ALPHA COURSES

The Alpha Course is an ideal format in which to find out more about the Christian faith over a ten week period. We will be running Alpha courses regularly. Some will be in homes, others in public buildings. If we do not have a suitable Alpha course for you we may be able to put you in touch with another being run by someone else.

More and more people find that they are bumping into Alpha. You may have seen the large adverts on local buses. Alpha is gaining a bigger & wider profile.

Where have Alpha Courses come from?

Alpha Courses were launched in London in 1992. Nicky Gumbel, a curate at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton and a former barrister, began them in a small way, but they have multiplied since then.

• In 1992 -there were 5 registered courses in UK with only 100 attending.
  
• Currently 7,000 organisations in UK alone offer Alpha; 19,000 worldwide.
  
• Of 119 universities in UK, 60 now offer Alpha.
  
• Of 158 HM Prisons in England & Wales, 129 offer Alpha.
  
• It is now running in 126 different countries, and has been translated into 33 different languages.
  
• It is estimated 3.8m. people have now been on an Alpha course.

National TV is catching up. In the summer of 2001 Sir David Frost hosted 'The Alpha Challenge' on ITV. He described it as 'Big Brother meets the New Testament'. This is fascinating. At a time when church attendance is in decline nationwide there seems no lack of appetite for spiritual reality. Our experience is that many people are ready to come on Alpha who may not be ready to visit a church service.

What is an Alpha Course?

Alpha is a relaxed format in which to investigate the Christian faith over a ten week period.

• It usually involves a meal of some kind.
  
• There is an introductory talk & then you chat it through in groups.
  
• The accent is on informality & freedom to ask your questions.

The idea is not to ram the Bible down anyone's throats. The Alpha 'Guarantee' is:

(i) You don't have to speak if you don't want to.
(ii) no one will be asked embarrassing questions.
(iii) no question you want to ask will be considered too hostile or too trivial.

Who might find an Alpha course helpful?

Just about anyone, but here are a few suggestions:

1. You may want an answer to the biggest question of all: Is there a God?
   You may have been sent to Church as youngster but left it all behind.
   Or brought up not believing - but want to check it for yourself.
   Or raised in a different religion & want to compare it with what Christians believe.
   The question is not just academic. If there is a God, what is He like? Is there life after death? If there is a God - should that make any difference to my life now?
2. Your interest may have been stirred by a friend who is a Christian. You know they are not completely off their trolley! You can see the difference their faith has made to them.
3. You may have some questions that have bothered you, but you've never quite got round to setting aside time to look into the answers
   Maybe big philosophical questions e.g. Universe, Suffering.
   Maybe questions about Christian belief e.g. what evidence is there really for believing in Jesus? or the resurrection?
   Maybe simply 'What do Christians believe?'
4. You may be aware of your own personal need. It is possible to present a confident exterior but inside feel desperate or empty.
   You may feel your life is in a bit of a mess, and 'If there really is a God' you could do with knowing Him.
5. You may have suffered some personal tragedy.
   Perhaps you have suffered from some kind of personal tragedy, and are left wondering whether there is a God, and if so what kind of character does he have.

You may identify with one of these, or your motivation may be quite different. Whatever your reason we think you will find Alpha helpful.

Although there is no high pressure salesmanship involved in Alpha it must be obvious to you that the reason we run them is because we believe this message of Jesus is very good news for you.

If you are interested in joining an Alpha Course in South East Northumberland, please do contact us

www.alphacourse.org

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