At this time of year many of our young people are still wondering what to do when their school or college courses come to an end. Those that haven’t got university places lined up are considering jobs, years-out or further training. Among these there will be many gifted and talented young people who have a heart for evangelism.

In our experience, many are just looking for that gentle nudge or word of encouragement to go on and develop their gift.

This year, Genetik is being refreshed and updated to meet the needs of a whole new generation of youth evangelists.

From September, we’ll be running two courses. Both are fully accredited, giving graduates a qualification they can take with them to any job in the youth work sector or degree-level study in youth work.

Genetik 10 lasts a full year and places students right at the heart of Message life. They’ll live with Eden families, getting involved in everything we do. Mornings are spent in classroom learning; afternoons are about practical training in creative arts (dancing, DJ-ing, rapping etc) or urban ministry.

Genetik Elements is a part-time course spread over an academic year, allowing young people already working with churches to get a valuable youth work qualification. For one full day a month, students join with Genetik 10 trainees to study, supplemented by assessed placements provided in association with you.

Over the last ten years, our teams have trained over 150 young evangelists, most of whom are now working on the cutting edge of youth work here in Manchester and around the UK – seeing many come to know Christ and added to the Kingdom. Let’s work together to grow that number over the next 12 months.

Details and application forms can be found here.

* Worried about the cost? Money is not an issue. We’d much rather train the best than miss them because they can’t afford it. We have a bursary fund in place which can help cover course fees.

* But please hurry! Time is short. Because we need to line up tutors and accommodation in time for early September, we need to know numbers as soon as possible.

If you can think of anyone who might be perfect for Genetik this year, please forward them this link (http://www.message.org.uk/genetik) right away, or ask them to contact Mat on 0161 946 2363 or mat.walls@message.org.uk

Since 2001, over 150 students have completed our Genetik course with graduates going on to a wide range of careers in youth work and evangelism.

Now fully accredited, the Genetik course with its two flexible streams is the best foundation for any young person looking to be equipped as an evangelist or youth worker.

Here’s what some of our past students have to say about the Genetik course (or watch them on our Youtube Channel).

‘The structure was perfect for me. Bible teaching in the morning, dance training in the afternoon, plus lots of opportunity for youth work – going into schools and youth groups.’ – Pippa

‘Amazing teaching, hands-on experience sharing God’s love. The course definitely changed my life.’ – Mike

‘It really impacted my life in a major way. It challenged a lot of my thinking. It took my life, stirred it up and pushed me out.’- Ryan (now in Twelve24)

‘To have so many people from so many different walks of life really helped me. Some of them are now my closest friends. Get involved!’ – Zoe

‘I was a brand new Christian when I did the Genetik Course. I had lots of faith but not much knowledge. Genetik sorted that out.’ – Rob (now in LZ7)

‘God challenged me in amazing ways. I’ve had the change to use my creativity and seen how God can use me to speak through it.’ – Vicky

‘It empowered me to teach people about Jesus and built my gift.’ – Lindsay

‘The best tutors in the country – people like LZ7, Blush, Band With No name – taught me how to do what I do now. It completely transformed my life.’ – Josh (now in Twelve24)

Read a recent part-time student’s view of Genetik.

Why Genetik? Let our graduates explain.

Can you recommend anyone for our Genetik courses?

Both streams respond to the increasing desire among youth workers for professional accreditation and proposed legislation requiring all youth workers to have a qualification. They are accredited to VRQ Level 3, giving graduates potential access to university degree courses in youth work.

Genetik 10, our new flagship year-out training course, lasts a full academic year (ten months). The course puts students right at the heart of Message life – living with families connected to the ministry or in Eden homes across Manchester. Daily training and placements with Message teams will equip young people to share the gospel relevantly and live evangelistically.

Two tracks will hone students’ gifting as performers or urban evangelists: Urban Ministry students will learn from intensive placements with Eden teams across the city. Creative Ministry students will get expert tuition to nurture their skill as dancers, rappers, DJs, musicians and vocalists.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Genetik Elements is designed to give existing youth workers fast-track access to official accreditation. Students attend ten monthly training days and are assessed in observed placements.

‘Since we began training young evangelists ten years ago, the world has changed,’ comments course leader Mat Walls. ‘More churches are offering their own “year-out” schemes. That’s why we’re giving the option for a flexible way to get the best of The Message’s experience in a monthly one-day format.’

Places are now available on both courses and potential students are encouraged to submit applications immediately for this September’s intake.

More details and links to application forms can be found here

Read a recent part-time student’s view of Genetik

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What makes our schools bands different from ‘regular’ bands? We look back at the history and impact of our schools work, from The World Wide Message Tribe to Twelve24.

Back in 1988, Andy Hawthorne and his brother Simon ran a week-long youth mission at the Manchester Apollo. Thousands of young people turned up and hundreds responded – clearly God was at work.

Soon after, Mark Pennells approached Andy and Simon and started to work with them full-time in schools, singing and taking lessons, whilst music producer Zarc Porter honed his skills by working with Manchester’s popular rave bands in his home-built studio. What followed was ‘The Message to Schools’, a team dedicated to taking the gospel into Manchester’s schools, and a fore-runner of today’s Message Trust.

In 1992 Andy joined Mark as a rapper and communicator and Zarc as a producer and formed The World Wide Message Tribe (WWMT).

Andy explained their vision in an interview with Cross Rhythms in 1993, ‘God has called us to work in Manchester’s schools. There are so many kids here for us to reach with the gospel. Our long term aim is to have more than one team working in the area. We want our music to be as good as possible, but everything is a servant to evangelism.’

Over the next twelve years, the WWMT (just ‘The Tribe’ by 2001) performed in hundreds of schools weeks, concerts and festivals, released ten albums and led thousands to Jesus. The line-up changed over the years, as did their sound (and their outfits), but their vision remained the same: to share the good news in a relevant, meaningful way, to as many young people as possible.

In another interview in 1997, Andy Hawthorne commented, ‘All this stuff can easily become religion: trying to be funky, getting new haircuts and clothes, pushing the boundaries…it becomes the focus. If that’s an end in itself, it’s rubbish…it’s whether Jesus is at the centre of it. That’s what really matters.’

As the ministry developed, the band become overwhelmed by the number of requests to go into schools. In 2001, a second band, Blush, was formed to help cope with demand. The band is made up of young women who have a heart for teenage girls and takes lessons on issues such as self-esteem and ‘real beauty’.

In 2004, The Tribe took their final bow, but their influence didn’t stop there. Ex-band member Tim Owen took on the dream of forming a training centre (called ‘Genetik: The Tribe Academy) for potential new youth workers, musicians, and communicators. Tim and fellow ex-band members Lindz West and Andy Hawthorne regularly teach at the centre, which has seen two new bands form: LZ7 (fronted by Lindz) and Twelve24.

LZ7, formed in 2005, use a fusion of hip-hop, rock, free running and DJing in their shows. Two albums in, the band are planning an assault on the pop charts later this year: ‘This Little Light’, a song from their latest album ‘Gasoline’, has already received well over a hundred thousand views on YouTube and was used in a government-backed youth initiative, Shine.

Front man Lindz West comments, ‘When we’re in schools or at gigs, we want to be the best rappers, singers, drummers or DJs we can be, so that more people will get the opportunity to hear about our awesome God. We want young people to see, from our shows, that it is possible to live your dream and use the skills God’s given you in a positive way.’

Our newest band, Twelve24, are picking up the trail blazed by The Tribe, Blush and LZ7. They are named after John 12:24, where it says, ‘unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.’ The band is made up of three 20-somethings fresh out of the Genetik training programme.

Band mentor Tim Owen comments, ‘They’re taking the big issue facing young people today and hitting them head-on…they’re not watering down the gospel. They are committed to the young people of Manchester…their passion is growing by the day.’

In a culture where success is determined by how much money you earn, and how popular you are, The Tribe, LZ7, Blush and Twelve24 come as a shining light in the darkness. With a heart for showing young people that they are loved, and with Jesus at their centre, these bands show that they care more about the young people of Manchester than about selling records or rising to fame.

*Get The Message in your school*

You’re just one call away from having one of our bands or theatre company coming to your local high school. If you’re a church, please ask email Alan Saunders. For schools, please email Nathan Milnes. Our contact number is 0161 946 2300.

‘I love working with the young people in my church, and I wanted to learn how to help them. A while ago, I did a 5-month training course at Genetik, where I learnt about working with young people in different settings, and planned lessons to use in a school. Once I’d finished, I moved back home and carried on working with my church youth group.

‘Although I’d completed the course, I felt that I wanted to get some further training. By this time, I was working at The Message as an intern, where I heard about the Youth Work course.’

The course in Youth Work, which has been accredited by the National Open College Network, is a VRQ (Vocationally Recognised Qualification) Level 3 and provides a valuable foundation to a Youth Work degree.

‘You only need to come in for one day a month (or two evenings a month), but you have to do assignments, and write down how many hours you work with young people. It’s quite hard work when you have got a full-time job and are doing youth work, to have a life and do the assignments on top of it all, but I love it. It’s amazing! You need to be good at time management, which is not one of my greatest skills, but you get better at it as you go.

‘One of the things I like about the course is that Jon, one of the course leaders, is really helpful. He’s happy to help you with your work and chat to you if you’re finding something difficult. The course is so accessible to everyone, for whatever kind of youth work you’re doing. We’re all from different walks of life: there’s an 18 year-old and a 60 year-old in the same class!’

The course leaders use a combination of taught sessions, group work, discussions, assignments, observations and a ‘Learning Log’.

‘We do group work and encourage each other, which is great because if you’ve got a difficult situation in your youth group and you don’t know how to resolve it, there is generally someone else who has more experience, so they can help you with it.

‘We look at six different areas, including the core values of youth work, facilitating learning and development, and building and sustaining relationships.’

‘The assignments focus a lot on personal reflection and making sure you’re not putting your values on other people, but empowering them to develop their own.

‘I’m really enjoying doing the Learning Logs. Basically, you’ll have a youth session or a situation where you’re working with young people, and then you write up what happened, what you learned and anything you may have struggled with. Sometimes, if things go wrong in my youth group, I’m like ‘Ok, I’ve got a Learning Log here!’ It’s an opportunity to look at what you’re doing, and seeing what you can do better.’

Everyone on the course is supported by a mentor and line manager, who is based in your placement setting.

‘Everyone on the course is already working with young people somewhere. The purpose of the course is to train and equip you to meet the needs of those young people, and to give you support as you do it. There may be a new law coming in that means everyone who works with young people needs to be qualified. You can’t really do the course unless you’ve got a placement, but I’m sure The Message would help people find one if they needed help.’

More about Genetik.

All UK youth workers may soon need to be officially qualified to work with young people under proposed new government legislation.

It is expected that the new laws, which will apply to both paid and voluntary youth workers, will be introduced in 2010.

The Message’s new 5-month Genetik evening course will fully meet the requirements when or if they do come into force. Equivalent to an VRQ Level 3, the course gives valuable foundations and a gateway to a degree-level qualification in youth work.

Run over two evenings per month between January and June, the course covers six key areas including core values, learning and development and safety and welfare.

The next course begins on January 19 and is recruiting now. More details are available here.

The new course will be aimed at 18-25 year olds looking for world-class training in urban and creative youth ministry.

The new Creative Ministry track will be suitable for drummers, DJ’s, rappers, breakers, singers and dancers who want to develop their skills as well as growing in faith and character.

The accreditation is NVQ Level 3 (equivalent to an A level) in Youth Work. This will allow you access to any University degree course in Youth Work.

Students will be based in Manchester, possibly living on our of our award-winning Eden projects.

To register your interest, contact genetik@message.org.uk.

Youth work changes all the time and Genetik has changed over the years to meet the needs of each successive generation. Since 2001, over 150 students have completed the course with graduates going on to a wide range of careers in youth work and evangelism.

From September 09, Genetik becomes an accredited part-time Youth Ministry Training Course lasting for the whole academic year.

The new course is mainly aimed at those currently in youth leadership either as volunteers or paid, and covers a wide range of youth ministry training modules.

Attendance is either two evenings or two half day slots per month with assessments relating to placement activities and assignments. The accreditation is NVQ Level 3 (equivalent to an A level) in Youth Work.

Students need to be able to get to Message HQ in Manchester but their placements can be their home church or a project local to them). The cost will be in the region of £500 for the year (exact cost to be confirmed).

A few places are still available on this year’s course. To request a pack, email the Genetik team.

The sessions take place on six dates during August. All sessions are taught by top professionals with industry experience and take place at The Message’s state-of-the-art facility in South Manchester.

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Past participants on the Summer School have gone on to become full-time students on the Genetik course.

‘This is a fantastic opportunity for young people to develop new skills in their chosen area and also builds up teamwork, personal confidence and self esteem,’ comments Tim Owen, Head of Creative Development and one of the course tutors.

Sessions take place on August 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21 from 11am to 1pm.

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The cost is £10 per session. All 6 sessions can be booked together for £50.

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Young people can choose from the following sessions:

• DJ-ing
• Streetdance
• Rap/MC
• Pop Vocals
• Breakdance

All of the above can also be offered all year round in a 6-8 week workshop format for schools or youth groups or as special one-off workshops arranged with a group organiser.

For all bookings please call 0161 946 2300 or email info@message.org.uk.