Alpha Canada 2013 Annual Report

“The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew.�

Zechariah 8:12a

Alpha Canada

Annual Report 2013

2013 by the numbers...

The total number of churches running Alpha nearly doubled!*

2013

2512

2012

Courses

1002

* Not including churches that

Courses

participated in Alberta 2013

973

572

Churches

Churches

73,292 number of guests on all Alpha courses

17,329

number of guests who began or restored a relationship with Jesus

2,486

people trained

1,500

21,277 volunteers

church leaders that our team met with face-to-face

What churches are saying...

73%

9/

say that their church has grown in small or large ways as a result of running Alpha.

10

48% say there are now people in leadership who came to faith on a previous Alpha.

Unique places Alpha has been run:

219% Hair Salon in Edmonton AB

Sushi Bar in Halifax NS

Financial Donations & Income

39.7%

$3.525m

32.8% 22.7% 3.5% 0.6% 0.7%

Ministry Expenditures

$3.520m

Church Support

64.9%

Course Support

17.6%

Fundraising Administration Events

Operations outside of Canada: $790 Thousand

5.3% 7.8% 4.5%

Dear Friend, What a year it has been! As an organization we have been running to keep up with what God is doing across our nation. It’s been an exciting season to see Alpha reach a new height of success and effectiveness as we serve the local church to reach their community with Alpha. We had set the goal for 2013 of 1200 Alpha courses plus an additional 800 through our Alberta2013 initiative. In total we had over 2400 Alpha courses, drastically exceeding our anticipated results.

Two highlights in particular are the Alberta2013 campaign and the launch of the Alpha Youth Film Series. Alberta2013 was led by Pastor Gary Taitinger at Mill Woods Assembly. With his passion for the province, coupled with his heart to serve the whole church, we saw 825 courses run in churches, hair salons, tattoo parlours, etc. with over 30,000 guests! This was truly a partnership as churches committed to pray, financially support and give of their resources to help. The Church across Alberta succeeded in reaching their friends and neighbours with the Gospel.

The launch of the Youth Film Series − 12 interactive sessions designed to engage high school students − exceeded all expectations. Our strategy included the goal of 325 courses in the fall of 2013 but we surpassed this and had over 900. The feedback we have received has been humbling and deeply gratifying as we launched a much needed course that we trusted would help the Church reach a generation of youth.

And it did – with over 20,000 teens taking Alpha within 90 days of the launch. The series has already been translated into Spanish with more languages rolling out

this year. Alpha USA is planning for 5000 courses in the next 12 months. We couldn’t have ever guessed that these would be our early results from this course.

The Strategy Team anticipated 20% growth this year in the number of churches using Alpha and the number of courses running. As we exceeded those goals we have made staffing adjustments leading into 2014. Remarkably we did not require additional funding to support this new growth. Our ministry philosophy of “doing more with less” was achieved with our return on investment in 2013 met and in many cases went beyond our strategic goals.

We’ve learned a few lessons over the past year.

One is the importance of using media to help churches reach their communities. Moving forward, we will research more effective media methods to provide them with invitational resources. As Alpha continues to grow on a global scale, we also recognize the need to equip churches with new product while maintaining an ongoing relationship with Alpha International.

We couldn’t have done this without our faithful partners across the country – local churches, volunteers, Alpha Coaches and donors. Thank you so much for your partnership in the Gospel. Over 73,000 people in Canada experienced Alpha and we are so grateful to share this success with you.

With grateful thanks on behalf of Alpha Canada,

Shaila Visser National Director, Alpha Canada

“Alberta 2013 was the first time I’ve participated in an evangelistic endeavor promoted jointly by Evangelical, Mainline Protestant and Catholic churches. Had we not done it, what would be different for the 4,874 people who made commitments to Christ, the 365 churches who it helped to ramp up invitational culture, the 24 denominations that dared to network knowing that some fish might get into the other boats?”

Gary Taitinger Senior Pastor, Mill Woods Assembly, Edmonton AB

“Because of Alberta 2013, the overall energy is high because we are doing it all together. The community shows great interest due to the size of the campaign. People see the advertisements and want to be a part of it.”

Jeff Edwards Pastor, Northwest Community Church, Calgary AB

30,461 guests

7,340 volunteers

4,874 began or restored a relationship with Jesus

Bridging the gap between thousands of unchurched students and the message of Jesus

20,979 guests

5,439

volunteers

“It is such a gift to the Church and the great task of the New Evangelization.”

Father James Mallon, Pastor, Saint Benedict Parish, Halifax NS

5,243

began or restored a relationship with Jesus

“I love the Alpha Youth Film Series. It is certainly the best youth resource I have encountered.”

Amy Croy, Youth & Young Adult Pastor, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Edmonton AB

Going Global The Alpha Canada brand is changing!

In 2013 Alpha International rebranded with the support of Wolff Olins — recognized by Fast Company as “one of today’s boldest branding and innovation firms.”

The new Alpha question mark is iconic, universal and recognizable.

It puts forth the idea that each individual carries his/her own unique questions about life, faith and God. Aligning Alpha Canada’s brand with Alpha International will help reposition Alpha as a globally identifiable brand, increase awareness and create a fresh visual identity for Alpha.

Alpha Ministries Canada

Toll Free

1-800-743-0899

230-11331 Coppersmith Way

Office

604-304-2082

Richmond, BC V7A 5J9

Fax

604-271-6124

Email

office@alphacanada.org

Web

www.alphacanada.org

@alphacanada

facebook.com/alphacanada