3.8 Million Have Now Taken Alpha Course in the Last Six Years By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries

More than 3.8 million people around the world are thought to have completed the Alpha course in the last six years, according to figures compiled by British research organization, Christian Research. The organization also found that 742,000 people have done the Alpha course in the United States - nearly half a million of them in the past two years.

The figures, based upon a wide variety of statistical evidence from around the world, have been published in a report by the Christian Research organization based in London. The report emphasizes that the figures can only be described as "estimates" and concluded, "The total worldwide Alpha attendance to the end of 2001 is estimated at 3.8 million people, of whom just over a million attended in the single year 2001."

The report singled out the growth in the United States for special mention, concluding, "The growth of Alpha in the United States in phenomenal" and that, "It is growing faster than in the UK." It also concluded that churches running Alpha in the United States "are holding more courses per year as time has passed." There are more than 4,225 churches registered as running Alpha in the US compared with just 2,300 at the end of 2000.

"They are from a wide variety of denominations, including Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Independent, Vineyard, Pentecostal, and a large number of others," said an Alpha spokesman.

"The research also found that not only is Alpha spreading to more and more churches across the country, but that those churches which are already running the course are doing so more and often. As well as running it three times a year; they are running course for youth and students, as well as daytime courses."

~ What Is The Alpha Course? ~

Developed at Holy Trinity Brompton over the last 20 years, Alpha is a 15-session practical introduction to the Christian faith. It's aimed especially at people who don't go to church. At Holy Trinity, Alpha courses are held throughout the year and have hundreds of people attending each week.

The syllabus for the course is contained in the book "Questions of Life." Some courses are held during the day. Most are evening courses. At the evening events, there is a light meal followed by a talk on a subject central to the Christian faith. Then participants break into pre-arranged groups of around 10-12 people (in which they remain for the entire course) to talk in an environment where each person should feel free to ask or express whatever they wish. A team of around three or four 'leaders' or 'helpers' from the host church are attached to each group. There is also a weekend away during which the subject of the Holy Spirit is addressed.

The Alpha course has been running for 20 years, but it was only in 1993 that its astonishing possibilities as a vehicle for evangelism began to emerge. This is the story of how it happened: Twenty years ago, Charles Marnham, a clergyman at Holy Trinity Brompton, London, England, began looking for a means of presenting the basic principles of the Christian faith to new Christians in a relaxed and informal setting. He devised the Alpha Course.

The talks addressed such questions as "Who is Jesus?" "How and why do I pray?" and "How does God guide us?". When Charles Marnham moved on, others took over leadership of the course and made their own changes.

By the time Nicky Gumbel took over Alpha in 1990, the course was a central feature of the church's life, with the number of participants regularly totaling around 100 people on each course.

It was while leading his second Alpha course that Nicky made a discovery, which transformed the church's whole approach to the course and gave it a new dynamic. As he looked around the 13 members of his 'small group', he realized to his surprise that apart from the three Christian helpers, all the other 10 members of the group were non-churchgoers.

"They had all the normal objections: 'What about other religions?'; 'What about suffering?', and so on - and we had a stormy first six weeks," he said. Then they went away on the weekend and all 10 announced their Christian conversion together.

~ A Medium for Evangelism ~

The experience transformed Nicky's thinking about Alpha. He realized how this simple course in basic Christianity could become a powerful medium for evangelism. He quickly worked to give the course the kind of 'feel' that would be particularly attractive to non-churchgoers.

The method of welcome, the atmosphere of the small groups, the food, the seating, the flowers, the sound, and the material of the talks themselves were all changed to make them as attractive as possible to the person who walked in 'off the street'.

He emphasized to the Alpha small group leaders that no question should be treated as too trivial, threatening or illogical. Every question would be addressed courteously and thoughtfully - and none would ever be 'pestered' if they chose not to continue with the course.

Nicky Gumbel explains: "It's all friendship-based. There's no knocking on doors - it's friends bringing friends."

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