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No, it's not a breakfast cereal, but rather an innovative Christian studies program that points people to the person of Jesus Christ. In an age when people are seeking spirituality, the Alpha course is an introduction for those wanting to know more about Christianity. It teaches basic orthodox Christian doctrines such as "Who is Jesus?", "Why did Jesus die?", "Who is the Holy Spirit?", "Why and how should we tell others?", and "Does God heal today?"
What C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity did for Christian apologetics in the 1970s and 1980s, Nicky Gumbel, a minister in Holy Trinity Brompton Church, London, England, is doing in the 1990s with Alpha and his book, Questions of Life.
Gumbel started Alpha in 1991, and since then it has grown to over 9,000 courses being taught worldwide in 1998, from Australia to Zimbabwe. Alpha is designed to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to those with no or little church background. People learn who Jesus is in a non-threatening environment. A typical Alpha course runs 10 weeks. At each session, participants view a video by Gumbel, then discuss questions and answers under the direction of a table host. Leaders are not teachers but facilitators. Instruction comes from Gumbel via the video and his books. Interaction, discussion and prayer are the focus. Refreshments can be served, and there often is a celebratory dinner or a retreat. There are Alpha conferences held periodically across the country, and there is even a youth version and a Canadian Alpha News newspaper.
Mary Reimer, associate pastor of Fort Garry MB Church, Winnipeg, says the cost for the videos is about $200, a cost covered by her church. There is no fee to participants, but it does ask for donations to cover the expense for refreshments. They had about 30 participants at their last session in spring. Each group is hosted by three pairs of leaders with two helpers. The church runs Alpha in the traditional sense, hosting a retreat weekend on the topic of the Holy Spirit in the middle of the course.
A church survey of "Strategic Evangelism in the UK" found that over two-thirds of the churches surveyed had used Alpha, and 89% of 192 local church leaderships felt that Alpha was the most beneficial of all evangelistic approaches to the church.
Doris Neufeld, who is head of the assimilation team at The Meeting Place in Winnipeg, started the Alpha course in 1997 with only 5 volunteers. Then the church saw the leadership training potential in the course. Today, they have 35 volunteers, and the church runs two Alpha courses a year, one in spring and the other in fall. Each has an average of 65-80 people attending its Tuesday night sessions. The only major variant in what The Meeting Place is doing with Alpha is that they use their own instructors for the teaching segments. The Alpha videos are used as a resource. Also, at the discussion table, which may include several hosts, a short drama, a video clip, or another creative "hook" invites conversation. Neufeld says they average a drop-out rate of about five, and isn't sure how many participants after experiencing the Alpha difference become involved in the church. She admits, however, that many do become involved, and it is common for the discussion groups at the end of the 10 weeks to transition into small groups. Some groups even do activities outside the church. The church charges participants a $20 registration fee.
Two emerging programs are used to disciple new Christians. Beta, based on a study of Philippians, looks at attitudes, responsibilities, friendships and self-esteem. Gamma examines contemporary issues for Christians such as "Dealing with anger" and "Living with integrity".
Ewald Unruh, executive director of the Canadian MB Conference Board of Evangelism, says that all five MB churches in Atlantic Canada are using Alpha, and that the Baptist churches there want to have about 200 churches run Alpha by September 1999.
In Canada, the Alpha course and its resources are distributed by Beacon Distributing/Cook Communications Ministries Canada. For more information, contact Alpha Canada's office, 3726 West 28th Ave., Vancouver B.C. V6S 1S6; phone 604-224-0067; Web site: www.alphacanada.org. PW
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