Flow Magazine – Issue 17

Also In this Issue TEACHING FROM JOHN KIRKBY AMAZING, INSPIRING TESTIMONIES GET READY FOR PROXIMITY 2015

Editor: Alistair Metcalfe Associate Editor: Ian Rowbottom Senior Art Director & Graphic Design: Dan Hasler – Message:Creative PICTURE EDITOR: Hannah Beatrice Prittie Graphic Design: Hannah Beatrice Prittie Matt Varah Wilson Bethan Wilson Contributors: Andy Hawthorne John Kirkby Subscription & Supporter Enquiries: E: info@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300 Giving: E: giving@message.org.uk T: Timothy Emerton 0161 946 2328 Photographer Hannah Beatrice Prittie CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS INTERNALS: P2 & 9 – Dan Hasler P4,5 & 16 – Howard Barlow ILLUSTRATIONS: P11 – Matt Varah Wilson P26 – Bethan Wilson P28 – Bethan Wilson Contact: E: flow@message.org.uk T: 0161 946 2300 flow – The Message Magazine Lancaster House Lancaster Campus Harper Road Sharston Manchester M22 4RG www.message.org.uk/flow

About the Cover Andy looks down on the stage of the O2 Manchester Apollo – the place where it all began, back in 1988. Turn to p4-5 for a nostalgic trip through the years and then to p14 to read about our most ambitious mission adventure to date: The Higher Tour.

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NEWS: Including Proximity 2015, In Yer Face's new show and more

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REAL RESTORATION: Apprentice Brian Curtis shares his story

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LEAD FEATURE: Introducing the Higher Tour

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JAKE'S STORY: What happened when Eden came to Netherton

TESTIMONY rom the age of 11, I was hanging around with the wrong people - burgling houses and generally causing trouble. Eventually, my mum couldn’t handle me and she put me into care. I understand why she did it. I only had myself to blame...

Drugs became a part of my life pretty quickly, starting with cannabis, then acid, then ecstasy.

By the time I was 17, I was doing heroin and cocaine. The only

myself. It got more and more serious and soon I was knocking about with the biggest gangsters

PROVOCATIVE, PROPHETIC

in Newcastle, doing hundreds of pounds of drugs a day.

PROXIMITY

By this time, I had a lot of money in the bank, was staying in hotels with women, walking around wearing expensive suits,

Three of the most provocative and prophetic voices to the worldwide church will be joining us at our Proximity urban mission conference, this May 15-16 in Manchester.

Ash and Anji Barker (middle and bottom box) are the founders of Urban Neighbours of Hope, and lived for

Danielle Strickland (top box) is a Captain in the Salvation Army and serves as the Social Justice Director for the Australian Southern Territory. Her years living in

‘Hope can rise from within the world’s burgeoning urban slums if the Christian world takes slums seriously and seek to follow, join and participate with the incarnating

the toughest neighbourhoods in Canada and Australia, church planting and running social action initiatives, give her the right to speak truth to the church on issues of the poor and social justice.

God there,’ said Ash in a past issue of FLOW. ‘The only question in my mind is whether God’s people can overcome fear to step out in faith to invest their lives in such a pursuit.’

12 years in the Bangkok slum of Klong Toey, seeking to bring the transformation of the gospel.

Registered Office: Lancaster House, Lancaster Campus, Harper Road, Sharston, Manchester, M22 4RG

AN IMPOSSIBLE VISION: New teaching from Andy Hawthorne

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OUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT

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gambling in casinos. Obviously I got caught and I did a lot of jail time – lots of short sentences in a lot of different prisons.

Coming out, I had nowhere to go so I ended up spending over two years sleeping rough.

I also overdosed a lot. The last time I OD-ed I was taken to hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. I was technically dead for

‘I think we’ve been in love with comfort, so the church has vacated the neighbourhoods where it’s needed most,’

With these and many other outstanding contributors to the programme, Proximity is by far the most exciting

three minutes until adrenaline was injected in my heart. It was while I was recovering from

she said in an interview with Christianity magazine recently. ‘It’s a lot easier to preach a spirituality message than a social reform one if you’re not living differently, but we can’t properly live out the gospel without it being uncomfortable.’

conference on urban mission in the UK. The weekend is hosted by Eden National Director Sam Ward with worship led by Jamie Hill and band.

this that my mum gave me a leaflet for a rehab centre called Betel. She didn’t know that I’d

6

Don’t miss out on your chance to be part of it. A two-day ticket is only £25 and one-day tickets cost £15.

Find out more and book your places at www.eden-network.org

0 6 flow17APR-JUL 2015

E MISSIOducInG THE la IT'S TIMGO In a GEOnnETORayOTIOnunG pERGOpESlET TO

LEAD FEATURE

InTR

HIGHER

actually already tried their rehab programme before and I was sure it wouldn’t work. But she was crying, trying to get me to go, so in the end I agreed and went.

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12

TESTIMONY

'It was all over for me. Then Eden moved in' Raised on the estate, now committed to serving it – Eden Netherton intern Jake Mattocks shows how Eden is making a real difference in some of the UK’s toughest communities.

SHAKE IT OFF! A powerful word from CAP's John Kirkby The Message Trust is a registered data user and only uses personal data in connection with its charitable purposes.

bespoke Apprentice Brian Curtis shAres his story

way to sustain that lifestyle is crime so I started selling drugs

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1 6 flow16DEC 2014-MAR 2015

TEACHING

S IT bEEnIS nEvER Ha JESuS nEwS Of 2 4 flow17APR-JUL 2015

24

TEACHING

Shake off the dust

If you’re going to do great things for God, you need to dust yourself down, writes John Kirkby

www.message.org.uk /themessagetrust @MessageTrust

often say that it took me 19 years to be an overnight success. God has done some amazing things through Christians Against Poverty (CAP) from our earliest days in a bedroom to where we are today – and it’s all to Jesus’ glory. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing for me. A short article is not the place to go into all the personal difficulties that have been part of my life, but suffice to say I came into this ministry carrying some ‘stuff’. And in 19 years of doing this ministry, I’ve collected more of it. Despite walking with the Lord for over 20 years, I never really knew what to do with it.

My breakthrough came one day as I was reading Matthew 10:14 in the Amplified Version: ‘And whoever will not receive and accept and welcome you nor listen to your message, as you

By Andy Hawthorne

leave that house or town, shake the dust [of it] from your feet.’

I realised that as we go through life, we pick up ‘dust’. And it’s all from people – 80-90% of dust is dead skin! It takes the form of words that people say like ’You failed!’ or ’You're a disaster!’ but also in disappointment and regret about things that happened or didn’t happen.

26

As I started to meditate

on dust, I came up with some insights that really helped me. For anyone who’s serious about doing something worthwhile for Jesus, I can assure you – you’ve got some dust on its way. But you can dust yourself off.

John Kirkby is the Founder and International Director of Christians Against Poverty, speaking and working across the world to challenge people to reach out to the poor and needy. Find

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out more about CAP at www.capuk.org

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ANDY'S RANT

Hand in hand Dear friend, I’m excited that this issue of Flow is coinciding with the launch of what I believe could be our most fruitful mission adventure to date – the Higher Tour.

When we wrote to every church in the city to explain the Message ’88 youth mission, it was a massive leap of faith – but it paid off. Because of it, many hundreds of young people gave their lives to Jesus. One was Gail Ballance who was invited along by a friend…

‘I am so grateful to have heard about Jesus in an atmosphere that was real and relevant back then.

The presentation of the gospel was exciting and tangible but most of all, made sense. On the last night of the Message I gave my life to Jesus and became a Christian. Looking back, what an amazing adventure I’ve had! My life has been enriched having made that crucial decision all those years ago.’

That’s the heart and soul of the Higher Tour.

– our most ambitious mission adventure to date.

Through intensive schools missions followed by arena-sized gigs, in partnership with churches and other youth agencies, we’re believing for a harvest of 200,000 disciples in seven cities over five years.

That’s the kind of number that shifts culture.

It’s an audacious goal, but we honestly believe it’s worth going for with everything we have.

Of course, we can only do it hand in hand with people like you who will commit to faithfully giving and praying like never before. I do so hope that as you read about our exciting plans, you’ll stand with us in the biggest youth mission for a generation.

God bless you,

Gail’s decision that night was the start of a lifelong journey of discipleship. Her world changed because she heard the gospel and understood what it meant for her life.

www.message.org.uk/flow

03

NEWS

g a st

0 4 flow17APR-JUL 2015

l f i f o e s ge 5: –201 1988 ys to a nd he as, fu aren eached t o t s r e p m 'v o e e o v lassr eams ha erever w he c m h Fro our t r and w 16, T e t n 20 vals, festi l whenev tarting i e bigges e .S th gosp e chance l give us r history. h u il had t r Tour w ews in o e n h d g i o H e go for th orm f t a l p

www.message.org.uk/flow

05

PROVOCATIVE, PROPHETIC,

PROXIMITY

Three of the most provocative and prophetic voices to the worldwide church will be joining us at our Proximity urban mission conference, this May 15-16 in Manchester.

Ash and Anji Barker (middle and bottom boxes) are the founders of Urban Neighbours of Hope, and lived for 12 years in the Bangkok slum of Klong Toey, seeking to bring the transformation of the gospel.

Danielle Strickland (top box) is a Captain in the Salvation Army and serves as the Social Justice Director for the Australian Southern Territory. Her years living in the toughest neighbourhoods in Canada and Australia, church planting and running social action initiatives, give her the right to speak truth to the church on issues of the poor and social justice.

‘Hope can rise from within the world’s burgeoning urban slums if the Christian world takes slums seriously and seek to follow, join and participate with the incarnating God there,’ said Ash in a past issue of FLOW. ‘The only question in my mind is whether God’s people can overcome fear to step out in faith to invest their lives in such a pursuit.’

‘I think we’ve been in love with comfort, so the church has vacated the neighbourhoods where it’s needed most,’ she said in an interview with Christianity magazine recently. ‘It’s a lot easier to preach a spirituality message than a social reform one if you’re not living differently, but we can’t properly live out the gospel without it being uncomfortable.’

With these and many other outstanding contributors to the programme, Proximity is by far the most exciting conference on urban mission in the UK. The weekend is hosted by Eden National Director Sam Ward with worship led by Jamie Hill and band.

Don’t miss out on your chance to be part of it. A two-day ticket is only £25 and one-day tickets cost £15.

Find out more and book your places at www.eden-network.org

0 6 flow17APR-JUL 2015

NEWS

COULD YOU BE MAKING THE BAND IN THE MIDLANDs? Here’s an exciting opportunity for young creative evangelists to be part of a brand new, cutting edge missions team. We’re putting together a new Message band to work in schools, tough communities and prisons in the Midlands.

'If you’re a singer, a rapper, dancer or a b-boy and you want to be trained by some of the best in the business like Jahaziel, Sammy G and Twelve24 to reach young people with the good news of Jesus, we want to hear from you,’ says Tony Morrison, aka Jamo, who is heading up the new crew.

Applicants will need to be 18-24 and based in Birmingham or willing to relocate. No previous experience is necessary. To apply, simply upload an audition of you doing your thing and let us know by email to midlands@message.org.uk.

BRIGHTLINE DEBUT EP BrightLine’s first EP, Above the Noise, was released this spring, bringing this exciting missions team to a wider audience for the first time.

Tracks Footprints, I Saw You and Turn Your Voice Up all showcase the insightful lyrics and fresh pop sound which is connecting so powerfully with young people in schools and at their shows.

The band were also invited to play a ‘live lounge’ set on UCB’s Undiscovered which you can check out at www.ucb.co.uk/ undiscovered (Feb 9).

www.message.org.uk/flow

07

NEWS

new SESSIons Eden Partington got creative this spring with the launch of their own Genetik Sessions site. Based at The Fuse, ROC's new home on the edge of the estate, the team are offering sessions in singing, street dance, rapping and percussion at reduced rates thanks to grant funding.

Members of our mission teams and Academy students have been tutoring the courses which give opportunities to share their faith in natural ways.

‘It fits really well in the range of stuff we’re doing,’ says Eden Partington leader Joe Smith. ‘It’s a great way to develop the relationships that we’re starting in schools or in our Friday night ROC Café and we find that kids open up more while they’re doing something they love.'

LIVES CHANGED BY JESUS FILL THE 'STORYBOX' We’ve introduced a new way to share short, punchy stories about how God is changing lives through The Message – StoryBox. Each short clip tells a story of one or more young people who have met Jesus through our work in school, local community or prison.

Be inspired and encouraged about how your support is making a difference, then share with your friends and family through Twitter and Facebook. To look inside the StoryBox, visit message.org.uk/storybox.

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Four talented young South Africans have been joining with our Message Academy this year, preparing to become Message South Africa’s first full-time mission team.

The four-piece consists of singer Meryl, rapper Justin and dancer Gilead, all from Cape Town, and spoken word artist Jabulani from Johannesburg. Ranging in age from 19 to 23, the band were recruited

WE NEED

YOU!

via radio and word of mouth and a rigorous audition process.

Alongside their intensive training on Academy the band have been working on their first batch of material in the studio alongside established Message band Twelve24.

‘It has been kind of overwhelming,’ says Meryl. ‘Most of us haven’t been abroad before so it’s a culture change and we had to adjust very quickly! But

Volunteers are a priceless resource to any ministry, including ours.

They generously donate their time and skills to help us because they love what we do – sharing Jesus with young people in schools, communities and prisons.

As a growing organisation, our need for volunteers has increased and we currently have volunteer opportunities in the following areas:

Volunteer with The Message and help to change young people’s lives

The Mess Café are looking for people to help serve customers, clear tables and basic kitchen work.

No experience is necessary and all training is provided.

Fundraising need someone with great writing skills and an eye for

it’s such a blessing to be here. We’ve all learned so much and changed so much in a very short period of time.’

After graduating from Academy, the band will start working as a team in schools, communities and prisons around Cape Town.

‘We’ve all got a big heart for young people and we want to see transformation. Wherever we can find a gap to speak into their lives about Jesus, we will,’ adds Meryl.

detail who can help to formulate grant applications for funding.

Central Support are always grateful for people with excellent telephone manners who can provide a friendly, welcoming and efficient ‘first contact’ service to visitors on reception.

And our Events teams are always grateful for extra pairs of hands to help with stewarding events like Eden Proximity or donate their skills to help us run Message Open Day. If you feel you can offer any of the above skills and would like to join our current team of amazing volunteers, please contact Gail Adeniyi by emailing your details to recruitment@message.org.uk. www.message.org.uk/flow

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REDUCED COURSE FEES FOR 2015 NOW ONLY £1995

APPLICATIONS

NOW OPEN FOR SEPT ‘15

Inc ACCOMMODATION

sent to The

STAGE? sent to The streets?

Spend a year with us and you'll be trained and released to be all God's made you to be Wherever he sends you

www.message.org.uk/academy

NEWS

In Yer Face gets ‘Binge Thinking’ this Summer It’s been seven years since In Yer Face last produced a sketch show – the success of recent longer narrative-driven plays such as All is Calm and A Town Called Malice have meant a change of direction from the short, sharp, evocative pieces the theatre company was founded on. But something is stirring this summer in high schools, prisons and festivals: cue images of wild wig-wearing, plastic-spectacled, flouncydressed actors up and in your face. The sketch show isn’t over, it’s just waking up!

‘There’s something perfect about the rhythm of sketch comedy for audiences with shorter spans of attention,’ says In Yer Face writer and director Matt Britton. ‘You’re pressing the reset button with rapid pace on different characters and themes, which means if the audience doesn’t like one sketch, no fear, because there’ll be a new one along in just three minutes.’

New show Binge Thinking is not only distinguished by being funny, but by its ‘anything

goes’ invention. Dealing with some complex ideas, the aim of the rapid-fire production is to present some basic apologetics for the Christian faith.

‘It’s called Binge Thinking because we wanted to create the feel of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of thoughts and ideas over a short period of time,’ says Matt. ‘We’re taking 1 Peter 3:15 (‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…’) as our starting point, and presenting lots of reasons for our faith. We don’t shirk the difficult questions and we’re inviting discussion and argument – but in the overall spirit of wig-wearing knockabout fun. You could call it apologetics in drag!’

With a knack for killer punchlines and a serious amount of silliness, Binge Thinking will bring to life RE learning in schools or Alpha-style courses in churches and prisons. To book the team for your event this summer, call Georgia on 0161 946 2317.

DIAMOND GEEZERS book now: 18|4|2015

We’re partnering with Ivy Manchester again this year to put on a men’s day with a difference. Diamond Geezers takes place on Saturday 18 April 2015 and will feature Andy Hawthorne, Anthony Delaney and special guests including Carl Beech.

Book your tickets now: www.message.org.uk Tickets cost £15 www.message.org.uk/flow

1 1

TESTIMONY rom the age of 11, I was hanging around with the wrong people – burgling houses and generally causing trouble. Eventually, my mum couldn’t handle me and she put me into care. I understand why she did it. I only had myself to blame...

Drugs became a part of my life pretty quickly, starting with cannabis, then acid, then ecstasy.

By the time I was 17, I was doing heroin and cocaine. The only way to sustain that lifestyle is crime so I started selling drugs myself. It got more and more serious and soon I was knocking about with the biggest gangsters in Newcastle, doing hundreds of pounds of drugs a day.

By this time, I had a lot of money in the bank, was staying in hotels with women, walking around wearing expensive suits, gambling in casinos. Obviously I got caught and I did a lot of jail time – lots of short sentences in a lot of different prisons.

Coming out, I had nowhere to go so I ended up spending over two years sleeping rough.

I also overdosed a lot. The last time I OD-ed I was taken to hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. I was technically dead for three minutes until adrenaline was injected in my heart. It was while I was recovering from this that my mum gave me a leaflet for a rehab centre called Betel. She didn’t know that I’d actually already tried their rehab programme before and I was sure it wouldn’t work. But she was crying, trying to get me to go, so in the end I agreed and went.

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bespoke Apprentice Brian Curtis shares his story

Brian works with Bespoke Cycle Recycling, one of our Message Enterprise Centre businesses designed to create training opportunities and jobs for exoffenders and other young people who need a second chance in life. Bespoke offers a range of new and refurbished cycles, bike parts and accessories in their shop and online. For more, visit www.bespokemanchester.com.

I had no idea that Betel would give me the breakthrough that I needed. I went to their centre in Derby and it was really hard at first. I struggled with the rules, with all the accountability.

And it was the worst thing in my life coming off heroin. I realise now that sticking a needle in my arm was the only thing that gave me peace.

God had to strip me right down in order to build me back up. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done – letting God in, then laying everything at the cross. I heard people talking about Jesus and I would find myself in tears, k n o w i n g that I wanted what they had.

If you know you’ve reached rock bottom, Betel is the best place for you. God is doing miracles in that place.

However, even with the brilliant work of Betel, when it comes time to leave the community it's tough for so many.

and moved into a new house in Wythenshawe with a housemate who also works at the Enterprise Centre. This is first job I’ve had in longer than I can remember.

For me it means steady work, a safe place to live, a mentor and supportive colleagues. Real restoration takes time.

I’m fixing bikes at the moment with Bespoke. I’m not particularly a bike person – but it’s a good challenge to learn new skills. I’m a joiner by training and the Lord has put it on my heart to start to help other lads get training and jobs. So my dream is to one day get my own furniture business up and running.

'God had to strip me right down in order to build me back up'

That's why I'm so glad I joined Bespoke before Christmas

The Message is a blessing and the Enterprise Centre can help anyone who wants to change and take hold of their potential. The lads and girls who come here out of prison – I know what they’re going through.

I’ve been there. I tell them it’s an opportunity they should grab with both hands. www.message.org.uk/flow

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E M TI S ' IT GO TO

LEAD FEATURE

R E H IG H

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Introdu c mission ing the larg in a gen to young peo est ple eration

It’s been well over a decade since the ‘big stage’ evangelism of events like Message 2000 and Festival:Manchester. In that time, so much has changed. We’ve lived through a massive financial crisis which has awoken the church to serving its local community in exciting new ways including food banks, debt relief and job creation.

We’ve seen a technological revolution powered by the internet and mobile devices. Social media has transformed the way we communicate, democratised the creation of music and media, and given the church exciting new tools to share the good news.

But, tragically, we’ve also seen a rapid transformation of youth culture – for the worse. The level of despair and hopelessness, the disturbing increase in depression, self-harm and suicide among the young have all leapt to unprecedented levels.

We’ve seen all these up close in our frontline ministry to schools, tough communities and prisons.

And we are convinced that the church faces a new moment. Never has it been more crucial that good news of Jesus is heard clearly by young people and that they are given opportunities to lay solid spiritual foundations.

So, after months of planning, listening to God and consulting with potential partners, we’re excited to reveal the most ambitious mission project we’ve ever undertaken.

It’s strikingly similar to where we’ve been before – yet strikingly different.

It brings together everything we’ve learned during decades of both ‘lamp on a stand’ proclamation and ‘salt and yeast’ incarnational mission.

It’s a vision that’s bigger, on a scale that is wider, with a goal that is deeper than ever before. We’re calling it Higher.

en more cru e b t i s cial th a s is hea h r e v e r N u d clear at good s e J f o ly by yo news ung peo pl

e www.message.org.uk/flow

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LEAD FEATURE

ulture oughly c h t u o on of y we can see r istians i t a rm if fo 'Trans in our grasp e becoming Chr rch' l h p t is wi young peo n a local chu 200,000ing planted i and be

Making disciples of Christ, not just decisions for Christ A strategic opportunity

‘Over the last 12 months God has spoken to us repeatedly through Isaiah 60, challenging us to embark upon our largest faith adventure to date,’ says Message founder and CEO Andy Hawthorne.

‘We prayerfully believe that the time is now right to launch the largest evangelistic mission that this generation of young people has seen, bringing together Christian ministries and churches across the nation in a coordinated effort to impact a generation.’

The big dream of the Higher Tour is that, in partnership with local churches and other youth agencies, one in ten of the UK high school population become committed Christians over the next five years. We believe this could be a tipping point – potentially changing the culture of a generation.

Recent research suggests that you do not need a majority to believe something in order to change culture, you only need a committed minority.

Scientists at the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute discovered that if 10% of a population holds an unshakeable belief, this always results in their belief being adopted by the majority.

‘Transformation of youth culture is within our grasp if we can see roughly 200,000 young people becoming Christians and being planted in a local church,’ says Andy. ‘And just imagine the impact on the rest of the nation of so many new, fired-up believers – on politics, on the arts, on every corner of society.’

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‘This is a strategic opportunity for the church in this nation to get in front of a massive number of young people and tell them that there’s a different story for them to live in,’ says Higher Tour coordinator Ben Jack. ‘It’s never been more needed – just look around you and read the tragic stories in the media. I think this is an incredible opportunity to see a shift, the church’s moment to respond.’

Read on to see how the Higher Tour will work, using what we believe is a breakthrough combination of ‘sowing’ mission into schools followed by largescale ‘reaping’ events where the gospel will be proclaimed clearly and follow-up will be carefully coordinated with local church partners.

The format is deliberately designed to address the youth culture we find ourselves in, says Ben: ‘The big problem of living in this post-Christian culture is not that people have no knowledge about the gospel of Jesus, it’s that they have wrong knowledge – and in some ways that’s a harder bridge to build. It’s our job to call out any rivals to Christ – to point out the weaknesses and deficiencies of all lesser gods and show them that Christ stands tall.

In this way, our schools work becomes preevangelistic. It gives us an opportunity to break down some of the barriers young people have to faith so that by the time they step into a concert and they hear a more invitational message, they are ready to respond.

With the church, for the church

‘There’s no way I’d have been so keen to get involved with this, unless from the outset we had a goal to partner with the local church,’ comments Ben. ‘I compare it to the story of Moses – the part of the story which involves Moses telling Pharaoh to let the people go so they can worship him is only about 10% of the Exodus narrative. The rest is time spent in the wilderness, the place of instruction and being formed by God in living a new way.

It’s a privilege to be involved in shaking loose young people from slavery, but the real journey begins afterwards. And only the church is able to do that – walking with individuals, day by day, forming them in Christlikeness.

‘That’s why our focus with Higher is on making disciples of Christ, not just decisions for Christ.’

Over the next 12 months we’ll be engaging more closely than ever with local churches, listening to them, finding out how we can resource and equip them and networking them together for maximum impact. We’ll be investing more time and energy than ever before on training and resourcing youth workers on how to disciple young people effectively.

ctor and Higher

l Dire egiona

Ben

West R h t r o N is

Tour Co

ordina tor

Tell us about yourself!

I’m a Christian communicator, author, DJ – and now also part of the Message team. My passions are effectively engaging this generation of young people with the gospel and discipling them. Before joining The Message I spent the last four years running a ministry called Generation Now which was all about engaging young people in dialogue about faith and life.

What excites you most about the Higher Tour?

Two things. First, the scale and the quality of what we’re going to do. Nothing on this scale has been attempted since the advent of Facebook, YouTube and screen culture in general – this is new ground. And second, the way we will be working with local churches to disciple young people. I’m hugely excited about our commitment to undertake mission of this kind with such a strong emphasis on the legacy, and a real commitment to journey with the church and the young people beyond the Higher events.

I feel so privileged and humbled to be part of Higher and genuinely believe with all my heart that this will be a transformational culture-shifting mission with the local church in the UK. I believe in the power of the gospel and am eager to see what God does through Higher. I have a dream that this mission will be a turning point for our nation...

How can FLOW readers help you?

Mainly, please keep us in prayer. Commit to pray for Higher as it starts here in Manchester and spreads out across the UK. We’re seeking God for the wisdom and discernment we need as well as for all our practical needs to be met. www.message.org.uk/flow

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FIVE: ing Puttn roots… dow Our most important partner in this mission adventure is local churches. We aim to involve 500 individual local churches in every regional mission – the number which helped to make Festival:Manchester a long-lasting success.

Youth leaders from our partner churches will be trained, equipped and resourced prior to the tour through a Youth Leaders Network and we will work tirelessly with them to ensure that every young person who responds is followed-up and given multiple opportunities to join a local Christian youth group.

HOW R E H HIG RK WO WILL

: R FOU nning Begi ourney… the j We are clear that The Higher Tour is about making disciples, not just decisions.

It is absolutely vital that we ensure that every young person fully understands the choice that they have made, and our mission teams will do everything they can to communicate this at the point of response. But to back this up, we will offer some breakthrough new discipleship tools, including the existing AAA Pass and the Living4God website, to help young people explore and deepen their new faith.

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Starting in Gre Manchester, and by region, our hig creative mission team partner organisation missions to whole-s around 50 high scho period. The gospel through lessons, asse after-school gigs. All s invited to attend a event (or series of high-profile loc

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RESPONSE

HIGHER

Through breathtaking live shows featuring bands, dance performances and unashamed gospel preaching, young people will get the chance to hear the gospel relevantly explained and have a clear opportunity to respond by giving their life to Jesus Christ. Depending on the venues available in each city we will either hold one event in an arena or spread them over five nights in a large venue. In Manchester, for example,we will be doing five nights at the O2 Manchester Apollo, March 16-20, 2016.

All young people that respond will be followed up within 48 hours by one of our many partner churches. These churches will then invite young people to events, offering them the opportunity to meet up with youth workers or giving them details for a local Christian youth group. Each area will also run a special Celebration event where the first part of a discipleship programme will be delivered, to help them clarify the decision that they have made.

www.message.org.uk/flow

1 9

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The Higher Tour kicks off in Manchester in 2016. From there, we’ll be taking the tour to Sheffield and the Yorkshire region and then to three cities and regions every year for the following four years, including Cardiff, Birmingham and the Midlands, Glasgow, Merseyside, Newcastle and the North East.

GLA S GOW MERSEYSIDE

To officially launch Higher Manchester, we’re going back to where it all began – the O2 Manchester Apollo – on Sunday 17 May 2015. And you’re invited!

We’ll be joined by special guest speaker Danielle Strickland who will share why she’s excited by the vision. Our great friend Matt Redman and his band will be leading worship. And there’ll be exciting live performances from Twelve24, too.

NEWCASTLE

We can’t run a mission on this scale by ourselves – and we don’t want to! Partnership with other mission-focused youth agencies who share our goals and vision will be essential. So far, Urban Saints, Youth for Christ and HOPE Together are all signed up as partners with us on the tour. More will be announced soon.

We’re also excited that our friends at Light will be running similar large-scale youth missions in London and other towns and cities nationwide under the banner ‘Illuminate’. LZ7 and other Light artists will be heavily involved in Higher and The Message’s creative teams are excited to be supporting Illuminate.

...AND MANY MORE COMING SOON 2 0 flow17APR-JUL 2015

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PHOTO CREDIT: www.flickr.com CC Paul Williams | Alex Moyler

WORSH

o t g n i I‘ t’s go

Andy Hawthorne explains his vision to raise up a new generation of preaching evangelists through the Higher Tour

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emerg'I long to se e from e a ne among w gener and ac our rank ation of ross o s here evange ur par at The lists ver the past couple It’s tim tner orga Message, of decades, it’s been so encouraging e for m nisatio to see the church in this nation become far more ultipl ns. ication engaged with their local communities. It’s so right ' that we get involved in all manner of good works to

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improve people’s lives, especially the poorest of the poor – food banks, debt relief and job creation.

Restorative justice. As far as I can see, this sort of stuff is quite simply a gospel imperative.

Billy Graham, Luis Palau, Reinhard Bonnke or Heidi Baker?

We need to do something about it.

However, social action projects alone – no matter how good or far-reaching – will never truly transform a nation. Jesus Christ is the only answer for the problem at the heart of the matter – the human heart. We need saving from our sin and to be transformed from the inside out. So, along with all these good works must be regular, repeated, bold gospel proclamation. The two go hand in hand – they belong together.

So, unlike previous evangelistic campaigns, the Higher Tour will not be centred on a single evangelist.

We’ve made the strategic decision that I’m not even going to be part of the preaching team on this tour.

That’s not because I’m too old or too tired – far from it! But I long to see a new generation of evangelists emerge from among our ranks here at The Message, and across our partner organisations. It’s time for multiplication.

Sadly, I have a sense that some parts of the church have lost some of their confidence in the power of the gospel to change lives. Well, we haven’t!

We are praying and believing that as we preach the gospel in schools and arenas through the Higher Tour, we will play a significant part in winning a generation to Christ and changing the messed-up youth culture that is destroying so many young lives.

We believe in the gift of the preaching evangelist. Of course we’re all called to be evangelists in one way or another. But some people are given a special gift by Jesus to preach the gospel clearly and call sinners to repentance. You can usually spot them because wherever they go, they see people coming forward for salvation. It’s been a thrill to nurture many effective evangelists here at The Message through our mission teams and Message Academy over the last 20plus years.

But we need to raise up a lot more of them.

We’ve got lots of big name pastors, lots of big name authors and lots and lots of big name worship leaders. But where are the evangelists? Where are the men and women who will pick up the baton from

What does that look like? Well, very practically for me, it looks like pouring my life into a team of 11 upcoming evangelists, including Lindz West of Light, Chip Kendall formerly of thebandwithnoname, Tim Cook of MJK, and eight gifted Message evangelists.

But it won’t stop there.

After 12 months of intensive mentoring from me these 11 evangelists will be encouraged to each identify, train and mentor 11 new evangelists themselves. The idea is that this model will continue to cascade down, leading to a rapid increase in the number of trained and released evangelists in the UK. Some of my best mates who head up mission organisations are going to be doing the same. Like me, they sense how important it is to invest in the next generation.

It all means that one of the great by-products of this tour will be more fired-up, soul-winning evangelists in the UK who, even after the Higher Tour is all over, will continue giving their lives towards creating a culture-changing number of disciples in schools, prisons, communities – everywhere. www.message.org.uk/flow

23

TESTIMONY

'It was all over for me. Then Eden moved in' Raised on the estate, now committed to serving it – Eden Netherton intern Jake Mattocks shows how Eden is making a real difference in some of the UK’s toughest communities.

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But just as suddenly, it all fell apart. For no obvious reason, Jake began having sudden and uncontrollable mental health episodes – he would black out and find himself unable to remember what had happened. At one point, Jake found himself on the street with a knife in his hand. While doctors tried to find a medical explanation, Jake was confined to his home and a small number of carers.

He was told he could no longer coach football.

Jake with Eden Netherton team leader, Tom Grant

‘I

would say I’m a pretty normal lad from Netherton,’ begins Jake Mattocks, 17, and the latest addition to the Eden team in the Netherton estate on the outskirts of Liverpool. But it’s clear within minutes of talking to Jake, that he is no ordinary young man. Against all the odds of his background and the circumstances he’s faced, Jake has emerged as a true urban hero.

Like so many neighbourhoods affected by deprivation in the UK, Netherton is a place where community spirit is strong, but challenges abound. Expectations for young people’s achievement are shockingly low. Gangs roam the area and intimidate local people. Fathers are few and far between.

On the edge of the estate is Emmanuel Baptist, a church with a heart for this needy community. It was here that Jake’s journey with God began in a dramatic way: ‘I started going along to kid's clubs when I was about two years old. It was there that I first knew God was real. I had a bad knee once and the church leaders prayed for me – and it was healed instantly!’

Jake became passionate for God, getting baptised on Easter Day aged just 13 while ignoring the frequent teasing he got from friends at school.

But a must bigger test was to come. A lifelong Everton FC supporter with a natural rapport with children, Jake’s dreams suddenly came true at 16 when he was selected by the club to join its apprenticeship programme. He began training as a schools and community football coach, loving every moment.

‘All of a sudden my dream job just fell apart,’ recalls Jake. ‘My life came to a dead end. I felt like it was all over for me.’

It was God’s perfect timing for Jake’s life that just as this was happening, Tom and Emma Grant moved into the neighbourhood to begin Eden Netherton. Tom heard about Jake from friends at church and called round. He met a broken young man who seemed to have lost his faith in God: ‘When it all went bad, I stopped praying. I didn’t think there was any point. I thought God had left me, so I turned my back on him. But then Tom started coming around and telling me that, no, God was still with me. He helped me to see that actually the Lord has walked with me through all this. He saved me from so much stuff.’

Through prayer, care and regular mentoring, Jake recovered his confidence and his independence.

He was allowed to begin volunteering with the Eden team at youth clubs and activities and his case worker and family watched him flourish. In September 2014, after months without an episode, Jake was offered a formal position as an intern with Eden Netherton. His input and his amazing story is helping to accelerate the team’s work in reaching out to young people with the good news of Jesus.

‘I grew up with the lads on this estate and they want to hear my story so I share it. They see me as a new Jake. I have a totally new sense of purpose for my life. Before it was always football – now it's being a youth worker. It’s been the help of Eden that’s got me where I am now.’

Eden teams are currently active in over 20 neighbourhoods in England, Wales and Cape Town, South Africa. Our volunteers come from all walks of life and are committed to the longterm transformation of the communities where they live and work. Explore what it means to be an Eden team member at eden-network.org. www.message.org.uk/flow

25

TEACHING

Shake off the dust

If you’re going to do great things for God, you need to dust yourself down, writes John Kirkby

often say that it took me 19 years to be an overnight success. God has done some amazing things through Christians Against Poverty (CAP) from our earliest days in a bedroom to where we are today – and it’s all to Jesus’ glory. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing for me. A short article is not the place to go into all the personal difficulties that have been part of my life, but suffice to say I came into this ministry carrying some ‘stuff’. And in 19 years of doing this ministry, I’ve collected more of it. Despite walking with the Lord for over 20 years, I never really knew

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My breakthrough came one day as I was reading Matthew 10:14 in the Amplified Version: ‘And whoever will not receive and accept and welcome you nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or town, shake the dust [of it] from your feet.’

I realised that as we go through life, we pick up ‘dust’. And it’s all from people – 80-90% of dust is dead skin! It takes the form of words that people say like ’You failed!’ or ’You're a disaster!’ but also in disappointment and regret about things that happened or didn’t happen.

As I started to meditate on dust, I came up with some insights that really helped me. For anyone who’s serious about doing something worthwhile for Jesus, I can assure you – you’ve got some dust on its way. But you can dust yourself off.

J o h n K i r k by i s the Founder and International Director of CAP (Christians Against Poverty), speaking and working across the world to challenge people to reach out to the poor and needy.

Find out more about CAP at: www.capuk.org

The dust of what other people think about you. When we first started CAP, I was amazed by how few people wanted to get involved with it. Even when we started seeing a bit of success – people becoming debt-free, getting saved – it seemed like no one wanted to know. I remember showing a DVD which I’d made at a leaders’ event. Looking back it was possibly the worst DVD made by any Christian ministry, ever. But at the time, I thought it was good and expected every everyone in the room to respond with a cheque or a word of support. Nobody did. It’s a good job I dusted myself off that day, because today we’ve got 280 debt centres, seeing a new debt client every 23 minutes and three people saved every day.

If you’re going to do great things for God, you need to shake off the dust of what others think of you.

The dust of failure. I cannot begin to tell you how many things I have done that haven’t worked, or didn’t work as well as I thought they would. How about the family finance course we started in a hall? We believed the material was really good so, full of faith, we booked a large room, had T-shirts printed and waited expectantly for the masses to arrive. No one came. But I’m glad we dusted ourselves off and had another go. That course that no one came to is now the largest provider of face-to-face money

education in the UK run by 900 churches. I’ve learned that it’s in the difficult places where our character is formed.

The dust of sin, and the dust of unforgiveness of ourselves.

This is the biggest one for me. My dad died before he had a chance to see me turn my life around. I was 18 when he died and I was a school-dropout, always getting into fights and just wasting my life. He never saw his son come good and it took me a very long time to shake that regret off; to accept that Jesus has forgiven me so now I need to forgive myself and live in that forgiveness.

Finally, the dust of success.

It’s a great thing to have success in what God’s asked you to do, and to see God blessing your work. But you can easily settle in a place of success. Right now, CAP is seeing success – we’re going to open 500 new services in the UK alone this year – so we need to remind ourselves to dust ourselves off and keep asking God for more. I praise God that we shook off the dust of success and went for CAP Job Clubs. We knew that our clients who were in debt were the people who had the most trouble getting jobs.

So we went for it and within 18 months of launching, we had 101 clubs, making us the largest non-government funded job club provider in the UK. 230 people have found work through them already. The better that things go, the more humble you’ve got to become – and the more you’ve got to realise that it’s all Jesus and not you.

www.message.org.uk/flow

27

TEACHING

By Andy Hawthorne

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s you’ve read through this special issue of FLOW, I’m sure you’ve started to see that God’s given us a ridiculously large vision for the Higher Tour. My heart is jumping as I read it – God, could we really see not just 200,000 decisions, but 200,000 disciples? Can we multiply evangelists across this nation? Could we see a real shift in youth culture because so many young people found new life in Christ?

Message Tribe – he’s out there doing the same thing with Light, multiplying it out. Or Mo Timbo, who our prison team were so instrumental in discipling and releasing, will soon be planting a church in Hull, hungry to see people won for Christ in that city.

Well, truthfully, no we can’t. We’re having a laugh if we think we can. I’ve done the maths and even if we have bumper Academies year after year and more bands are formed, even if we see an acceleration in salvations, we can’t see it on our own.

I’m sure you know the famous passage from Isaiah, which says: ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes’ (Isaiah 52:7-8).

But then I came across a little verse in Romans 16 where Paul writes, ‘Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was a first fruit to Christ in Asia’ (5). When I read that verse, I thought – yes, we can do it, if we’re faithful people who start to produce fruitful people.

Every time we preach the gospel to a young person who’s not heard it yet, that’s a beautiful thing. Our teams going into prisons, that’s beautiful.

When Twelve24 or BrightLine go into school to talk about Jesus in an assembly, that’s beautiful, says the Lord.

When Paul said, '…from Jerusalem all the way round to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ’ (Romans 15:19) it sounds like he was exaggerating – a lot.

Because he hadn’t even visited half the places he claimed to be seeing gospel fruit! It was a vast area of the ancient world, with millions of people.

But there’s a ‘together’ thing going on here, I think. And the ‘together’ thing is so important to The Message.

Could we proclaim this beautiful news to two million young people, with our partners in local churches and other ministries? And could we believe together for these 200,000 disciples to come out of it? We think that’s a beautiful aspiration. We may not get all the way there, but we’re going to have a right good go!

And I’ve got a feeling that God might even surprise us, as our first fruits become fruitful for the gospel, too.

But what Paul saw was the effect of the first fruits of salvation – gospel life springing up all over the place, even in places he hadn’t visited. It was amazing multiplication, as those who were saved under the ministry of Paul also became soul-winners themselves.

Imagine if we could say, ‘Glasgow… all the way down to Cardiff. Hull… all the way across to Liverpool we have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. And we’re seen 200,000 disciples raised up in schools.’ Well, maybe we can – if our ‘first fruit’ people also start to see a multiplication of fruit wherever they go.

The exciting thing to me is that this is actually happening. People who were the ‘first fruit’ of our ministry in years gone by are now multiplying fruit wherever they are. Look at Lindz West who first came to Christ when he heard the World Wide

Charles Spurgeon once said, ‘Pray and so preach that, if there are no conversions, you will be astonished, amazed, and broken-hearted. Look for the salvation of your hearers as much as the angel who will sound the last trumpet will look for the waking of the dead! Believe your own doctrine!

Believe your own Saviour! Believe in the Holy Ghost who dwells in you! For thus shall you see your heart’s desire, and God shall be glorified.’

Catch the latest teaching from Andy Hawthorne and other top communicators on the Message podcast. Find us on iTunes (search ‘Message podcast’) or listen on our website, message.org.uk www.message.org.uk/flow

29

newdisciples We all have a part to play, writes Fundraising Manager Stuart Chell

''Higher is bold,

it is

audacious and what is needed to reach a

''

generation...

Can you imagine what the church would look like with an extra 200,000 young people in it? What a blessing that would be to the body of Christ with all the new energy, passion and ideas that these young people would bring! What might a school look like when 10% of its pupils were dedicated Christians living missional lives? Our schools need more young people in them who are willing to reach and serve the least, the last and the lost within them. How would society look when those young people that have been branded ‘the problem’ suddenly become ‘the solution’ through Christ?

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it is

This is the dream for Higher and it is possible if the church in its entirety rallies like never before and works together to reach this generation. This includes me and you praying, giving, and serving in any way that we can.

Higher is bold, it is audacious and it is what is needed to reach a generation who know more about the lifestyles of minor celebrities than they do about the sacrifice Jesus made for them.

But it doesn’t stop there. Each city will have hundreds of churches equipped, resourced and ready to become home for these young people.

New online resources will allow teenagers to understand more about what being a Christian means for them personally and start to learn about prayer, worship, the Bible and being rooted in church. In the toughest neighbourhoods there will be a stronger Eden presence than ever before, working intensively with the hardest to reach. Our Enterprise Centre is increasing its capacity so that those that have really gone off-track can have a genuine opportunity to rebuild their lives.

This is so needed, and it’s needed now. I am sure that reading this you can think of young people you know who are spiralling out of control and you are praying that they encounter Jesus. For me, our 2014 Urban Hero of the Year springs to mind.

Lauren was absolutely broken with a tough home life and feeling angry, unloved and rejected. This all changed when an Eden team took her to an evangelistic gig where she heard about God’s unconditional love and acceptance. In her own words, 'It really stopped me in my tracks. I wanted what he (Lindz West) was talking about, that love and unconditional acceptance, because I hadn’t known too much of that

in my life.' Through the ongoing discipleship of her church, Eden team and Message Academy, Lauren is now absolutely flourishing and reaching out to others who also need to hear about this love.

If we want to see this repeated again and again right across this country we are all going to have to play our part in praying, giving and serving.

A very special way that you can get involved in Higher is by setting up a monthly donation to The Message Trust. We simply cannot do this without you. The amount you give does not matter. When we give to God’s mission he can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Please do not skip over this and assume someone else will respond.

We really do need your help and we need it now. So please seriously consider setting up a direct debit to The Message today.

please fill in the form Now if you can help Like the sound of Higher?

Want your church to hear more?

If reading this issue of Flow has got you excited about the Higher Tour, we would love to come and share the full vision with you and your church.

We have a team of exceptional speakers who visit churches every week to share about The Message and encourage and equip your congregation in their own mission activities. Churches regularly tell us how blessed they have been by these visits and how it’s helped them.

To book a church visit or to learn more about them, simply contact John W i l l i a m s , o u r Pa r t n e r s h i p O f f i c e r, a t john.williams@message.org.uk.

John can also connect you to an appropriate member of our Missions team if you want to book a schools mission week or become a partner church during the Higher Tour. www.message.org.uk/flow

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2O15

Image Credit: www.flickr.com

Jez Page

GOOD NEWS OR TO T H E P O

two-day pass

£25 two-day conference

day one 15.05.2015 day two 16.05.2015 for Enquiries: hello@eden-network.org BOOK NOW: www.eden-network.org Venue: Message HQ / MANCHESTER / M22 4RG GUEST SPEAKERS

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH