The Message Trust is celebrating Two Decades of Changed Lives.

Everything we’ve achieved over the past twenty years, we’ve done together with other churches, with other movements who share our hearts and together with people like you.

To celebrate this time with you, we’re running a competition to win one of twenty exclusive Message20 Celebration Packs filled with music and literature from the Message Trust including personally signed items.

To win one of these amazing celebration packs, just answer this question:

HOW MANY YEARS IS THE MESSAGE TRUST CELEBRATING THIS YEAR?

How to respond

Post your answer with your full name, address and contact number to:

Supporter Relations
Message Trust
Lancaster House
Harper Road
M22 4RG

Email your answer with your full name, address and contact number to:

supporter.relations@message.org.uk

(Competition closes 20th March 2012)

Competition Terms & Conditions

1. Open to persons aged 16 years or over. Excluding employees of the Promoter, their families, agents and agencies and anyone else professionally connected with this promotion.

2. No purchase necessary. [Winners will be notified by email or mobile.]

3. Final date for receipt of postal & email entries is 4pm Tuesday 20^th March 2012.

4. Prize consists of: a selection of signed literature and music produced by The message Trust and its associated ministries.

5. The winners will be selected at random from all valid entries on the 21^st March 2012.

6. No cash or other alternative in part or full will be offered in lieu of the specified prizes. Prizes are not transferable.

7. By entering participants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by the rules. All entry instructions form part of these Terms and Conditions.

8. The Promoter reserves the right to withdraw or amend without notice this promotion in the event of any unforeseen circumstances outside their reasonable control.

9. The Promoter’s decision is binding in all matters.

10. The prize winner(s) will be contacted via email or telephone by 5pm on the 21st March 2012.

11. Winners must respond to notification of their prize within 48 hours otherwise the right to claim the prize will be lost and the promoter reserves the right to re-award the prize(s).

12. Winners may be required to participate in reasonable publicity as specified by the promoter.

13. The promoter can accept no responsibility for, and reserves the right to refuse, entries which are corrupt, incomplete, lost or damaged or fail to arrive by the closing date. The promoter can accept no responsibility for entries which are lost or damaged in the post. Proof of posting does not constitute proof of entry.

14. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for inability to access the website.

Promoter: The Message Trust, Lancaster House, Harper Road, Sharston, Manchester M22 4RG.

The movement Matt describes has already taken in neighbourhoods far beyond Manchester, where the first Eden teams began working with young people in 1997. Now regional hubs are thriving in the North East, Yorkshire and London, and exciting new doors are opening up in both the Humber region and Merseyside.

NEW PARTNERSHIPS

In all, 24 Eden partnerships are now active or on the cusp of launching.

In Hull, Eden Preston Road is urgently recruiting its team who will live and minister on the estate which has long-standing challenges: the area is in the bottom 0.26% of multiple deprivation nationally, with high levels of crime, benefit dependency and worklessness. The partnership will be boosted by strong links with the newly re-sited Archbishop Sentamu Academy on the estate (see picture). This 1500-pupil high school has a strong Christian ethos and its Principal is keen to work closely with the Eden team to make a significant difference in the lives of young people and their families.

Sited in a highly multicultural area of Sheffield, Eden Fir Vale is the third Eden team to be established in Yorkshire. Team leaders Ben and Beth Baker are building links with local people and organisations and engaging cross-culturally, getting to know their Muslim neighbours and even learning Urdu.

In London, two new partnerships are set to commence in 2012, adding to the four already under way. Eden Brunel will be based on an estate in the Paddington area and Eden Plaistow is to be located in the area close to the West Ham football stadium in East London.

And here in Manchester, plans are being drawn up for a new Eden in partnership in an estate called the Merseybank, in partnership with a church called Ivy Manchester.

We hope to bring you more news about these exciting new Eden teams in the next edition of Flow. However, if you can’t wait that long you’re welcome to contact the Eden office directly, details below.

ASSOCIATES NETWORK

A further significant development for 2012 will be a whole new kind of growth, an opportunity to go far beyond the current geographical boundaries of the Eden Network. Matt explains more:

‘We’re approached often by people who are encouraged by what God’s doing through Eden – they want to connect and receive support from us but they don’t fulfil our criteria for various reasons. Perhaps they’re not focused within a big urban population, maybe they don’t place the same emphasis on youth, or maybe their community isn’t quite in the bottom 10%. But we really want to help them succeed too – we don’t want them to find themselves repeating mistakes we’ve made before. We recognise we need an easier way for them to connect with us to obtain some level of support, encouragement and resource.’

With that in mind, Eden is working behind the scenes on the nuts and bolts of what will become an Eden ‘Associates’ network. This will allow interested groups to benefit from Eden’s expertise without becoming full-blown Eden partners. Associates will have the opportunity to train with experienced Eden workers, join networking events and access lots of great resources.

‘In kingdom terms we hope this shift will have massive impact because it will offer us the opportunity to begin making a difference in many other places – perhaps even in other nations,’ says Matt.

PROXIMITY CONFERENCE

One part of the Associates package will be an invitation to be part of national events such as the upcoming Proximity conference, taking place on 25th and 26th May at World Harvest Bible Church in Salford Quays.

Proximity will feature as its keynote speaker Dave Ferguson from Community Christian Church and NewThing Network (pictured). Dave is a serial church planter who has seen exponential growth in his movement of missional communities around Chicago.

Also speaking will be Patrick Regan of XLP, who works with young people in several inner-London boroughs. Because of his experience of gang culture, Patrick became a key voice in the wake of the riots last August.

And Nims Obunge, CEO of the Peace Alliance and pastor of a church in Tottenham, has also joined the speaking team, responsible for leading the conference’s devotional times.

‘Nims actually gave me a great insight that helped me see Eden in a whole new way,’ says Matt. ‘He said to me, “Biblically, Eden signifies the work that God’s begun and is inviting us to be part of.” Wow! Now that’s great theology! We’ve always known that Eden is God’s movement, not ours, he’s doing something special through Eden and we just want to keep up with him.’

You can find out more about the Proximity conference and the new Eden locations on Eden’s website.

Contact the Eden team now via email.

Matt’s new book, ‘Concrete Faith’, is the inside story of the Eden Network

It’s packed with inspirational and personal stories and shares the lessons learned and challenges faced by Eden teams over the last 
15 years. The book will be out in March, but you can pre-order a copy for just £5 right here.

But there’s a new dimension beginning to open up for Genetik, as Mission Director Ian Henderson explains:

‘So far, Genetik has been about investing in individual young people who share our passion for mission, and that will definitely carry on. But we’re also keen to see whole schools teams joining us to be trained on Genetik and then sent back to their own cities or countries with a continued relationship with us as Associates.’

It’s already happening: two former students from the 2010–11 intake Georgia Houghton and Heather Turkington (pictured) trained with us last year and while here, heard God talking to them about setting up a new theatre-based schools team based in Belfast.

Within weeks of graduating from Genetik, the new On The Edge Theatre Company were performing at the Summer Madness festival and spreading the word about their vision to share the good news in schools in Northern Ireland. On The Edge are now Message Associates – supported by The Message, sharing our values, but independent.

Also last year, The Message was approached by a youth network in Norway called Impuls to help train and release a new schools team for Norway. This year and next, youth workers from Norway are training alongside our teams with a view to launching a groundbreaking new team there soon. Similar projects are being explored by groups from the UK and the US.

‘The dream is quite simply loads more schools teams all over the place,’ continues Ian. ‘We have the best people to help put together high-impact schools bands, and invaluable experience of recruiting the right people, helping develop the music and getting teams ready to hit the ground running.’

We’re eager to talk with anyone who shares that vision – individuals and groups alike. Get in touch to start a conversation: email genetik@message.org.uk

Genetik is an outstanding springboard into a career in youth evangelism or schools work.

Many other graduates from the 2010–11 intake have gone on to accept a wide range of paid and voluntary youth work and ministry opportunities in Manchester and beyond.

APPLY NOW for the
 2012–13 Genetik course

It means reaching into 152 schools – some of them for the very first time in 20 years.

Missions director Ian Henderson explains: ‘Our dream is that every young person growing up in Greater Manchester will hear the gospel from one of our bands or theatre company at least once in their school career. That’s a big challenge from where we are now, but we’ve got the people and the passion to do it.’

As a step towards reaching the goal, The Message is trying to get in contact with every Christian working in education – as a teacher, learning assistant or support worker.

If you’re a Christian working in education we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Abi Sewart on 0161 946 2300 or by emailing schools@message.org.uk.

‘Right now, we are seeking six exceptional people to join our team as Business Managers,’ explains MEC Director Frank Green (pictured). ‘Each will be tasked with setting up a new business from scratch which will both turn a profit and recruit and mentor young trainees.

‘We are looking to begin six new businesses in the following sectors: Café and Catering, Health and Beauty, Design and Print, Garden Maintenance, Contract Cleaning, and Fairtrade Import and Sales.’

The MEC is seeking business-minded entrepreneurs with specific expertise in one of these sectors and a commitment to excellent customer service. They need to have a passion to see young, disadvantaged people achieving their full potential, and be committed christians with a sense of calling to serve God in this way.

Frank adds: ‘For these roles, we are looking for talented people who are able to bring the best out of others and the patience needed to train young people at different levels of competence. In return, you can expect a competitive salary, a thrilling work environment, and the opportunity to build a business with the potential to change lives.’

For an application pack, please contact the HR team on 0161 946 2300 or by email.

Over the last 15 years, Eden has established itself as part of a movement of God embracing the different strands of incarnational living, church planting, urban youth ministry, missional community and urban church. Proximity 2012 will bring these ministries together in one place for two days of vision, conversation, inspiration and celebration. Proximity will be light-hearted and yet intelligent; fast-paced and yet reflective; boundary-pushing and yet affirming.

If you’re a leader or practitioner in any of these five overlapping areas of ministry Proximity is for you.

When and where is it happening?

From Friday 25th – Saturday 26th May, at The Sanctuary, the home of World Harvest Bible Church, a stone’s throw from the newly regenerated Salford Quays, the new home of the BBC in the north of England. Those interested in urban regeneration will find the area absolutely fascinating. There is an abundance of hotels to suit various budgets and local transport links into the area are excellent.

How much will it cost?

Proximity has been specifically designed to be flexible enough to accommodate a variety of needs and to allow maximum participation. Many will choose to be involved for the whole two days, which will cost £44; however booking before the end of March will save you 10%. Day tickets for each of the days are also available at £25 each. Finally, we will be opening up the Friday evening celebration at a cost of just £5 per ticket (limited numbers available).

How do I book?

The event is being administrated using the online ‘Eventbrite’ system which means you’ll need a credit card handy in order to place your booking. To visit the booking portal CLICK HERE.

The number of jobless 16–24s in the UK jumped 67,000 to 1.02 million – the highest figure since 1992.

The problem is particularly acute for disadvantaged young men and women, including those who have found hope in Jesus through our work. With fewer qualifications and little or no experience of work, the prospect of finding employment in this climate is bleak – which has a serious effect on their discipleship and growth in Christ.

But The Message is working on a pioneering scheme to change that: the Message Enterprise Centre. We’ve acquired land and begun work on rehabilitating a derelict factory next to our HQ in Sharston.

When we open in Summer 2012, the Centre will house six brand new businesses dedicated to training and creating jobs for around 50 ex-offenders and other vulnerable young adults we’re in contact with. People like Nick and Adam, whose stories we’ve told this year.

Our experience shows that a lack of work is one of the most common reasons ex-offenders go back to crime. We believe that when you give young men and women a real job, a stable place to live and the help of a supportive community and you give them the best possible chance of becoming useful members of society.

Neglect them, though, and we all pay the price. The costs of workless young people are staggering. Estimates suggest every unemployed ex-offender or care-leaver costs the taxpayer at least £50,000 a year, taking into account unemployment benefits, health care, drug or alcohol treatment, policing, prison and probation services.

In contrast, the cost of providing training and mentoring to dozens of young people, resulting in real jobs and stable, productive lives is expected to be less than £300,000 a year when the Enterprise Centre opens its doors.

Once up and running, the Enterprise Centre will also be a hub for the city’s entrepreneurial talent. Each small business will be led by an entrepreneur committed to both profit and people, with good advice and support offered by some of the city’s most successful business people. As businesses grow and leave the Centre, space will be made for new enterprises to be born, making it a real incubator of potential.

It’s our belief there is no lack of entrepreneurial talent in our prisons and tough communities. The challenge is harnessing and supporting what’s already there to grow.

We’re doing it because 20 years of experience has taught us that discipleship only really happens in supportive community. Jesus gives young people like Nick and Adam a second chance. We must too.

The Message Enterprise Centre is currently seeking capital funding in the region of £300,000 to complete the £1M refurbishment of the derelict site.  Please pledge your support today.

Give online now, or email your contact details and we’ll call you to follow up.

To offer your business or Trust’s support, please contact Frank Green, Director, Message Enterprise Centre via email or by phone, 07946 424324.

Ian Henderson hosts with contributions from Andy Hawthorne and a look back on a fantastic year.

It’s the best half hour you’ll hear this month… Don’t you dare miss it!

Listen (and subscribe) to the Flow Podcast in iTunes

Listen to latest teaching and media from The Message on the main Message Podcast

Yet the 35-year-old rapper is now also our newest Eden team leader, moving on to the underprivileged Andover estate in Islington, North London with his wife and daughter this autumn.

So how did this award-winning gospel MC find himself moving to lead the newly formed Eden Tollington?

‘I never planned on having a career in music,’ says Jahaziel. ‘It was fun and people said I was good, so I kept doing it. I put out a record and one thing led to another and I was full time for two and a half years. I’ve had opportunities to travel around the world and met loads of different people who say that they’ve been blessed by my music, which is amazing’

‘But music isn’t, and never has been, a priority for me. It’s not my ambition in life. I’ve always had an itch for something more.’

It’s not surprising therefore that Jahaziel’s CV is lot more interesting than most rappers’. Jahaziel has worked with young people in schools and in prison, through a post working in Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution, helping ex-offenders back into education and employment.

But working as a member of staff, Jahaziel found the atmosphere could be restrictive: ‘You would find you had to be careful about what you could and couldn’t say. I was working with one of the boys and gave him an assignment to write some lyrics about friendship, using a Bible verse for inspiration. But I couldn’t tell him it was a Bible verse — although it would’ve been fine if it was from Shakespeare!

‘It was the opposite problem with music. You can say what you like during your show, but you don’t get any time to do anything deeply. You jump in, you do a couple of songs, say a few things and you’re out, you’re done.

‘So I found myself praying, God, how can I do both of these things — to talk about Christ and go deep with people?’

His search ended with an invitation to get involved with a new Eden partnership in Tollington N4. There, a local parish team was seeking to deepen its work on this close-knit multicultural estate, building on successful summer outreaches as part of Soul in the City.

‘I’d been involved in Soul in the City for a few years — that was how my relationship with the church started. One thing I was always impressed with was the church’s obvious passion to reach the community. My experience in the past has often been that there’s a church in the heart of the community but the community has no idea they’re even there. But this church was putting energy and effort into to being visible and blessing the community – so much so that would be difficult for you to live there and not be blessed by them. I wanted to be a part of that.’

He believes there are major needs that the church can help address by being a positive presence in the community: ‘Violence and crime in the area aren’t frequent, but they’re still too frequent,’ says Jahaziel. ‘We had a murder and some stabbings in the space of just a few weeks earlier this year. We’ve got Night Pastor teams going out which are as much about socialising as evangelising, but that’s kind of the point — it’s about making our presence felt. At the funeral of the guy who was murdered we were at the grave side with a load of young people, helping to lead the singing.’

And this summer’s riots proved how important consistent and regular youth clubs and provisions are, believes Jahaziel: ‘It’s very apparent that young people need some kind of activities to engage in. It might not be much — a pool table and table tennis — but for some of the kids from the estate, it’s better that we know they’re there than somewhere else.’

Targeted mentoring with young people, and sessions on CV writing and other practical topics are helping to pastor young people in practical ways, as well as opening opportunities for contact with parents. Jahaziel says it’s rare that he walks through the estate without stopping to say hello to someone.

A new youth centre on the estate is equipped with facilities for the performing arts, including a recording studio. A proposal to run rap workshops there has already been approved, meaning Jahaziel may soon have the opportunity to disciple and mentor the next generation of Christian MCs.

The Eden team in Tollington is starting to take shape to support all these opportunities. Alongside Jahaziel, wife Nadine and daughter Azaliah, are James, a young man from the estate, and teacher Naomi recently moved from Croydon.

Have there been sacrifices for Jahaziel and his family in moving to be a part of Eden Tollington? ‘No doubt, it’s been an adjustment. There is a sacrifice to moving to a new situation and leaving people behind. But it’s definitely worth it. If God’s leading you, you need to do it.’

Find out more about Eden.

Download a free sample of Jahaziel’s latest music at: www.jahazielmusic.com

‘There is a massive need for more mission teams here in the North West and all across the nation,’ comments Mission Director Ian Henderson. ‘But there are also lots of passionate people longing to do mission but who lack the support to get started. Associate ministries give us a model that helps us do both.’

The new model means Associate bands, theatre companies and other mission teams will have the freedom to pursue opportunities outside of The Message and become independent charities while keeping the distinctives and values which make Message ministries so effective.

The first raft of Associate ministries include On The Edge Theatre Company, established by ex-Genetik students Georgia Houghton and Heather Turkington, and rock band MaLoKai who have been working with The Message since earlier this year. LZ7 will also transition to become Associates, allowing them to follow their vision for ministry across the UK and further afield.

Family values are driving the Associate model, says Ian: ‘In the same way as families look alike, share resources, talk and hang out together, Associate bands and mission teams will relate to The Message closely, while remaining independent and becoming self-sufficient.

‘At the heart of all effective ministries are effective relationships, and the Associate scheme will allow us to play to the strengths of the relationships we have built over many years.’