Many reading this will have participated in an Alpha course in the past and perhaps you or your church are still doing so; or it may be that you have never heard of Alpha.

If you are in this latter category, Alpha is a series of interactive sessions that explore the basics of life, faith and God, typically run over 11 weeks.

Each session looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation.

Alpha was developed at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton over 25 years ago and is now run all around the globe. Over 29 million people have tried Alpha in 169 countries, and it has been translated into 112 different languages.

Courses take different formats, but generally they have three key aspects: food, a talk and good conversation. Everyone is welcome and all questions are accepted.

Whatever you do know about Alpha, it may be time to have another look or run Alpha again. Through this coming fall and winter, there will be a global Alpha campaign. Labelled “The Biggest Church Invitation of This Generation,” the face of the campaign will be Bear Grylls, known worldwide for outdoor survival and adventure and with 1.5 billion fans. He will be sharing his journey to faith; in his words: “Alpha was the best thing I ever did!”

Typically run over 8-12 weeks, it allows anyone to explore life, faith and God in a friendly, open and informal environment. In each session there’s food, a short talk, and discussion in small groups. Everything you need to run Alpha is available online and free to download.

This is an opportunity for churches or groups to tap into the interest generated in our communities. We should be ready for those who come seeking. Alpha materials have been updated and are now offered via free downloads. A complete revised set of 29-minutes talks delivered by Nicky Gumbel was released last year. A new Alpha film series launched in April, featuring stories from all around the world and covering the Alpha content in a contemporary visual format. There is also a highly successful Youth Alpha Film Series.

https://youtu.be/XLQZM1QwuUs

Register your course with Alpha Canada for no charge to access the talks, transcripts and training videos for free. Learn more, or register a course

Cheryl Jacobs
Chair of the Diocesan Council Spiritual Development Team
from the New Brunswick Anglican June 2016