Founder and current CEO Andy Hawthorne together with his businessman brother Simon felt stirred to present the Christian gospel message relevantly to the young people of Manchester and organised a week of mission gigs at the Apollo.

[6] A repeat run in 1989 attracted similar numbers and led to the brothers being approached by a member of one of the bands involved about forming a full-time youth mission to schools.

As the team continued to develop a sharper focus on Manchester, particularly the toughest areas and estates, the charity expanded their initiatives from just schools work, changing its name to what we know it as today, The Message Trust.

Demand for the band to play in schools and further afield quickly increased and the Tribe went on to record successful albums which brought international recognition and critical acclaim.

Around 10,000 young Christian volunteers worked in partnership with Greater Manchester churches on social, environmental and crime reduction projects.

[12] In the summer of 2003, The Message partnered with the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association, to put on another week-long citywide venture, Festival:Manchester.

Around 55,000 people from across Manchester attended the open-air festival that took place in Heaton Park the following weekend, featuring Luis Palau, and performances from The Tribe, Michael Tait and TobyMac.

[13] In 2015, The Message announced plans for the Higher Tour, a UK-wide mission to share the gospel with young people in schools and arenas.

As a response to the increased number of knife-related incidents in the UK, The Message started a school tour encouraging young people to lay down their knives.

The model of ‘words and action’ evangelism which characterised both Message 2000 and Festival:Manchester continued in the ‘Big Deal’, ‘Hope 08’ and 'Shine Your Light' initiatives.

Supported by police, schools and councillors, Big Deal and Hope 08 brought together local communities to deliver social action and community-building projects in the ten boroughs that make up Greater Manchester.

In 2010, The Message launched a national campaign to spread the model of 'words and action' evangelism further, challenging young people to complete 15 specific acts of kindness in their local communities during the summer of 2010.

[19] The Message was a founder member of the Reflex network in partnership with Youth For Christ, delivering ministry in prisons across the North West of England.

The Message School of Evangelism (formerly Genetik/Message Academy) is an annual gap-year programme for young people aged 17 and over who wish to train in Christian mission and youth work.

[22] Building on The Message's track record for mentoring young men and women from disadvantaged communities and those leaving custody, the centre has created several new businesses which employ ex-offenders.

The Awards have been repeated each year since, with winners from all over England emerging from Eden work in Yorkshire to the Message School of Evangelism programme in Manchester.