Alpha USA
WHAT IF THERE WAS A SAFE PLACE TO EXPLORE LIFE’S
BIG QUESTIONS? Alpha is an opportunity to explore life and the Christian faith in a friendly, open and informal environment.
“If you really want to do church in a new way and reach outside the box, I would encourage you to take a look at Alpha.” Pastor George Wilson Renovation Church, Longs, South Carolina
No pressure. No charge. No follow up. ALPHA IS RUNNING IN CHURCHES, BARS, COFFEE SHOPS AND HOMES WORLDWIDE.
“There is a hunger in the heart of people, churchgoers and non-churchgoers. Alpha offers an easy, nonthreatening way for people to learn a little bit, share a little bit and become part of the community.” Fr. Christopher Walsh Saint Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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94%
of Alpha leaders believe Alpha helps their church to transform lives.
76%
of Alpha leaders believe Alpha is central to what they do at their church.
72%
of Alpha leaders believe Alpha helps to attract new people to their church.
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Alpha explores these questions: Life: Is there more to life than this? Jesus: Who is Jesus? Cross: Why did Jesus die? Faith: How can I have faith? Prayer: Why and how do I pray? Word: Why and how should I read the Bible? Follow: How does God guide us? Spirit: Who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do? Fill: How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? Evil: How can I resist evil? Healing: Does God heal today? Others: How and why should I tell others? Church: What about the Church?
A Typical Alpha Session Team arrives, sets up venue and prays 15 minutes Guests arrive, mix and mingle 15 minutes Meal or snack time 45 minutes Alpha talk 30 minutes Small group discussion 30-60 minutes
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ALPHA IS FOR EVERYONE Alpha Youth Film Series For teens 12 episodes, 8-10 weeks Video hosts: Jason Ballard and Ben Woodman Through 12 episodes filmed in Vancouver, London, Paris and Jerusalem, the Alpha Youth Film Series explores timeless questions about life, faith and God for a new generation. The series offers compelling stories, images, questions and discussion topics in each episode (about 25 minutes each) to better engage youth. This format helps to present issues related to their lives as they talk with their friends and leaders. The series has taken off globally and already has been translated into Spanish, with more languages to come. Go to alphayouthfilmseries.com to learn more. How do you want to give the Alpha talks? You may use the Alpha videos or give the talks live. Alpha Classic and Alpha Campus transcripts are available free online for those who want to customize specific Alpha talks.
Alpha TV
To order Alpha resources, contact the Alpha USA Store. 800-DO-ALPHA alpharesources.org
Alpha Classic
For adults 15 talks, 10-12 weeks Video hosts: various presenters Experience the most up-to-date Alpha talks from HTB in London, the birthplace of Alpha. Each talk is 30 minutes and features a wide variety of amazing speakers. Included in Alpha TV are street interviews for each talk.
For adults 15 talks, 10-12 weeks Video host: Nicky Gumbel Revised and updated, this series features Nicky Gumbel, who presents each topic with personal stories, humorous anecdotes and biblical references. The 30-minute talks have been re-filmed to create a resource that appeals to all ages and will be available fall 2015.
Alpha in Various Contexts Alpha can be run in a variety of contexts, including Alpha in the Workplace; for Prisons & Re-Entry; in a Catholic Context; for Seniors; en Espa単ol; and more. Go to alphausa.org/run to learn more.
New FREE Alpha Film Series Coming Spring 2016 4
Matthew 25:36 (NIV)
ALPHA REACHES THOSE WHO ARE OFTEN FORGOTTEN Reaching Inmates and Ex-Offenders Alpha Prisons & Re-Entry Alpha’s holistic introduction to the Christian faith provides prisoners with the opportunity to discover the meaning of life. Alpha is an effective ministry tool by which prisoners can overcome their deep sense of loss through understanding what it really means to have Christ in their lives. Hope, through faith, is then restored, and they are more likely to live by biblical standards while still in prison and after release.
Reaching Immigrants, Refugees and International Students Alpha for ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) People representing a wide variety of cultures, language groups and traditions currently reside in our neighborhoods. Alpha for ESOL is designed specifically to help those newer to English explore the Christian faith. Alpha creates a safe and trusting environment for people from different cultural backgrounds and communicates the good news about Jesus. Alpha also has been translated into 112 languages worldwide, including French, Chinese, Korean, Italian, German, Punjabi, Spanish and more.
To order Alpha resources, contact the Alpha USA Store. 800-DO-ALPHA alpharesources.org
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I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
WAKE UP LOG ON #RUNALPHA Access tools you need to run Alpha for free. Register today. alphausa.org/run
Visit our site for local and regional support. alphausa.org/regions 6
LIVING A LIFE OF INVITATION The idea of Alpha encourages an invitational life that is open, honest and radically hospitable.
Being invitational means opening ourselves up in a way that our culture does not often encourage – including others in our inner circles, having an awkward moment meeting someone new, revealing hidden aspects of our lives and sharing our faith. Jesus lived a life of invitation. He invited the sick, the broken, the weary, the marginalized, the rich and the poor to journey with him. Jesus fed the hungry, visited the homes of the outcasts, healed the sick, turned his ear to the broken, spoke courage to the fearful, ate with the sinners and cried with the mourners. And then he sacrificed his very life, so that his invitation would stand for all time and for all people. Jesus invited his disciples to do the same, to live as his invitation of love to the world. He gave us his Spirit so that he could live through us. Radical hospitality is one way we can tangibly connect with people.
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When we consider inviting, sometimes we think, Oh boy, another thing I have to do to be a good Christian or What if no one comes to Alpha after I invite them? But being invitational means pulling back the lens and looking at the culture behind Alpha. It’s not about whether someone says yes to an invitation. It’s about intentionally reaching out and trusting God to do the rest. This approach should be present in our daily lives, as we become friends with an unlikely person, serve within our communities, help our neighbors, share things most important to us and encourage the discouraged. This is the invitational life, living life in a way that gives people a safe space and the opportunity to explore life, faith and Jesus.
Find out more. alphausa.org/run
Who will you invite?
86%
of guests come to Alpha because of a personal invitation.
BOOKSTORE TATTOO PARLOR FITNESS CENTER #RUNALPHA HAIR SALON COFFEE HOUSE SENIOR COMMUNITY MILITARY BASE ANYWHERE SUSHI RESTAURANT LOCAL BAR 9
FAITH, FITNESS & THE YMCA In the wake of 9/11 in New York City, Cheri Pamer had a vision to reach her community through Alpha.
Cheri Pamer felt that God gave her a vision in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy. She saw there were people trapped in the rubble at the YMCA (the Y), and she was being called to open the door for the rescuers God was bringing in. As a staff member at the Y in Bellevue, Washington, Cheri decided to launch Alpha. “We believe that people come to the Y because it’s viewed as a neutral, safe place,” shares Cheri. Her vision was to reach her community with the love of God. On a larger scale, Alpha has an ongoing presence in a number of YMCAs across the country. Larry Whittlesey, national director of US Mission Network, talks about how Alpha fits into the DNA of the YMCA: “[The YMCA] was founded during a prayer meeting in 1844. The constitution of the YMCA strongly reflects our Christian heritage and purpose. … Alpha fits the true mission statement of the Y, which is to ‘put Christian principles in practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.’” Since 2001, Cheri and her team have launched various Alphas at the Bellevue Y, including Alpha Parenting, and are seeing great fruit. Many of the guests come from differing faith backgrounds, including atheist, agnostic, new age and Christian. Cheri explains, “They come after seeing an invitational postcard, stay and are engaged, and we watch them grow to wanting more, relationally and spiritually.”
Reach out to your local regional director for more great ideas on how to run Alpha in your context. alphausa.org/regions
Even at the Y, most Alphas are greatly supported by the local church. Cheri reflects, “The key for me is the strong leadership and passion from Westminster Chapel. They commit to the entire effort through prayer, many volunteer hours and financial support.” She believes this is only the beginning; “Christ can enter conversations all over the world through Alpha because there are Y’s in every city and every country. How about that for a global movement?”
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BRIDGING Matt shares his story about reaching unchurched students with the message of Jesus through the Alpha Youth Film Series.
Students around the world are exploring a conversation about life, faith and Jesus in a fun and relaxed environment. These 20-minute episodes take students on an adventure to Israel, London and Vancouver, interviewing people and discussing some of the biggest questions of life. The Alpha Youth Film Series is a tool designed to equip youth workers and students to reach their friends and community. It’s Alpha for a new generation, and it’s all available for free.
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THE GAP Hot dogs, cotton candy and snow cones paved the way for an eight-week series on life, faith and God. It was a mid-February Friday night in Chicago, and many new faces were arriving at the carnival-themed launch night of the Alpha Youth Film Series (AYFS). Matt, youth outreach director at Bloomingdale Church in Illinois, led this series of 20-minute episodes in an effort to introduce such fundamental topics as “Who is Jesus?” and “How and why do we pray?” to high school students in his community. Over the next eight weeks, plus a weekend hangout involving Whirlyball, Matt transformed his Friday night youth group of about 40 to 50 students into a weekly AYFS party. He was determined to make this a place where students would be excited to come and explore a conversation about God and even want to bring their friends.
The first week, 59 students showed up. The next week, 62 were there, followed by 72. By week five, 80 students were hearing about Jesus. Matt shares how the core of the Alpha Youth night is when the youth group gathers, after a time of energetic games, such as human battleship and jugball, to watch an episode of the film series.
The conversation really begins as co-hosts Ben and Jason travel around the world, interviewing people and discussing some of the biggest questions of life in both a personal and communal context. In this space, Matt sees it as important to encourage the students to take ownership over their faith. This begins with asking and working through questions. In each small group, there was an appointed student leader who assisted the adult group leader. The student leaders’ role was to ask questions that reflect upon each episode. Student to student, they could relate. Matt is seeing youth wake up, and his vision is clear: Lead with Jesus. “At the end of the day, the most important thing is to teach this generation that Jesus is the only way. If a youth pastor is spending time with Jesus to know him more deeply and also loving students as Christ loved us, then fruit is going to happen. They need to have their eyes full of compassion, as Jesus did.”
Download all the episodes and training for free. alphayouthfilmseries.com #YouthFilmSeries
“If you want to see this next generation wake up to the movement of God, Alpha is the place to start.” Brock Morgan Youth pastor and author
1015 new Alpha Youth courses were registered in less than a year.
1.4K
unique organizations have run an Alpha Youth course in the last year.
26%
of Alpha Youth participants made commitments to Christ.*
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“I realized that I was never going to have the light that I saw in other people if I didn’t let go of my bad habits. During the weekend, my group leader prayed with me. I was finally able to fully commit and ask Jesus into my life.” John Alpha guest 13
WEEKENDS THAT LAST FOREVER
AN ALPHA STORY FROM THE HEARTLAND Jeff Kirby serves at a local church near Kansas City, Kansas, teaching evangelism and discipleship. He has been involved in leading and training Alpha leaders for 20 years.
I have witnessed more than 9,000 people in our congregation attend Alpha. What we have experienced is the gracious and life-transforming movement of the Holy Spirit, who drops the gospel message those vital 18 inches from our heads to our hearts. By opening ourselves to the experiential dimension of our faith, phrases like “the love of God shed abroad in our hearts” have become more than words on a page; they’ve become a living reality. I’ve realized that the unchurched and those far from God, the target audience of Alpha, are often not as afraid of or uptight about the Holy Spirit as those in our churches. When we share the three talks at the Alpha weekend – Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? and How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? – and invite our guests to receive prayer for the filling of the Spirit, the most wonderful and amazing things take place. Those seeking and hungry for God take to the ministry of the Holy Spirit like a fish to water. Many in the emerging generation are longing for the presence of God and answers to some of their questions, which often include “Is this true?” and “Does this work?” Sue, one of our Alpha guests, shared her story with me recently. She had come to the Alpha weekend with a friend, but found herself deeply struggling with the state of her own soul. She did not think she was ready to have anyone pray with or for her. Her friend, however, was ready and wanted to pray with someone to receive Christ, but was too afraid to do it alone. Sue agreed to accompany her, and I happened to be the one who prayed with them. After first praying for her friend, Sue recalls that I turned to her and asked, “May we pray with you to receive Jesus in your life?” In that instant, her heart was ready. She said it was like the Holy Spirit “jumped off of her friend and into her own heart.” Now, over several years, Sue has served among the poor of our inner city, has taken theology classes at the church, and is in training to become a lay minister at our church. Alpha offers a healthy and robust introduction to the Christian faith. To leave out or minimize the talks on the Holy Spirit is to deprive the new believer of the transforming power and essential motivation to live out our full inheritance in Christ. Twenty-seven million people in most parts of the world have experienced the gospel by attending Alpha. I think it is best to humble ourselves and learn from those whom God has gifted to lead us by using this simple and powerful tool of the Spirit.
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PEOPLE CONSIDER THE CLAIMS OF CHRIST IN FRESH WAYS THROUGH ALPHA. Pastor Bill Hybels Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, Illinois 15
Marriage & Parenting Courses
MARRIAGE & PARENTING
The Marriage Preparation Course Most couples spend countless hours preparing for the wedding, but few spend time preparing for married life. The Marriage Preparation Course can help couples develop strong foundations for a lasting marriage.
The Marriage Course The Marriage Course is for any couple who want to invest in their relationship, whether they have been together 1 or 61 years, and whether they have a strong relationship or are struggling.
The Parenting Children Course The Parenting Children Course is for parents, stepparents, prospective parents and caretakers of children from birth to 10 years old. This course provides relevant, practical help from parents and professionals.
FROM ALPHA’S FOUNDING CHURCH, HTB, LONDON Churches are discovering that these marriage and parenting courses are a welcoming bridge to the community. While based on Christian principles, these courses are accessible to couples or parents at any faith level. Those who wouldn’t ordinarily come to church are often interested in attending a course that will help strengthen their relationships. These courses provide practical, relevant help to individuals, couples and parents in different stages of relationships and family life.
The Parenting Teenagers Course The Parenting Teenagers Course is for parents, stepparents and caretakers of children ages 11 to 18 years old. This course helps to build a strong family, centered on love.
Find out more. alphausa.org/relationshipcentral
Is it possible to be happily married to the same person for a lifetime?
What are some practical tips for being a good parent and staying sane?
How can engaged couples establish a strong foundation for marriage?
READY TO BEGIN THE JOURNEY? 1 2 3 Still Curious Visit alphausa.org. Watch sample Alpha talks and promotional videos, and learn more about Alpha. Pray and take some time to decide if Alpha is right for you and your church. Discover more: alphausa.org
Ready to Run Want to run Alpha? Go to alphausa.org/run. Here you will find information about some of the next steps involving scheduling, materials, promotion, training and inviting. Register: alphausa.org/run
Phone a Friend If you would like to talk to someone specifically about running Alpha in your region, we have friendly regional directors who would love to talk with you and answer any questions you may have. Find regional assistance: alphausa.org/regions
“We’ve seen hundreds in the Alpha small group setting find a place to answer some key questions about who Jesus is, what we believe and other things that begin the growth process of personal faith.” Pastor Judah Smith The City Church, Seattle, Washington
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Who’s on an Alpha Team?
Course Administrator The administrator carries the overall responsibility of running the course, leading the team and delegating tasks. A great administrator is well organized, detail-oriented and friendly.
Small Group Hosts & Helpers These facilitators ensure that the small groups are a safe place for guests to share openly.
Task Force
This fun, servant-hearted crew of volunteers cooks meals, takes care of logistics, greets people and provides administrative support.
Prayer Team
This additional team prays for your Alpha regularly. Be intentional about praying not only for logistics, but for each guest weekly.
#RunAlpha alphausa.org/run 19
3,000,000 PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE EXPERIENCED ALPHA
27,000,000 PEOPLE HAVE DONE ALPHA IN 169 COUNTRIES IN 112 LANGUAGES
Alpha USA 2275 Half Day Rd., Suite 185 Bannockburn, IL 60015 Toll Free 800-DO-ALPHA (362-5742) Email questions@alphausa.org @alphausa /alphausa alphausa.org #TryAlpha #RunAlpha
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