Transcript Alpha North America

Giving everybody the opportunity to hear about Christ
go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
“Therefore
Matthew 28:19
“How then, can they call on the one
they have not believed in? And how
can they believe in the one they
have not heard?”
Romans 10:14
The Alpha Course is a 10-week
practical introduction to the Christian faith
designed primarily for
non-church goers
and
new Christians
The Alpha Course equips the local
church with a culturally relevant
method of evangelization...
So that everybody has the opportunity
to hear about Jesus Christ
By introducing people to Jesus Christ in a
way that is non-threatening, supportive,
and fun
Alpha Changes Lives and
Transforms Churches
Changed Lives
A Changed Life: Veronica
•
Born in a prison
•
A stripper, drug addict
•
Served time in jail
•
Ladies at local church
introduced her to the Alpha
Course
• Her life was changed
A Changed Life: Whitney
•
Successful business-owner,
President
•
Married, 2 children
•
Grew up attending church as a
social duty
•
Accompanied wife on Alpha
course
•
One night, prayed the acceptance
prayer together
• His life was changed
What Helped Transform Them?
Belonging Before Believing!
• They were welcomed as
they were
• They weren’t judged … they
were loved
• They could say anything …
they felt accepted
• They found new friends and
were supported
“My Life Was Forever Changed”…
• “I saw for the first time that it was possible to
come to faith in Christ in an intelligent way, rather
than through blind faith.”
• “I have discovered people like me, struggling in
life but much more happy inside than me.”
• “I asked those questions that I had never dared
ask before. I felt accepted whatever I said.”
• “New hope. New faith. New friends. New life.”
Transformed Churches
Introducing the Alpha Course into a church has
been shown to dramatically revitalize and
transform congregations
because new Christians become passionate,
vibrant and actively involved in church life.
A Transformed Church: St.
Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church
• Of 970 Alpha Participants half of them were
complete strangers to St. Bart’s
• Sunday Service attendance has risen from
250 to 1000 people
• 600 Participants have become further
involved with St. Bart's
• 315 Participants became givers of record
•
The annual pledge given has increased
from $450K to $4M
What Church Leaders Say:
“The experience of our congregation with
Alpha has been profound. People have come
to new faith, older Christians have been
renewed, and all those involved are wildly
enthusiastic about it!”
Dr. Roberta Hestenes, former Senior Pastor,
Solana Presbyterian Church, CA
What Church Leaders Say:
“For many who are now in our church the
Alpha program was the first place where
they experienced the welcoming love of
Christians and discovered that coming
to Christ does not mean having to
commit intellectual suicide.”
Gordon P. Hugenberger, Senior Pastor,
Park Street Church, Boston
What Church Leaders Say:
“I’ve seen the
Alpha course touch the hearts
of seekers and bring them immediately
to a deep faith in Christ.”
Revd Dr. G Prince Altom, Pastor, Past President,
American Baptist Churches of the West
Alpha Has Been Endorsed By:
• Bill Bright, Campus Crusade
• Tony Campolo, Eastern College
• George Carey, Archbishop of
Canterbury
• Jack Hayford, Church on the
Way
• George Hunter III, Asbury
Seminary
• Bill Hybels, Willow Creek
Community Church
• Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
• Cardinal William Keeler,
Archbishop of Baltimore
• Leighton Ford, Leighton Ford
Ministries
• Louis Palau, Louis Palau
Evangelistic Assoc.
• George Gallup, Gallup
International Institute
• Rick Warren, The Purpose
Driven Church
And Many Others...
What is an Alpha Course?
• Anyone interested in finding out more about the
Christian faith is welcome
• Learning and laughter. It is possible to learn about the
Christian faith and have fun at the same time
• Pasta and pie. Eating a meal together is an opportunity
to get to know one another
• Helping one another. Small Groups enable people to
form authentic relationships
• Ask anything. Alpha is a place where no question is
considered too simple or too hostile
Each session of an Alpha Course consists of:
Dinner, a Talk, Coffee and a
Small Group meeting.
During the Alpha Course there is a Weekend Retreat
Dinner
(45 minutes)
Having Dinner with the
Small Group helps
participants to relax
and get to know one
another
A Talk
(45 minutes)
Alpha Talks are Clear,
Simple, ThoughtProvoking, and contain
Pure Theology
“Genius is the art of taking the complex and
communicating it with warmth and simplicity.”
Luis Palau, Evangelist
“The Alpha course has solid Christian teaching. It is
grounded in Scripture.”
The Rt. Revd Frank Cerveny, Former Bishop of Florida
Alpha talks are about:
Christianity: Boring, Untrue
•
Who is the Holy Spirit?
and Irrelevant?
•
What does the Holy Spirit do?
•
Who is Jesus?
•
How can I be filled with the
•
Why did Jesus die?
•
How can I be sure of my faith?
•
How and why should I read the
•
Holy Spirit?
•
How can I make the most of
the life?
Bible?
•
How can I resist evil?
•
How and why should I pray?
•
Why and how should I tell
•
How does God guide us?
others?
•
Does God heal today?
•
What about the Church?
Small Groups
(45 min)
Alpha Participants meet with
the same Small Group each
week.
Small Groups discuss the
Alpha Talk, and bring up
questions.
…become closely bonded and
remain friends.
Alpha Retreat
(2 days)
Each Alpha Course
includes a Weekend
Retreat where the
person and work of the
Holy Spirit are
examined.
Many Alpha
participants’ lives are
transformed during the
Weekend Retreat.
Alpha Courses are Flexible:
In addition to the traditional
Alpha Course, Alpha offers...
Alpha on Campus
Alpha in Prisons
Alpha in the Boardroom
Alpha for Youth
Some Background on Alpha...
• Alpha was developed in a local church for
local churches.
• Alpha is lay-run
and provides an opportunity
for congregations to fulfil their potential as
Christ’s disciples.
• Alpha has been refined over the course of
25 years.
Alpha is International…
In the USA:
Globally:
• 1996 – 202 Courses
• 1996 – 5,000 Courses
• 2002 – 5893 Courses
• 2002 – 24,184 Courses
• 1996 – 3,000 Participants
• 1996 – 259,850 Participants
• 2002 – 1,000,000 Participants
• 2002 – 5,000,000 Participants
There are Alpha Resources available in
46 Languages across 130+ Countries
•Afrikaans
•French
•Luo
•Shona
•Arabic
•German
•Macedonian
•Slovakian
•Bulgarian
•Hindi
•Malagasy
•Spanish
•Cantonese
•Hungarian
•Malaysian
•Swedish
•Catalan
•Icelandic
•Ndebele
•Swiss German
•Croatian
•Italian
•Norwegian
•Tamil
•Czech
•Japanese
•Polish
•Telugu
•Danish
•Kikamba
•Portuguese
•Venda
•Dutch
•Kikuyu
•Romanian
•Welsh
•English
•Kiswahili
•Russian
•Xhosa
•Finnish
•Korean
•Serbian
•Zulu
Alpha works in all Denominations:
Alpha presents the core truth of the Christian
faith around which all major denominations unite.






Baptist
Covenant
Episcopal
Lutheran
Methodist
Congregational






Nondenominational
Pentecostal
Presbyterian
Vineyard
Roman Catholic
…and many others
Resources Available for
 Videos of talks
 Questions of Life,
Course Manual
 Training Videos and
Leaders Guides
 Director’s Guide
Alpha Courses:
Alpha Relies On God:
very same
course is being used by every Christian
church in pretty well every country in the world.
“This is the first time that the
That is an incredible achievement.
It’s very hard to think that it is other than a work of
the Spirit, in which we should rejoice.”
-Bishop Ambrose Griffiths
How can I get an
Alpha Course started in
my church?
Come to an Alpha
Training Conference!
Contact a Resource Church,
or
One of our Alpha Advisors…
There are 42 Conferences across
the United States each year
For more information, or to sign up for an Alpha
Training Conference, please contact Alpha at:
1-866-872-5742
or
www.alphausa.org