As churches around the world have responded to the global pandemic, we have seen God move in a way that we could not have begun to predict. He has turned this crisis into an opportunity for Alpha to be used as a tool to bring so many more people into his Kingdom.

People are experiencing Alpha who would never otherwise have been able to physically come – Muslims who would not physically set foot in a church, single parents who wouldn’t be able to get a babysitter for 10 weeks, city workers who can stay at their desk and move from work to Alpha without a commute!

Watch this video to see just a glimpse of the incredible things we’ve seen God do in this season.

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We know it can be a challenge to reach out beyond the church walls into the local community. Alpha is geared towards guests who are interested in exploring the Christian faith, but what about those who aren’t yet curious? And what about people who are cautious or hold reservations about church?

For those people, it’s a great idea to offer something that can make a real, practical difference to their lives.

In every community, people can benefit from help in building and maintaining healthy, strong relationships. It’s a universal need and it’s a growing need, with new challenges arising in our fast-paced world.

While it’s built on Christian principles, The Marriage Course is designed for any couple who wants to invest in their relationship, no matter their beliefs. In fact, many of the couples that attend The Marriage Course have no Christian background and little experience of church.

We’ve found that trying The Marriage Course can be the first step for guests to see the church and the Christian faith in a new light. For these couples, the ideal next step is Alpha.

That was the experience of Wesley in The Netherlands who did The Pre-Marriage Course with his fiancée:

‘Having enjoyed everything about The Pre-Marriage Course, we decided to try Alpha. Alpha offered relaxed friendship and deep discussion that helped me form my own opinion on faith for the first time. I want to share the love and peace I’ve found through Alpha with others, so now I’m leading a course myself.’

Wesley, The Netherlands

Wesley’s not alone, 71% of church leaders said The Marriage Course is a great tool for attracting non-Christians to explore the Christian faith.

By running The Marriage Course and Alpha side-by-side you can help support relationships in your community and provide a stepping-stone to develop the curiosity and confidence some guests need to prompt them to explore faith through Alpha.

At the end of The Marriage Course, why not hand out invitations to your next Alpha or even ask a previous guest to share their testimony? It might be all someone needs to take that next step to discovering Jesus.

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We sat down with Jon Thompson, pastor at Sanctus Church in Toronto, Canada to discuss how Alpha, after 30 years, is still culturally relevant.

“Lots of us have been doing ministry for a long time and we realize we’re in this transitional period, especially in our context here in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and actually probably in Canada, uh, an older guard of pastors are beginning to retire and a new generation’s coming. Now I’m, I’m in, I’m 41 so I sit between these two worlds. So the millennials are coming up, I’m a Gen X-er and then we got the baby boomers, right? Uh, a, a lot of people are probably thinking hey like Alpha has done its deal, we’re very thankful, thank you Jesus, and it’s sort of run its course.

And, and I understand that because again we’ve all admitted this is just a program, you know, this is not the local church. But, uh, the thing that we’ve been really excited about here at C4 and I think beyond C4 in conversations with others is we have seen Alpha really take time to rebrand and reconnect with the new audience. And so if you’ve run Alpha for years, uh, the new stuff is not stronger but it’s, it’s appropriate for now. And if you’ve never run it before, it’s extremely culturally relevant and still deeply biblical in orthodox.

And so what we’ve appreciated ’cause we’ve done this for a long time is the new life, the new material I think is gonna help us keep using Alpha into the future and, and I think there’s a strength now to Alpha again that maybe was lost. Or maybe the perception is out there, hey, you know, it’s not that … you need to take a look and l- and look at the new stuff, it’s changed.” -Jon Thompson

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Alpha Team

I am scrutinising the safety card again and watching the in-flight attendant point, penguin-like, to the exits that I had already noted on the way in. It’s not that I am afraid of flying; it’s just that safety information is a worrier’s drug and a virtuous one at that. I look on my fellow passenger, already snoozing, with a haughty distain. ‘Don’t you come asking me how to, ‘double wrap and bow’ your life jacket if the need arises,’ I say in my head. But then, with a little envy in my heart, I wonder why I am not asleep? Why does this familiar information feel all too important to me?

Statistically life has never been safer, but our experience of anxiety has never been greater. You would assume that vastly improved healthcare, education, public safety and national security would reduce our propensity towards fear. But worry is at epidemic levels: 7 million anti-anxiety prescriptions were offered in the UK on the NHS last year, and approximately 40 million American adults show symptoms of an anxiety disorder.

The most primitive response to fear is escape, and we continue to do this in spades. Not by physically running away, but by attempting to undo the conundrums in our minds: the work colleague we fear dislikes us, the darkening mole on a shoulder, the sense that we are in the wrong job. Google is the new back door that we can run through, comforted by the shared experiences of others or terrified by the search result that confirms we do have Bubonic Plague.

If anything can be held responsible for the heightening of anxiety in our lives, it is a fundamental shift in our relationship to uncertainty. Whilst information is available on an unprecedented scale, people’s threshold for ‘not knowing’ has fallen considerably.

Consider the art of weather forecasting. One hundred years ago a farmer would lick his finger, hold it in the air and tell you where the wind was coming from. Now, satellite technology can give you an accurate picture of the weather up to 15 days in advance. The availability of this knowledge, coupled by our instinct to mitigate risk, is stealing our ability to rest in uncertainty.

The power of anxiety and the drive to eradicate uncertainty have stolen life’s adventure. This is of course a direct contrast to the promise of Jesus who said, ‘I have come to give you life and life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10). Oprah Winfrey has said, ‘The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.’ However, through Mind and Soul’s work in emotional health, we have seen an increasing number of people who are only living their life ‘in their dreams’.

One of the reasons that we love Alpha is that it does not take the uncertainty out of life; it takes life out of uncertainty. The Christian life is not about resolving every uncertainty; it is about really living despite our uncertainty. The Christian life proposes that we can have certainty in the things that are truly important – in our relationship with God, in our value as people and in our eternal future. Everything else is an adventure to be enjoyed together. As the great reformer Martin Luther said, ‘Pray and let God worry.’

Will van der Hart is a founding director of Mind and Soul a Christian Charity that provides an interface between mental health issues and Christian spirituality. He is co-author of The Pregnancy Book, The Worry Book, The Stuff of Life, and the forthcoming, The Guilt Book.

Follow Will on Twitter @vicarwill

The post The Adventure of Uncertainty appeared first on Alpha.

Alpha Team

This year we launched a repackaged, reimagined version of Alpha filmed all around the globe – from the mountains of Vancouver to the hills of Jerusalem, from the palaces of Austria to the heart of Chile.

The Alpha Film Series is a new way to engage with the basics of the Christian faith. The series features interviews with world-renowned scientists such as Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project and cultural figures such as hip hop artist and spoken word poet, Propaganda, and adventurer Bear Grylls.

Presenters Nicky Gumbel, Toby Flint and Gemma Hunt bring the traditional Alpha material to life in a new, global, interactive set of sixteen episodes. Just like at any Alpha, each session explores a different question people can have about the Christian faith. Watch the first episode:

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