Book A Speaker
Inspire and challenge your church, event or festival with powerful stories of how God is moving in schools, prisons and some of our nation’s toughest communities, as well as with powerful truth from the Bible by booking one of The Message’s speakers.
Our team of speakers are located across the UK and would love to share more with you and your church about our work and how God is transforming lives.
You can find out more and book a speaker by filling in our online form below. And meet our speakers here.
Book a Speaker
FAQs
How do I book a speaker?
In the first instance, please complete the form below with as many details as you can provide. We will get back in touch with you as soon as we can.
Can I choose which speaker we have?
We will do our best to accommodate your specific request. Some of our speakers (especially Andy Hawthorne and Sam Ward) are booked for Sundays up to a year in advance, so we may suggest a great alternative.
How much does it cost?
We would normally expect you to cover travel expenses and other costs incurred. Any additional gift to The Message is entirely at your discretion.
Meet Our Speakers
Andy Hawthorne, Founder and Global CEO
Founder and Global CEO of The Message Trust, Andy Hawthorne OBE is a world-renowned speaker, evangelist and author who has a wealth of learning from the last 30 years of mission, going into deprived communities, prisons, schools and across the global. Andy’s passion, experience and life-long walk with Jesus, will inspire, equip and empower you to take up the call of reaching the hardest to reach people for Jesus.
Sam Ward, UK CEO
Sam Ward is the UK CEO at The Message Trust. He has a particular passion for urban mission, being actively involved in the Eden Network for over 23 years and now rolling out an exciting new project ‘Proximity’ whose vision is to resource and support urban missionaries around the UK and beyond. Sam continues to live in the deprived neighbourhood of Openshaw with his family, where his days as Eden Team Leader started.
Gary Smith, European Hubs Director
Gary Smith is the European Hubs Director for the Message Trust and is responsible for overseeing the work in London, the Midlands, Yorkshire, North East, Scotland, Wales, Germany and the Netherlands. Gary has been in ministry for over 30 years, the majority of this time in his beloved Wales. Married to Lesley, he is an ordained Elim minister. Gary has two adult children Beci and Ben and two grandchildren.
Ben Jack, Global Head of Advance
Ben Jack is the global head of Advance which seeks to equip, encourage, and empower the church for evangelism through small group mentoring in over one hundred nations across the globe. An evangelist with over two decades experience preaching and teaching the gospel, Ben and his family live in Manchester where he helps lead Message Community Church. Ben is also known as evangelistic DJ Galactus Jack.
Aaron Routledge, London Hub Leader
Aaron leads the work of The Message Trust in London and is also Head of Advance Youth, a ministry that he pioneered in London which is being rolled out across the movement. He loves London and longs to see a move of God across the city through the proclamation of the Gospel to the least, last and the lost. Aaron is passionate about raising up a generation of young people who see mission at the heart of their discipleship.
Emma Owen, Head of Youth Engagement
Emma is a passionate evangelist who seeks to give repeated opportunities to young people across the UK to accept Jesus and be connected to a bible believing, faith filled church. As head of Youth Engagement at The Message Trust she’s responsible for creating and rolling out high school products across the UK, including the Respect ME PSHE programme, using our bands for creative mission with No More Knives and County Lines tours amongst others.
Joseph Barrett, Message School of Evangelism
Joe leads The Message School of Evangelism, a 10-month training program for those who want to grow their heart for the lost and develop their ability to reveal the Gospel by word and action. He’s passionate about equipping people to be effective in sharing the good news of Jesus, drawing from his years of experience as an evangelist to young people in schools.
Mat Walls, Message Wales Leader
Mat leads the work of The Message in Wales. He’s a gifted communicator, preacher and evangelist. Mat is based in Cardiff, but has a heart to see all of Wales reached with the gospel. With over 20 years’ experience in ministry, leading various projects and seeing hundreds trained in youth work and evangelism, Mat brings a passion & energy that will inspire.
Sarah Small, Head of Eden Network
Sarah Small co-leads the Eden Network alongside her husband Steve. Eden is a movement of urban missionaries who live in some of the UK’s most deprived communities. She and Steve live with their three boys on an estate in South Manchester which has been home for over 12 years. She’s a passionate speaker and activist – hoping to see the church at the heart of transformation in communities that have long been forgotten.
Steve Small, Head of Eden Network
Steve co-leads the Eden Network alongside his wife Sarah. Eden is a movement of urban missionaries who live in some of the UK’s toughest communities. He and Sarah live with their three boys on an estate in South Manchester which has been home for over 12 years. Steve is passionate about mission and Jesus – longing to see those at the edges of society making disciples who transform their communities and awaken the church.
Matt Conibere, East Midlands Hub Leader
Matt is a Message Hub leader covering the East Midlands. He has a real passion for people, and has worked for 25 years in many different youth and community settings, including Health, Pupil Referral Units, and Outreach in both the UK and abroad. Matt’s heart is to see young people and communities transformed by knowing Jesus and supporting the next generation in their pursuit of Him.
Greg Cooper, West Midlands Hub Leader
Greg is the Message Hub Leader covering the West Midlands. He is passionate about youth and young adults, having led Salt and Light’s National Youth Ministry from 2015 – 2020. Greg attends Walsall Community Church with his wife and two children, and serves on the prophetic team for the Synergy network of churches.
Terry Young, North East Hub Leader
Terry leads the work of The Message in Northeast. He is married to Anne, and they have seven children and four grandchildren. Terry has 35 years of church leadership experience alongside working in the chemical industry for 30 years. All this life experience makes him well positioned to encourage and inspire churches. He is based on Teesside with a heart to see all the North East reached with the gospel.
John Lawson, Yorkshire & Humberside Hub Leader
John is The Message Hub Leader for Yorkshire & Humberside and has a huge heart for Urban Mission.
After leading an Eden Team in Lincoln for almost four years, John felt called to move to Sheffield to oversee the work of the Message regionally, whilst still living with his family and serving incarnationally within a deprived estate.