praying hard for finally said yes. Maybe they’d got wind of what was happening in other schools. We definitely felt it was a spiritual battle. But the feedback from the schools – teachers and pupils – was just incredible.
We’ve seen new kids in our Sunday services and our youth event Galaxy, and there are AAA Sessions and an Alpha course in the pipeline. I think what Higher has done is kickstarted young people’s faith. It’s like catching a wave when you’re surfing – you’re paddling for a while but then a wave comes and you get to ride the momentum it has created.
On the Saturday night, I got to help with the response team and it was a privilege to
Emma Gaze is a Youth Worker
Most first-stage discipleship is taking place through AAA Sessions, now getting underway. As we went to press, young people all across this region are getting connected via our website, the Higher App, and the determined efforts of local youth workers. These Sessions will help the young people to journey in their new Christian faith and engage with a local church. This is not simply about leaving a legacy or about passing on the baton. This is about running the race together as one family, with Christ at the centre. ‘The aim of Higher has been to produce disciples, not just decisions,’ says Higher Tour Manager Ben Jack. ‘With that in mind, the mission is far from over. In fact we are only just beginning.’
at Ivy Manchester
WATCH HIGHER GOSPEL PREACHES highertour.com
‘It was a real privilege to work in partnership on the Higher Tour,’ comments Rev Rob Cotton of Knutsford Methodist Church. ‘I was impressed by the professionalism and the undergirding of everything in prayer. Our relationship with [local school] Knutsford Academy has certainly been enhanced through Higher, as there was a real buzz of excitement after the visit of Chip Kendall. However, the most important aspect for me personally, has been to see the impact upon our young people and the way they have been inspired to be so passionate about their faith in Jesus.’ 15
HIGHER 2016
Chip Kendall @chipkendall
What a glorious finish. And yet it’s only started! #highertour 10:24 PM - 20 Mar 2016
Eden Bus @edenbus
Finished! The Higher Tour concludes! But for so many, eternal life begins now :-) what a joy! 9:31 PM - 20 Mar 2016
‘It’s come full circle’ R O B I was at the Apollo in ‘88 – the initial mission – I was invited along by dint of being national director of YFC. I remember going and thinking, ‘These guys ought to join YFC as associates.’ Unfortunately, they never took that terribly seriously! From that moment, through Planet Life and the big festivals, The Message has always stayed true to its 16
WH IT E
central vision: reaching kids in Manchester high schools. Whenever I heard Andy speaking, wherever it was in the country, he was always talking about reaching Manchester school kids. I always admired that. And this city has changed because of that vision.
has come full circle. It’s really come of age. And yet it’s more than that. God has now clearly spoken about sharing this beyond Manchester. This is something that, by the grace of God, is going to begin to change the nation. Rob White leads Life Church Wilmslow and is a trustee of
Being at the Apollo at Higher Manchester, 28 years later, it really felt like The Message
The Message
HIGHER 2016
Alex Leon @alexleononline
Had an amazing time @MessageTrust #HigherTour...can’t wait for it to come to Birmingham 12:42 AM - 21 Mar 2016
As we start to roll Higher out around the UK, attention now turns to the Midlands where The Higher Tour will go next. Having learned so much from the journey of Higher Manchester and with the amazing stories of God’s faithfulness driving us forward, we are full of expectation for what will happen in the Midlands over the next two years. Like Manchester before it, Higher Midlands will build towards a huge schools tour and a series of evangelistic concerts at a major venue in the region. Our hope is to build upon the success of Higher Manchester to see even more impact and transformation in the Midlands through the same commitment to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the resourcing of local churches for the follow-up responsibility. Work has now started in the Midlands and churches are already excitedly getting on board the journey as we prepare to go Higher again.
thehighertour O2 Apollo Man...
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thehighertour it may be the end of the #HigherTour but it’s only the beginning of literally thousands of Manchester’s young people journeying with God. Pray for them! #disciplesnotdecisions #GOHIGHER
SEE MORE PICTURES, WATCH TESTIMONIES AND PREACHES AND FIND OUT THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE HIGHER TOUR AT HIGHERTOUR.COM
NEWS
IN YER FACE 20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT
In Yer Face is turning 20!
Can you imagine Christian theatre without electric chairs and gobs full of spit? Neither can we, and yes, we’re feeling old too! Believe it or not, it is twenty years since In Yer Face first dropped their inimitable brand of bloodand-guts theatre onto an unsuspecting public. This milestone anniversary is to be celebrated in style at The Message Enterprise Centre on September 30, and you’re all invited!
The People’s Prayer
With a mix of live theatre, worship music, and a few blasts from the past, we’ll be raising a nostalgic glass to the good old days as well as looking ahead to the future, with an exclusive preview of our brand new show for prisons touring 2017 nationwide. Whether you’ve been a fan, or are a current supporter, or have just been made to feel uncomfortable in your seat during some past event, we’re asking you to toast the next twenty years with us!
‘This is really truly explosive stuff,’ writes Andy Hawthorne in the Foreword. ‘If put into practice it’s nothing short of life changing.’
Friday 21 October, MEC, Harper Rd, M22 4RG, 7pm doors. Places are limited so email InyerfaceTeam@message.org.uk to reserve your seat.
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Message Trustee and true ‘Message Legend’ Rob White releases a new book on prayer this May. Teach Us To Pray examines the Lord’s Prayer (which Rob calls ‘The People’s Prayer’) and shows how we can practically apply each part of it to our everyday lives, helping to make prayer a delight.
You can get hold of a copy of Teach Us To Pray (Malcolm Down Publishing) from message.org.uk/shop at the discounted price of £5.99 (RRP £6.99).
NEWS
Freedom!
Our Message Academy students spent two amazing weeks with Message South Africa in Cape Town this spring, serving alongside their mission teams in communities and prisons. This shot of the team was taken at the famous Nelson Mandela statue outside Drakenstein Correctional Centre, from which Mandela was released in 1990.
During their ministry in Drakenstein, the Academy team prayed with seven men to give their lives to Christ.
‘God is powerfully on the move in Drakenstein,’ reports Academy student Beci Smith. ‘The men were so receptive to the gospel.’
‘We met many who have become Christians through Message South Africa’s ministry – they are so on fire for God,’ adds Beci. ‘They’re hardened criminals and violent gangsters whose lives have been totally transformed and who have made serious decisions to live for Christ. Hearing them sing “I’m no longer a slave to fear... I am a child of God” – I’ll never forget that moment.’
New music
Andy at Exponential East
Vital Signs and BrightLine both released new albums this spring. Life in Full Motion from BrightLine includes the uber-catchy ‘Dream Again’, and Vital Signs’ Starving Hearts features Higher Tour-favourite ’Putting in Work’. Both albums were recorded at our studios in Manchester by our own in-house production team, and guest producers including Obi Mhondera.
In April, Andy was invited to address Exponential East, the largest church planting conference in the world. Five thousand leaders from across the globe gathered in Orlando, Florida to hear Andy and other top speakers including Mark Batterson, Brian Houston and Ed Stetzer on becoming a multiplying movement of a church planters reaching millions for Christ. 19
UK VISION
MESSAGE UK – ARE WE APPROACHING A
MANCHESTER
BIRMINGHAM
WA L E S
LONDON
SCOTLAND
Carl Beech joined our leadership team in January as UK Director, with responsibility for rolling out Message ministries out beyond Manchester. He catches us up on the exciting things already happening around the country – and plans for more
int?
tipping po
’m writing this a few weeks after the first leg of the Higher Tour where we saw an astonishing 2,000 young people commit to follow Christ through the mix of intensive schools mission and gigs at the O2 Apollo Manchester. Unleashing The Message Trust’s mix of amazingly talented creative teams and associate bands with proclamation evangelists made a huge Kingdom impact. For us at The Message however, it’s just the start. Without Higher in the background, what I’m about to write could easily sound like rhetoric – but it isn’t. We firmly believe we are at a tipping point that will see an explosion of Message ministries across the UK in the toughest places, resulting ultimately, we pray, in hundreds of thousands of young people coming to faith. Our first Higher Tour stop outside of Greater Manchester will be the Midlands. We’ve formed a team and we’re already on the ground, paving the way for high-impact gospel mission within the next two years. Our expectation is that we will also see a rapid multiplication of Eden, new bands and creative teams emerging, a new hub office to serve The Midlands and an expression of enterprise to give young people the work opportunities and skills training they desperately need. In Scotland we have a team in place planning a schools tour and bus tour between May and September, with a brand-new bus ready to hit the ground running (and it really is immense, you should see it). We’re also forming new prisons and creative teams, and dream of seeing planted in Glasgow a franchise of one of The Message enterprise units.
In London we’ve got a talented team planning a new strategy that will see the first Eden Bus for London, plus new enterprise opportunities and a multiplication of Eden. Message Wales is flying with a new bus, pioneering prisons work (read about it overleaf), the biggest Street Pastors project outside of London, new Eden teams in the pipeline… Message Wales is accelerating fast!
UK VISION
I
‘We are seeing a radical, gospel-proclaiming, mission movement emerging that’s equipped to reach people in the toughest and poorest communities in the UK’ Add to these five clear regions exciting plans for the North East and Yorkshire… you can see that we are seeing a radical, gospel-proclaiming, mission movement emerging that’s equipped to reach people in the toughest and poorest communities in the UK. It’s my full expectation that should God so grace our plans, activities and dreams, that we will see Message Hubs being firmly established in each of these these regions over the next five years. Operating from these new Hubs will be expressions of Message Enterprise, from centres like the one in Manchester to smaller Message business units all giving hope to ex-offenders or young people who have previously been denied opportunity.
FOLLOW CARL
@beechymessage
We will see new prisons teams established, more new Eden Buses deployed, more creative mission teams being raised up to visit schools, Higher touring the UK, the multiplication of Eden, the expansion of Message Academy and I suspect new things that the Lord will show us that we need as we journey along. It’s an exciting time to partner with The Message Trust. Watch this space and join us for the ride!
TURN OVER for more stories from around the UK
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UK VISION
WA L E S
sign up to come to the chapel service,’ shares Message Wales director Gary Smith. ‘We thought this might put them off. But we were delighted to see nine young people turn up!’
Left: Vital Signs’ Nick and Marvin performing
Meeting Jesus in Parc Prison Margaux Doey, Message Wales
P
risons work is something that’s at the heart of The Message Trust and so naturally it’s something we’ve been wanting to roll out in Wales too. When we launched as Message Wales in September 2015, we wrote out a three-year plan, not thinking we’d be able to start prisons work until at least two years in. So you can imagine how delighted we were to be invited into Parc Prison, Bridgend after only four months, following really positive meetings with the chaplaincy. The biggest prison in Western Europe, it’s also home to the largest young offenders’ institute in the UK. Our first visit was basically a service for young people (15-17 year olds).
MORE FROM MESSAGE WALES messagewales.org
‘Because of problems they’ve had in the chapel before, the young people have to positively 22
The visit was a combination of a chapel service and a performance by Vital Signs, and both Nick and Marvin shared their stories and testimonies of what Jesus had done in their lives. Both band members had been involved in the drug culture and had lost control of their lives – so very relevant testimonies for their audience. But at the bottom of that downward spiral they’d found Jesus and he completely transformed their lives. ‘There was a real respect,’ says Gary, ‘and the guys really paid attention, both to the performances and to the conversation. It was just so natural for Nick and Marvin to ask if anyone wanted to turn their lives around and start following Jesus. Five guys did – they took the decision to respond to Jesus for the first time.’ After such a positive response, we were invited back in March, where we delivered a talk, testimony, worship and a small performance by Femi Ashiru who is a rapper as well as being team leader of our first Eden team in Wales, Eden Tremorfa. Again, more than ten young people gave their lives to the Lord! With such an amazing response, we’re looking to visit the prison at least once a month going forward. But really our ultimate hope is to employ a full-time prisons worker to work with the guys on the wings and also to be involved in the resettlement of those coming out of prison.
SCOTLAND
UK VISION
bus blazing a trail Tim Cheshire, Message Scotland
O
n June 3, we launch our Eden Bus in Glasgow! We are expecting at least 250 people at the launch and there is a lot of excitement locally for how this will help churches in Glasgow connect with young people in their communities. We have a new member of the team here in Scotland, Raymond Bainbridge, who is preparing to undergo all the training needed to become our Eden Bus Manager. Welcome to the team, Raymond!
Left: The interior of the new Eden Bus for Scotland
We are also planning a three-month schools tour starting in September, partnering with many local churches and high schools in Glasgow. We’ll be taking the Bus and a band into a school for a full day and working with local churches in each area to host a full-on evangelistic concert in the evening.
LATEST ON FACEBOOK /MessageScotland
So the Bus is pretty busy already – no wonder we’re already talking to church leaders in Edinburgh about a second Eden Bus for the East coast! We are also looking at how we can develop a schools band for Scotland and maybe open up an Academy here in Glasgow as an annexe to what already exists in Manchester. Exciting times!
The Bus will be at many of the Scottish festivals this summer as we look to grow our team with more volunteers. We are working with Creationfest to help host a massive open-air evangelistic concert in Glasgow’s George Square on August 27, also featuring Message band Vital Signs. As well as being open all day at the festival, the Bus will be visiting Parkhead, home of our first Eden, and Drumchapel where we hope to plant our second team later in 2016.
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TEACHING
Reading God’s word daily makes all the difference, writes Andy Hawthorne
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D
o you know who Dave Brailsford is? He’s one of the most inspirational examples of transformational leadership of our generation. Over the last decade, the GB cycling team have gone from also-rans to two-time champions. There were only 10 gold medals to win in London 2012 – and Great Britain won seven of them.
How did British Cycling do it? Of course, it was sheer hard graft – hours of training, going round the velodrome. Yes, it was hiring the best coaches, sports scientists and technicians. But there was something else, too: Dave Brailsford drummed into his team a radical commitment to simple things. He focused them on every tiny thing that would give them an advantage. The team would spend endless hours in the
More than Gold
And all this for medals. Glorious, of course, for those who have sacrificed so much in pursuit of them. Wonderful for us as fellow Brits to share in their achievement. But at the end of the day, when you think of what we’re gunning for with The Message – a prize that will last forever and will never perish or rust… Well, it’s a challenge, isn’t it? Higher Manchester reminded me that the foolishness of preaching backed up with the humility of prayer is still what God uses to change people’s hearts. Have you ever heard a preacher where the words they were saying were so in tune with the Holy Spirit, that your jaw hit the floor because God himself was speaking to you? And that means we need to be in tune with God’s Word. I’m not the only one who’s saying it: RT Kendall wrote what he called ‘the most important blog I have written in many years’ at the tail end of last year. In it, he sounded a call to Christians to read God’s Word faithfully every day. He said this was the most important habit of his life. He went on: ‘I urge you to go online and find a plan that will help you to read the Bible through in a year. I urge you to begin today in this plan and never, never, never, never stop it.’ I was so challenged by these words.
Training in righteousness
My favourite book of last year was Patrick Johnstone’s The Future of the Global Church. It’s stunning to see the growth of the church over the last 50 years – in my lifetime the number of Christian believers on the face of the earth has doubled. It’s clear to me that we are in the middle of an end-time harvest. We don’t know when Jesus is coming back – I
‘Higher Manchester reminded me that the foolishness of preaching backed up with the humility of prayer is still what God uses to change people’s hearts’ don’t know if it’ll be in my lifetime. But if we believe Jesus is coming soon, I want to be a harvester at a time like this. And I know that means being a man of the Word. It’s funny, to do the South Africa bike ride I needed to find 10 to 15 hours a week to train. At first I thought, how the heck am I going to find the time? But I did. I wanted to be ready for it, so I had to put the time in. I didn’t want to be an embarrassment out there! I didn’t want to hold my mates back. It shouldn’t be hard to find the few minutes I need each day to read God’s Word so that I’m ready to be used by God. The same goes for you reading this – whether you dream of being a preacher, an intercessor, a faithful Jesus follower. What I’m saying here could completely change your life. Like you, I’m sure, I want to make a mark with this life. One day we will stand before Jesus face to face. We won’t get this life again. When the stakes are so high – when we’re in the middle of a remarkable end-time harvest – we need to be people of the Word.
Listen to fresh teaching every week. Search iTunes for ‘Message Podcast’
TEACHING
wind tunnel, getting in the perfect position on the bike. Brailsford used to tell them the exact position they had to sleep in. He even taught them the exact way they had to wash their hands to minimise their chance of being ill on race day.
TESTIMONY
‘Jesus gave me my life back’ Message team member Cyril Wilding shares his amazing story of transformation
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t the Friday Higher night, I got the chance to share my story with over two thousand young people at the O2 Manchester Apollo. Looking out at all their faces, I remembered how it felt to be 14 again. I felt compassion for them all, because my life was already a mess by then. But I could tell them there is hope for them all because God has done something amazing in me. I was 14 when I first tried drugs, which was LSD. It gave me the feeling of pleasure that my life wasn’t giving me, and my answer was to get out of my face, often. All my money went on drink and drugs and I would rob anyone that came across my path to pay for it. By the time I left my teens I was a full-blown addict. Probably one of the worst going, in fact. I was going weeks without properly sleeping, because I was taking so much speed and coke. After leaving home in Wigan I tried to make a fresh start but
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By the age of 30, my whole life was in pieces. Drugs and drink were not taking the pain away any more so I had turned to self-harm. There I was, 30 years old, sitting in a corner crying, depressed, cutting myself with a blade because I was so unhappy with my life. I was desperate for love.
Above: At work at Message HQ Top: Cyril shares his testimony at Higher Manchester
‘I could tell them there is hope for them all because God has done something amazing in me’
Thank God Jesus met me. It was about ten years ago during my last prison sentence in Forest Bank prison. I was on what was called a ‘20-52’, which is a suicide watch. The prison officers thought I was going to end my life and to be honest, they were right. That’s what I was going to do. That was until a little old lady came into my pad. She told me that Jesus died for me all the pain I was carrying about, he put on the cross for me. I thought she was a nut job at first! But when she left I opened up the Bible and discovered it was true. I read Psalm 23 with new eyes. I heard him say to me that he was all I needed. I knew this
WATCH HIGHER TESTIMONIES Higher Tour YouTube channel
TESTIMONY
somehow I ended up in gang and car crime, selling drugs on the streets of Manchester to fund my drug habit. I thought I was a big man but I was wrecking other people’s lives and I was wrecking my own.
was the love I was looking for. So that day, I asked Jesus to come into my life. Straightaway I could feel a change in my heart. I lost the desire to do drugs and the self-harm stopped too. At the lowest point in my life I got support from Victory Outreach Manchester which is now my church too. They helped me put my life back together, depending on Jesus day by day. I met an amazing woman of God, Laura, and we got married. I became a team member at The Message where I’m also involved with sharing the gospel and leading people to Christ, including in prisons. Now I wake up every single day and the first thing I do is I thank him. It was him that gave me my life back. I owe him everything. So at Higher I got to tell the kids my story and how I found hope in Jesus Christ. I told them I’m not a drug addict or an alcoholic any more. I told them that even though my arms are scarred I’m not ashamed any more. Because there’s someone who’s set me free and his name is Jesus. And when the gospel was preached later that night, it made me so happy to see hundreds of young people putting up their hands to respond. To know that they had heard the same thing I did – there is hope and his name is Jesus.
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TEACHING
Fire
In their eyes Message South Africa is going from strength to strength. Evangelist and author Angus Buchan addressed their Vision Night this spring with a powerful call to stand up for Jesus...
T
his morning, God spoke to me through a group of young men in prison – the young men you at The Message Trust are working with here in Cape Town. Let me tell you what I saw: I saw life! I saw fire in their eyes. These young men told me: ‘When we get out of this prison, we’re going to change this nation for Jesus Christ.’ It blessed me out of my socks! It reminded me of a time many years ago I used to take a big yellow truck into Africa to unreached people groups with clothes, food and some Bibles. They never wanted the clothes, or the food. But they wanted the Bibles. Why is that? Because God has put eternity into the heart of every man. These young men you’re working with in prison want Jesus. They know it’s Jesus who sets them free. This is why I love The Message Trust. This is not just a ‘good work’ you are doing – you are proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ. And this is what people truly need.
Decisions, decisions
Good decisions are everything in life. On 18 February 1979 I made a decision in a little
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‘There is one thing you can never take away from a human being: their capacity to make a choice’ Methodist church to follow Christ. It was a choice about how I was going to live the rest of my life. And changing a nation for God starts with making good decisions. Recently I came across a powerful little book called ’Heroic Children’ in an old Jewish bookshop. It told the stories of nine children who were in concentration camps during the Second World War. They were all treated horrifically – between 1939-45, 1.5 million children were murdered. But this group beat the odds: when these children were released, they went on to live the most remarkable lives. One became a multimillionaire in New York City, another a top paediatrician in Canada, another a top violinist in Johannesburg. The human being is an amazing thing. You can take away his food, his sleep, degrade
TEACHING
him so badly that he no longer has a name but is known only by a number. But there is one thing you can never take away from a human being: their capacity to make a choice. These little children made a decision that they would not be mastered by their circumstances. They stuck together and they overcame them.
Hope in Jesus
Our circumstances must not determine our relationship with Jesus. Here in South Africa, we are facing many challenges right now. I’m a farmer, going through the worst drought in 200 years. But that doesn’t change my hope in Jesus. We’re seeing political unrest, economic chaos here and around the world. But that doesn’t change my hope in Jesus. In John 16:33, Jesus said, ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ Like never before, our faith in Christ must become a reality. If our faith in Christ is determined by our situation at home, economically or politically we’ll never last. Every drought ends with rain. We’re going to get through it in South Africa. And it’s
not going to be according to my plan, but his. I’ve never been so excited about South Africa. There is nothing like a fire to sift the dross from the gold. We have an opportunity to see the greatest revival of our times. Like never before, let us make a decision to believe God’s promises and not the lies of the devil. Jesus has promised that he’ll never leave us or forsake us. A time of crisis is the right time to solidify our stand for Jesus. A faith that costs us nothing is worth nothing! This is no time for fair-weather Christians. If Jesus Christ is not the most important person in your life, you’re not going to make it. It’s time for us to stand up and acknowledge Jesus Christ. Let us tell our children the truth about what the Bible says: ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ We are here to be ambassadors – to bring a message: Jesus Christ is Lord. That’s the only message. There is no other.
Check out What’s happening in S.A.
www.message.org.za
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FUNDRAISING
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ndy Hawthorne, Carl Beech and our brave team of cyclists completed their epic coast-to-coast trip across South Africa – 13 riders, 8 days, a 9,500m incline and 850 gruelling kilometres! It was incredibly hard but it was all so worth it. Thanks to you, they’ve raised over £189,000 for our life-changing work. The team rode across South Africa, tackling steep hills, force 8 gales, temperatures of up to 37 degrees and arduous mountain passes. ‘The task was incredibly tough going but the team spirit and the thought of all the young people who would benefit from the money raised kept morale high,’ says Andy Hawthorne, founder of The Message. Exhausted but exhilarated, they were treated to a heroes’ welcome on crossing the finishing line as they rode into the Nyanga township, where The Message has recently launched a project to tackle the culture of gangsterism and high crime rates.
SEE THE TEAM IN ACTION message.org.uk/cycle
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Thanks to you, they’ve raised over £189,000 for our life-changing work ‘I founded this charity 25 years ago with just one employee and pennies to our name, so to take part in this fundraiser and see £189,000 come in through so many generous donations is humbling to say the least,’ says Andy. ‘We are thrilled by the commitment of our supporters. We have smashed our target already and it keeps going up. Let’s do it all again next year!’
TH AFRICA CROSS SaOllUenge 2017 Cycle Ch
On March 4, 2017 we’ll be repeating the Cross South Africa Challenge but with an addition of a ninth day where the team will be joined by 30,000 other riders for the world’s largest cycle race in Cape Town. To register your interest, email samh@message.org.uk
Over the years, we’ve seen thousands of young people commit their lives to Christ through the work of The Message Trust. None of it would have been possible without people just like you. One of the best ways to support our work is a sponsored event – and you don’t have to cross the globe to take part! Why not join us this year in one of the following challenges, set yourself a target and raise money for The Message?
Total Warrior
SUNDAY 26 JUNE 2016 Total Warrior is the pinnacle of obstacle racing, providing the most innovative and highest quality obstacle event in the UK. With around 30 punishing obstacles in each of the three courses, this isn’t an event for the faint- hearted!
Great Manchester Swim
SATURDAY 2 JULY 2016 Staged in the vibrant Salford Quays, this unique ‘dock to dock’ course is an unforgettable experience in the open water. The course begins near The Lowry and MediaCityUK, traverses Mariners Canal and finishes one mile away at Dock 8 beside Helly Hansen Watersports Centre.
The Three Peaks
FRIDAY 15 JULY 2016 The Three Peaks Challenge will involve climbing the three highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland: Scafell, Snowdon and Ben Nevis respectively. Led by a qualified outdoor instructor, you’ll have 24 hours to complete this challenge.
Manchester 10k 2017
MAY 2017 This is your chance to join over 250,000 people for Europe’s biggest 10K running event, where we’ll be pounding the streets of Manchester together for a great cause.
Register now!
To secure your place on any of our 2016 challenges, please email sponsor@message.org.uk. Or call our friendly fundraising team on 0161 946 2300.
Spend a year with us and you’ll be trained and released to be all God’s made you to be, wherever he sends you.
Apply now for Sept 2016: Email Academy@message.org.uk Or Visit www.message.org.uk/academy
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