The Alpha Course

Certainly one of the most interesting international phenomenon amongst Christian sectors has been the uptake and helpfulness of the Alpha Course. This course provides a basic refresher of key topics to those whose families or communities of Faith have been Christian.  But beyond this, the approach of the course design and content is highly friendly to those who don’t have Christian or any background in the Christian Faith. The course designers welcome anyone, from any or no faith backgrounds, to come with their life questions. Sometimes we don’t even know our questions or how to order our thoughts on the key questions of life. In its most usual design, a wide variety of people will respond to an invitation to attend the Alpha Course. Most often a meal is provided. Following the meal and around small group tables, a video is viewed and then an formal conversation is gently facilitated, with everyone’s questions and viewpoints invited. The video theme will both answer questions and generate questions. These are such a lot of fun and so interesting as people work out and encourage one another to think and feel through highly relevant to life questions, building a bond of mutual respect and caring with one another.

Viv and I have thoroughly enjoyed our numerous times through these sessions, always learning, gaining insights, sharing understandings and tackling with others some new and some old questions. Going through the Alpha Course is best done with others. One of the cool things about the course is that while it originated about three decades ago out of an Anglican Church in London (UK), Holy Trinity Brompton, it has migrated all over the world and is used extensively by Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox congregations. 

There are other Alpha-originated courses (including Marriage Alpha which Viv and I have hosted a number of times for couples in our home and in a congregation building). The actual course is meant to be experienced in-person or online with a group because it’s the dialogue and interaction that makes the experience so meaningful. In other words, its not just about the content but its about processing the content in the context of other people who are also learning, supporting and applying the learnings to life. In fact one of the highlights of course is an Alpha Weekend (typically a Saturday with a meal in the middle and three really important “talks.” 

To learn more, Alpha Canada has all the resources one needs to run a course (training, resources, even recipes for hosting). Visit Alpha Canada here or by clicking on the logo above. Sixteen episodes from the Alpha video series have been posted on the internet from various sources, see below, and can be viewed on Youtube.com, Vimeo.com or through the Alpha Canada website.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3