Eden - An overview & brief history

Eden is part of a family of pioneering youth ministries operated by The Message Trust. The Message is passionate about young people, believing that whatever their circumstances, they shouldn't be excluded from an opportunity to hear about Jesus. Somebody needs to give them a chance to respond to His amazing love. But there's more. Our years of urban ministry have proved that just hearing and responding doesn't bring lasting change. So, over the years we have designed projects which help young people move from decision making to discipleship. Our dream for them is that they will develop into 'somebodys' not 'nobodys'. We long to see them expressing the full potential God has given them. And after years of hard graft it seems to be working! All over the patch of earth God's called us to reach - Greater Manchester - young people are discovering destinies they never knew they had. The buzz is growing and spreading, people are talking, and a movement has been birthed.

In these Eden pages you'll soon see that we're really serious about our vision, perhaps to the point of obsession! It's true, we'll do anything to see young people reached for Jesus. Ideas which to others might seem outrageous, dangerous or just plain ridiculous make perfect sense when you're driven by a godly obsession.

The first Eden Partnership was launched back in 1997 and since then the concept has been stretched, shaped, moulded and developed into the model we use today. This year sees the launch of our 10th project and while every partnership looks very different, there are some fundamental 'cornerstones' which are core to everything we do. These cornerstones are explored further on the 'partnership approach' page.