Alpha North America

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Giving everybody the opportunity to hear about
Christ
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• Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
  baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
  the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 
  Matthew 2819

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• 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 1014

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• The Alpha Course is a 10-week
• practical introduction to the Christian faith
  designed primarily for

non-church goers and new Christians
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• 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
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• By introducing people to Jesus Christ in a way
  that is non-threatening, supportive, and fun

Alpha Changes Lives and Transforms Churches
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• Changed Lives

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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

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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

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What Helped Transform Them?
Belonging Before Believing!

• They were welcomed as they were
• They werent judged they were loved
• They could say anything they felt accepted
• They found new friends and were supported

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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.

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• Transformed Churches

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• 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.

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A Transformed Church St. Bartholomews Episcopal
Church

• Of 970 Alpha Participants half of them were
  complete strangers to St. Barts
• 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

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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
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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

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What Church Leaders Say
Ive 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
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Alpha Has Been Endorsed By

• Jack Hayford, Church on the Way
• George Hunter III, Asbury Seminary
• Bill Hybels, Willow Creek Community Church
• Cardinal William Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore
• Louis Palau, Louis Palau Evangelistic Assoc.
• Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church

• Bill Bright, Campus Crusade
• Tony Campolo, Eastern College
• George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
• Leighton Ford, Leighton Ford Ministries
• George Gallup, Gallup International Institute

And Many Others...
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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

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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
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Dinner (45 minutes)
Having Dinner with the Small Group helps
participants to relax and get to know one another
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A Talk (45 minutes)
Alpha Talks are Clear, Simple, Thought-Provoking,
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
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Alpha talks are about

• Christianity Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?
• Who is Jesus?
• Why did Jesus die?
• How can I be sure of my faith?
• How and why should I read the Bible?
• How and why should I pray?
• How does God guide us?

• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• What does the Holy Spirit do?
• How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?
• How can I make the most of the life?
• How can I resist evil?
• Why and how should I tell others?
• Does God heal today?
• What about the Church?

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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.
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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.
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Alpha Courses are FlexibleIn addition to the
traditional Alpha Course, Alpha offers...
Alpha on Campus
Alpha in Prisons
Alpha in the Boardroom
Alpha for Youth
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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
  Christs disciples.
• Alpha has been refined over the course of 25
  years.

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Alpha is International

• Globally
• 1996 5,000 Courses
• 2002 24,184 Courses
• 1996 259,850 Participants
• 2002 5,000,000 Participants

• In the USA
• 1996 202 Courses
• 2002 5893 Courses
• 1996 3,000 Participants
• 2002 1,000,000 Participants

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There are Alpha Resources available in 46
Languages across 130 Countries
Afrikaans Arabic Bulgarian Cantonese Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Italian Japanese Kikamba Kikuyu Kiswahili Korean Luo Macedonian Malagasy Malaysian Ndebele Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Shona Slovakian Spanish Swedish Swiss German Tamil Telugu Venda Welsh Xhosa Zulu
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Alpha works in all Denominations
Alpha presents the core truth of the Christian
faith around which all major denominations unite.

• Non-denominational
• Pentecostal
• Presbyterian
• Vineyard
• Roman Catholic
• and many others

• Baptist
• Covenant
• Episcopal
• Lutheran
• Methodist
• Congregational

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Resources Available for Alpha Courses

• Videos of talks
• Questions of Life, Course Manual
• Training Videos and Leaders Guides
• Directors Guide

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Alpha Relies On God
This is the first time that the very same course
is being used by every Christian church in pretty
well every country in the world. That is an
incredible achievement. Its very hard to think
that it is other than a work of the Spirit, in
which we should rejoice. -Bishop Ambrose
Griffiths
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How can I get an Alpha Course started in my
church?
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Come to an Alpha Training Conference!
Contact a Resource Church, or One of our Alpha
Advisors
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There are 42 Conferences across the United States
each year
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For more information, or to sign up for an Alpha
Training Conference, please contact Alpha
at1-866-872-5742orwww.alphausa.org