(This article is taken from the Spring 2010 issue of flow Magazine)

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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.

Tags: Bands, Blush, flow, Genetik, LZ7, Manchester, schools, students, training, Twelve24, young people, youth ministry