A group of Genetik-trained musical evangelists TWELVE24 take up the schools evangelism mantle. Lins Honeyman spoke to the group.

Twelve 24

Not only have urban gospel outfit Twelve24 made their mark on the Cross Rhythms playlist with their hugely catchy single "Real Love", the hand-picked group of rappers, singers and dancers have been making an impact on the streets of their home town of Manchester as they seek to spread God's word amongst the youth of some of the city's most deprived areas. Following five months on the renowned Message Trust evangelist training programme Genetik, Twelve24 are a credit to the programme's tutors - amongst them LZ7's Lindz West and The Tribe's Tim Owen - and have honed their skills to become a powerful tool in spreading the Gospel as well as being a top notch urban act in their own right.

I caught up with group members Christina Otoo-Anakwa, Ryan Griggs and Josh Green in a break from their busy schedule and asked them where the name Twelve24 came from. Responded Josh, "The name comes from John 12:24 which says 'I tell you the truth, 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.' This was a promise God gave to the members of The Tribe (formerly known as The World Wide Message Tribe) when they were ending their run as a band. Basically, them ending it was like the seed dying and this would produce many seeds - or other bands, if you like. So, when they finished up as a band, they set up a creative evangelism training programme called Genetik and that's where all the members of Twelve24 came out of."

Continued Ryan, "We all had a heart to share the Gospel and through the training provided, we developed our musical talents and, just like pieces of a puzzle, everything seemed to just fit together. Becoming a band just really felt like the natural thing to do and ultimately it was the thing God was calling us to do."

Twelve24 are heavily involved in reaching out and communicating the message of Christ to young people within Greater Manchester and the band see their mission as straightforward. "Twelve24 is here to be sold out for God and sold out for seeing the next generation meet its full potential and become world changers," stated Ryan. "Our main work is with the schools of Greater Manchester but, here at The Message, we are also involved in a number of Eden projects dotted around the city's toughest estates. This is where Christians move into these areas and live amongst the people in these communities to be salt and light to the people around them."

Added Josh, "The Eden projects have planted many churches off the back of their work and they also run a lot of youth clubs and activities for people on the estates to get involved in. The guys at the projects will often put on special nights where Twelve24 would visit and put on a full live show and preach the Gospel to evangelistically help the efforts of the Eden teams." Working in these environments have allowed Twelve24 to gain insight into what challenges face the youth of today in Manchester and the nation as a whole. Explained Josh, "The biggest challenges young people face today are drugs, family breakdown, alcohol addiction, poor self-esteem and a lack of positive role models in their lives but this doesn't just apply to the deprived areas. Everywhere we go as a band - whether it be in a lower class area of Manchester or upper class areas or whether we come across rich young people or poor young people - we still see the same challenges in today's society."

With the immense scale of media and cultural pressure to seek transient thrills in the wrong things, hands-on evangelism teams such as Twelve24 have a substantial battle on their hands to build positive relationships with what is widely becoming known as the lost generation. "If you listen to the song 'The Avenue' on our CD, it's basically a reflection of the culture we live in where so much value is put on the celebrity lifestyle and where we're told fame, money and success is the key to attaining value and fulfillment in life," commented Ryan. "Of course, we know that fulfillment is only found in a relationship with the maker of the universe."

"As Christians, it's our job to give people the Gospel and an opportunity to respond to what they've heard," insisted Josh. "We look to build relationships with the young people we meet and inspire them with a message of hope. We also try to be the positive role models that we feel young people desperately need by being more like Jesus in our everyday lives." Josh is familiar with the plight of many of the people he is now working alongside. "I was born and raised in Manchester where I grew up a bit of a wild lad and got in with the wrong crowd and this led me down the wrong path. I ended up in a prison cell over one weekend and, although I had heard God loved me and was there for me, I felt it for the first time in my heart that first night in the cell. I knew that God wanted to use me to do his work and, if I gave my life to him, he would be able to change it around. Shortly after that, I enrolled into Genetik and began my discipleship journey."

"Having the same backgrounds and also the same interests help us to connect with the young people we meet," continued Ryan. "It's like putting two people who love football together in one room. Instantly they will find a connection through the commonality of loving football and most likely will get on. It's exactly like that with the young kids we meet in schools and that gives us a platform to bring in what we think about life and what it's all about."

This approach is certainly bearing fruit. Enthused Ryan, "The truth is we're seeing loads of young people's lives turned around and it's awesome to see. Just the other week we had a young guy come up to us in school and talk to us about how he got bullied and he felt really lonely. We got to share with him about Jesus and how he never leaves us or abandons us. The boy said he was really impacted by what we said and that he wanted to become a Christian. It was amazing to see this guy hear the truth about Jesus and respond to it and we just know that God is going to turn his life around."

With what must frequently seem like an insurmountable task on their hands, the members of Twelve24 are clear about what is needed to help turn young people's lives around. "Prayer," declared Christina confidently. "The fruit we see through evangelism is directly related to the amount of time we get on our faces and pray for our nation so we must pray more." Confident that prayer will make a difference, together with a practical involvement in the everyday lives of those Twelve24 are trying to reach, Christina concluded, "We see a new day coming where the troubles and issues we face in our lives will be flipped upside down and where we bring the truth of the Bible against all the lies that young people are told on a daily basis."