‘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.’

Come and see for yourselves what goes on at Message HQ and find out more about our exciting plans for the future!

At our Open Day on Saturday 2 July you can hear the latest vision from Andy Hawthorne, sing along with our bands, engage with In Yer Face Theatre Company, come on board our mobile youth club, the Eden Bus, enjoy street games with the Eden teams and break out with Reflex.

There is also an opportunity to go behind the scenes, meeting the crew that keeps The Message on the road, including our creative and technical staff who will be hosting fun activities and sharing with you what goes on day to day. Plus there will be free food, drinks and ice creams and prizes to be won along the way.

It all starts at 11am and goes on until 3pm and is a must for all friends of The Message – and it’s completely free of charge. It would be great if you’re able to tell us you’ll be coming, but you don’t need to book and can turn up on the day.

For further information, please email Jo Nicholson at: jo.nicholson@message.org.uk

The tour will take them across the UK and further afield, to festival stages and local venues. Many of the gigs will be end-of-week shows topping off evangelistic schools weeks.

The band released their third album Light in October. ‘Light is the sound of now,’ wrote Jono Davies of Louder Than The Music. ‘The album is jammed-packed with anthems that ooze truthful and honest lyrics.’ Jeremy Williams of The Kaje magazine went even further, dubbing it ‘without doubt one of the strongest pop albums of 2010.’

But the accolades mean nothing compared to the impact the chart success and mainstream airplay is having on their face-to-face work in schools.

Lead singer, evangelist Lindz West, explains: ‘Our heart’s desire in releasing the single was to give us a bigger platform to speak to more young people about Jesus. It’s done exactly that! We are finding that as we go into school after school young people are recognising us from MTV. That level of credibility is going before us so the young people know the songs and know who we are even before we get there. It’s another level entirely!’

Two amazing schools weeks at the end of last year bear witness to the effect. In November, LZ7 visited Maidenhead, where Lindz himself grew up. They took lessons and performed lunchtime concerts in five local schools, including Lindz’s own high school. By day three, every single ticket for the end of week show was sold out – the venue had to be redesigned to take the demand for tickets.

At the Friday night show, not only did nearly 1000 young people pack into the venue, but over 600 young people made first-time commitments to Christ following Lindz’s preaching. ‘We were over-run!’ remembers Lindz. ‘God is good and showed up in a big way.’

The next week saw LZ7 in Northern Ireland as guests of Crown Jesus Ministries. The band spent four days in schools and performed gigs in Ballymena and Belfast, each to crowds of over 500. Once again, the response was exceptional, with many making first time commitments.

‘We have been so blessed with this increase and can’t wait to see what God has in store for the next few months,’ adds Lindz.

All tour dates, including how to get tickets, are available on the LZ7 website.

Message band LZ7 has swept the board at this year’s Louder Than The Music awards, winning no less than three trophies – Best British Album, Best British Artist and Song of the Year for This Little Light.

It crowns a breakthrough 2010 for the band which spends most of the year working in schools in Greater Manchester but which is fast gaining a wider following.

After a busy summer touring the UK, September brought LZ7 a chart hit with anthem This Little Light. The song scored a number 26 UK chart position and won airplay on BBC Radio 1, MTV, The Box, Viva, Smash Hits and 4Music.

Hard on its heels, the band released their third album Light in October to some great reviews. ‘Light is the sound of now,’ wrote Jono Davies of Louder Than The Music in the original review. ‘The album is jammed packed with anthems that ooze truthful and honest lyrics.’

The Louder Than The Music awards page concludes: ‘What a year it has been for British rap group LZ7. Following their success in the UK singles chart earlier this year, their loyal following of fans have helped the group earn no fewer than three LTTM Awards this year. As well as picking up Best British Artist, LZ7 also win Best British Album for Light, and Song Of The Year for This Little Light.’

But the accolades mean nothing compared to the impact the chart success and mainstream airplay is having on their face-to-face work in schools.

Lead singer, evangelist Lindz West, explains: ‘Our heart’s desire in releasing the single was to give us a bigger platform to speak to more young people about Jesus. It’s done exactly that! We are finding that as we go into school after school young people are recognising us from MTV. That level of credibility is going before us so the young people know the songs and know who we are even before we get there. It’s another level entirely!’

The band are currently planning a national tour between a full schedule of schools work in Manchester and beyond. ‘Like’ the LZ7 Facebook page for full details about the band’s upcoming national tour.

Get a copy of Light together with a signed poster for just £9.99 (free P&P) from Message Trading.

It follows a number 26 chart hit for the anthem of the campaign, single This Little Light which has been heard by hundreds of thousands at summer festivals and millions more via radio and music TV.

Shine Your Light began when LZ7 challenged young people across the UK to ‘make goodness fashionable and God famous’. It is just the latest in a series of community action initiatives run by The Message Trust over the last ten years which have spurred Christian young people into making a positive difference in their world.

Thousands of young people across the UK have now been involved in some way, using their own initiative or by completing the 15 challenges set by the Shine Your Light website (www.shineyourlight.com), prompting industry-leading music website NME.com to describe it as ‘a bold national campaign … aiming to unleash the full potential of the nation’s young people.’

Following a visit by LZ7 to his school, 13-year-old Mike from Manchester completed all 15 challenges, posting short videos as he ticked them off – including saying sorry to a girl he upset and writing to a local police station to thank them.

Many have posted videos and updates on Facebook describing how they ‘let their light shine’ through small acts of kindness to friends, family and local people. These included tending communal gardens, picking up litter and painting fences, park benches and railings; visiting the elderly in care homes and helping young children in local play parks.

Others gave up time to mentor others; held special events to raise money for charities; or spent time chatting with local homeless people over coffee.

Some young people reported carrying out acts of extraordinary courage,  including travelling to Africa to undertake voluntary work. An act of real heroism was described by a teenager who found herself standing up for a woman involved in a racist attack. And another young hero reported talking someone out of committing suicide.

This Little Light by The Message Trust’s band LZ7 was selected as the anthem to the campaign and released as a download on September 26. It charted the week after at number 26, attracting airplay from Radio 1 and many TV music channels, including MTV, The Box, Viva, Smash Hits and 4Music.

This week, the album Light will be released as a download and through mainstream retailer HMV. The album has already received rave reviews from promotional copies distributed to the media.

‘Light is the sound of now,’ writes Jono Davies of the Louder Than The Music website. ‘The album is jammed packed with dominant anthems [and] soulful dance songs that ooze truthful and honest lyrics.’

Jeremy Williams of The Kaje magazine describes Light as ‘without doubt one of the strongest pop albums of 2010.’

The Shine Your Light campaign is set to continue at least until the end of 2010, responding to the enthusiasm which the album is expected to generate.

‘We’re really excited about the release of Light – some fantastic tunes that are just begging to be played on the radio,’ comments Message Trust CEO, Andy Hawthorne.

‘We know that many young people have been inspired to act by hearing the song over the summer and now on the radio. We hope that the fantastic new album catalyses thousands more to make goodness fashionable and God famous.’

Writing on website The Kaje, Jeremy Williams calls Light ‘without doubt one of the strongest pop albums of 2010’ citing its ‘upbeat message of positivity … delivered in a manner that reeks authenticity’.

Jono Davies at Louder Than The Music says, ‘Light is the sound of now … The album is jammed packed with dominant anthems [and] soulful dance songs that ooze truthful and honest lyrics.’

The album’s opening track is This Little Light (described by reviewer Bill Williams as ‘surely the best bit of pop to come out of the Church in the last decade, full of bounce and upward energy’) – the anthem of the Shine Your Light campaign.

Throughout the summer the schools band toured to promote Shine Your Light, an underground movement challenging young people to share God’s love through word and actions.

Light takes this simple message forward, showing that real faith is about both putting a ‘lamp on a stand’ and being ‘salt and light’ serving others in Jesus’ name.

Light is out on Fierce Records on Monday 25 October but can be purchased now via the Message Trading web store, priced £9.99, inclusive of shipping. Get your copy now.

A special fans-only gig takes place on Friday 22 October. Click here for more details.

So which is it; light-as-in-not-heavy or light-as-in-not-dark? Whichever way you read it, the title of the latest LZ7 released by Fierce, on October 25th, is bang on. With twelve tracks (plus two bonus remixes of the impossibly good YouTube sensation ‘This Little Light’) their label debut is their strongest, brightest and most dynamic work yet.

All summer long the Shine Your Light campaign has been raising the bar on social action. And having adopted ‘This Little Light’ as its anthem of choice, by the time the single was released to the mainstream at the end of September, it charted straight away at number 26. There’s still more to come from LZ7; a band that are about to step up a gear. With its passion, its range, its ability to connect and the simple fact that the songs are so good, Light is just the album to do it with.

Let’s take the light-as-in-not-dark line. Apples don’t fall far from the tree, and LZ7 follow in the footsteps of the legendary Message bands The Worldwide Message Tribe, blush and others. ‘Light’ is as evangelistic as the sun is hot, with every song drawing the listener back to the source of it all. At times that means being direct – like the songs ‘Four Points’ and ‘Fall At Your Feet’ – but LZ7 know how to turn a decent pop lyric too, and songs like ‘Ditto’, ‘Greatest Day’ and ‘Dance This Night Away’ bring all the power of the gospel in a unique way.

But what about the light-as-in-not-heavy thing? Surely LZ7 haven’t ditched the grime in favour of sugar-sweet europop? Don’t worry, they haven’t. They’re still just as much a Beastie Boys/Dizzee Rascal/N-Dubz mash-up, and get the opening seconds of ‘Superstar’, ‘Come Alive’ and the heart-shredding ‘Four Points’ up loud enough and your sub-woofers will testify in force. But there’s something light, flexible and nimble about the way that ‘Light’ moves throughout its 53 minutes. One track they’re getting you head-nodding to a confession of sin, the next they’re plugging your feet into the mains in celebration of salvation. ‘Light’ moves around the floor with all the freedom that lies at the heart of the gospel.

The album was executively produced by brothers Jorge and Obi Mhondera (WhistleJacket) and Lindz West, who teamed up with a variety of different production teams, and fused them with LZ7″s authentic writing skills for an electric combination. Fierce Distribution! is just as excited about the next few steps for LZ7 as the band are. Keep your eyes open to see what happens next.

The album is available now at www.messagetrading.co.uk

After scoring a position at number 26 in last Sunday’s official UK charts, LZ7 returned to a Bolton high school, continuing their year-round work among the young people of Greater Manchester.

We took a video crew to the school to catch the schools week on film. You can see the highlights for yourself here:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf4b3LQWG_k[/youtube]

LZ7 fulfil dozens of schools weeks like this each year, demonstrating the band’s commitment to helping young people make good choices for their lives and hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Read a testimony from a previous schools week here.

It’s not too late to get hold of the This Little Light track. Download it now.

We’re all thrilled that the LZ7 single debuted at number 26 in this weeks single charts. Now let’s see what God will do with this fantastic ‘lamp on a stand’.

Thanks to all our supporters for getting behind the song. Today LZ7 are back in school doing a full schools week in a school in Bolton, please pray that many young people would respond to the gospel this week.

Please also pray that radio and music TV stations get behind the track and hundreds of thousands of young people find out about Jesus because of the single.

We obviously want to keep this in the charts so if have not bought your copy of This Little Light it’s not too late Click here

There are 3 versions of the track that all count towards the chart and if you buy all 3 versions it counts 3 times. Each version costs just 79p. Here are the links to buy now on iTunes:

LZ7 – This Little Light:
1. Radio Edit
2. Starz Angels Remix
3. AATW – Kenny Hayes Remix

The single has been promoted by the band during a special eight-date schools tour and special appearances in churches during September. A live launch event gig at the Manchester Apollo on Saturday 25.

Click here to access a special media hub with the full video and details of how you can get involved with promoting the single.

WATCH THE VIDEO