|
New to our site?
Take a Virtual Tour
of our City and
Pray for Portland!
| |
|
 |
Alpha, "An
Opportunity to Explore the Meaning of Life." |
Mission Portland has identified the Alpha
Network for Oregon & SW Washington as an
Evangelism Strategy to serve
the Church of Portland at local, regional
and city-wide
levels.
What is Alpha?
Alpha is a ten-week
opportunity to explore the validity and relevance of the Christian faith for our
lives today. It is a practical introduction to the basics of Christianity with
loads of opportunity for debate and discussion. The style of Alpha is informal,
friendly and non-pressured.
Each week people meet together for a meal, a talk on topics such as "Who is
Jesus?", "Why Did Jesus Die?", "How Can I be Sure of My Faith?", and "Does God
Still Heal Today?" , followed by small group interaction. There is a day or
weekend retreat midway through the course, which focuses on the person and work
of the Holy Spirit.
There are over 5000 Alpha courses running in the US and about 1,000,000 people
in America and Canada have already participated. Most Americans live within easy
access of an Alpha course.
Church leaders from all denominations report the astonishing impact the course
has on non-churchgoers and existing Christians in their areas. And it's
spreading fast to many secular locations - prisons, university campuses,
businesses and schools.
Who is Alpha
for?
 | Those wanting to
investigate Christianity. |
| New Christians. |
| Those who feel that
they have never really got going as a Christian. |
| Newcomers to the
church. |
| Those who want to
brush-up on the basics. |
What's involved?
The evening Alpha
course begins with supper, followed by a talk. We then divide into smaller
groups for coffee and cookies to discuss any questions raised from the talk.
A typical Alpha evening might look like this:
|
6.15pm |
Preparation Meeting
The team meet to pray and prepare while the task force set
out the chairs, prepare the dinner etc. |
|
7pm |
Supper
Supper is served and the people arrive. They eat supper on
their laps and sit in their small groups. |
|
7.40pm |
Welcome
A welcome from the leader (perhaps even, a joke!) and any
notices are given out. |
|
7.45pm |
Singing |
|
8pm |
Talk/Video |
|
8.45pm |
Coffee
Break |
|
9pm |
Small
Groups
People split up into their small groups. The small groups
consist of around 12 people. One person or a married couple lead and three
others help. This is a time when the people in the group can study the
Bible, discuss the talk, and ask questions. Suggested topics for
discussion are included in the manual on Alpha Team Training. As the weeks
progress the group may also feel that it would like to pray together. |
|
9.45pm |
End
It helps to keep the ending time the same so that people know what time
they can expect to get home. |
For more information, contact:
You are #
to visit this page since January, 2001
This page was updated on
September 10, 2005
. |
