The Alpha Course

Contents

The Alpha Course

Getting started with your Alpha course

Chatting things through

Start praying for your course

Training

Select and train the right team of small group hosts and helpers for your course

Ordering resources

Register your course

Follow the recipe

Don’t forget the Alpha weekend or day away

Invite those outside the church

Keep Alpha rolling

Find out more about the Alpha Invitation

Seven ways to promote your Alpha course

Involve your congregation

Use the Alpha Invitation resources

Use the web

Repeat, repeat, repeat

Get together and work together

Get to know your local media and think about what might make a good story

Don’t do it alone. Go for it and have fun!

Running a combined Alpha course

Combined Alpha Launches

Combined Alpha courses

Sports Alpha

Getting started with your Alpha course

Chatting things through

Contact your nearest Alpha Adviser or Resource Church. Alpha Advisers and Resource Churches are able to give practical advice and support in the running of your Alpha course. They have years of experience and will be able to answer questions that arise as you get started with your course. In addition we have provided them with a library of Alpha resources which they may be able to lend to you. To find your nearest Alpha Adviser or Resource Church, please go to alphafriends.org/advisers. Alternatively please contact us on the details overleaf.

Start praying for your course

At every point we want to turn to God in prayer. Prayer should be the foundation of every Alpha course. Think creatively about how to pray continually for your team, leaders, helpers and guests. For ideas about different models of prayer used on Alpha, as well as prayer meeting resources and prayer meeting guidelines, please visit: alphafriends.org/praying-your-course.

Training

Attend an Alpha Conference or Accelerate Event. The Alpha Conference is an annual event, held in June; to listen to the seminar talks, please go to alphafriends.org/audio. For details of local Accelerate Events, please see the calendar of events on alphafriends.org/events.

Select and train the right team of small group hosts and helpers for your course

Small groups are often a favourite part of Alpha – here guests can express their ideas and explore what they have heard. To ensure that the small groups run smoothly, it is essential that each Alpha host and helper is properly trained before every course. Even those who have led on Alpha before will find it valuable – both to refresh their memory, to meet others on the team and to pray for the course. There are three key training sessions: Leading Small Groups, Pastoral Care and Ministry on Alpha. The first two should be held before the course begins and the third training talk on the subject of ministry should be held just before the weekend / day away. It is important to select team members who are able to commit to the 3 training sessions, the 10 weeks of the course and the weekend/day away.

Ordering resources

To order Alpha resources please contact the Alpha publications hotline on 0845 758 1278 or online at alphashop.org.

Key resources:

The Alpha course DVD set.

If giving live talks the talk transcripts are available to download at alphafriends.org/alpha-talk-transcripts.

The on-line videos from the course at Holy Trinity Brompton can also be downloaded at alphafriends.org/audio

For small-group hosts and helpers:

The Alpha course Leaders’ Training DVD set.

The Alpha course Leaders’ Training Manual (1 for each small-group host & helper).

Searching Issues book.

For Alpha guests:

The Alpha course Manual (1 for each guest).

Why Jesus? Booklets (available for guests throughout the duration of the course).

Alpha – Questions of Life book (all 15 sessions in book form- guests may want to buy a copy).

For course leaders:

The Administrator’s Handbook (download for free from alphafriends.org/running).

How to run the Alpha course – DVD or Telling Others book.

Starter Pack:

You can purchase a Starter pack from alphashop.org which contains all you need to run an Alpha course for up to 20 guests:

1 x Alpha Course Leaders’ Training DVD

5 x Alpha Course Leaders’ Training Guides

1 x Alpha Course DVD set including Alpha Express

20 x Alpha Course Guest Manuals

1 x Searching Issues Book

1 x Alpha - Questions of Life Book

1 x How to Run the Alpha Course – Telling Others Book

1 x Alpha Course Invitations (pack of 50)

20 x Why Jesus?

Total Cost £165 which is a saving of over £20 compared to the price when products are purchased individually.

Register your course

Please go to alphafriends.org/register to register your course. This enables people searching for an Alpha course in your area to find you, and allows us to keep you updated with all the latest Alpha news.

Follow the recipe

The KEY ingredients of the Alpha course are eating a meal together, doing all 15 teaching sessions and including a weekend or day away.

Don’t forget the Alpha weekend or day away

The Alpha weekend/ day away is a crucial part of the Alpha course. Not only do relationships deepen in the small groups but it allows guests a fantastic opportunity to look at the person and work of the Holy Spirit in a fun and relaxed environment. For a breakdown of the weekend/day and for guidelines to running a weekend/day away please see alphafriends.org/running/weekend-day-away for further information. There may be an open Alpha weekend/ day in your area that you can join in with, keep your eye on the events page of alphafriends.org or contact your local Alpha Adviser/ Resource Church for details.

Invite those outside the church

Although Alpha is for new Christians, newcomers to the church and those who want to brush up on the basics, it is primarily for those wanting to investigate Christianity. Alpha invites can be purchased online from the alphashop.org or from our publications warehouse. They can also be downloaded from the resources section of alphafriends.org. You can also hold an event to launch the start of your Alpha course. The idea is to have a relaxed event which you can invite your guests to which includes a short talk to introduce guests to the Christian faith, which can be explored further on the Alpha course. Events have taken place in all sorts of venues and formats from sit down meals to band nights in a pub – some with a well-known local speaker, others with someone whose life has been changed by Jesus through an Alpha course. For more information and for guidelines for running a launch event, please see alphafriends.org/running/planning-event.

Keep Alpha rolling

Alpha works best if you can keep it running as a rolling programme, ideally three times a year in the autumn, spring and summer terms. This ensures that past guests can invite their friends to the next course and be invited themselves to be helpers.

Find out more about the Alpha Invitation

Every September there is a nationwide advertising campaign. It is designed to raise awareness of Alpha in the UK and to invite the nation to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. To download the latest promotional material please visit alphafriends.org/running/invitation.

For more detailed information on running a course, post your own stories and share information, check out alphafriends.org.

If you would like to be added to our email list or if we can help you further in any way please don’t hesitate to get in touch: or 0845 644 7544.

Seven ways to promote your Alpha course

Involve your congregation

  • Promote from the front and in advance – share what is taking place & when – and invite 2/3 past guests who have just been on the Alpha course to get up and share their story.
  • Show the Alpha Invitation DVD to inspire the congregation to get behind your Alpha course.
  • Invite everyone to get involved and give them options of how they can help, they can pray, donate, volunteer or invite their friends to the launch.
  • Give everyone something to give away – a postcard or flyer for example – to make it easy for the congregation to invite their friends.

Use the Alpha Invitation resources

  • Using the same promotional material and images across the country for that particular year helps to reinforce the advertising of all Alpha courses and contributes towards raising national awareness of Alpha.
  • Use the ready-made ones or design your own using the artwork from the current campaign - see the Resources page of alphafriends.org or visit alphashop.org & alphaprintshop.org

Use the web

  • The Alpha Invitation has developed a toolkit with resources to promote your course online, including ‘how to use Facebook advertising’ & ‘how to set up an event using Facebook.’ You’ll find it on the Alpha Friends website: alphafriends.org, under Resources or by going to media.alpha.org
  • Use your website to promote the Alpha course using web banners, the Bear Grylls advert etc (resources are available on alphafriends.org) and make it clear how people can attend your event and register for your course.
  • Set up a page for your church on Facebook and use it to post information about your launch event for everyone connected to you to share with their friends.
  • Set up a page for your church on Twitter and use it to continually feed information about your event for everyone connected to you to share with their friends.
  • Invite the congregation to join these pages and encourage them to share information about your event via their online networks.
  • Make sure your course is registered to ensure your course listed on alpha.org so that people visiting the site to search for a course in your area will find you.

Repeat, repeat, repeat

  • Seeing and hearing a message over and over has the greatest impact. Combine lots of different forms of advertising and PR, offline & online.

Get together and work together

  • Hold a meeting for all those involved in organising Alpha events in your area. E.g. local Alpha Advisers and Resource Churches.
  • Local churches working together communicates a powerful message of unity.
  • Pooling resources will increase scale and effectiveness.
  • Joint events and initiatives are more successful in gaining press coverage.
  • Joint advertising makes a big impression – potential guests can see that the Alpha course is widespread and it’s easier for them to see all the different courses, locations and timings in an area so they can find one that suits them.
  • Together you will have a complete picture of Alpha in your area and from this you can begin to develop an advertising plan.

Get to know your local media and think about what might make a good story

If you are planning a more high profile campaign or event:

  • Appoint an advertising and PR team to put the plan into action – look for people to get involved including anyone who has a particular skill – e.g. marketing, websites, design, photography & writing press releases.
  • Choose a spokesperson who can easily be contacted by the press to answer questions about Alpha in your area.
  • Make a list of all the different publications that are produced in your area. When planning your Alpha events, have in the back of your mind how it could make a story for the press.
  • Interesting venues and situations will capture the imagination of editors and readers.
  • Invite local celebrities, high profile church leaders, your MP, local councillors and prominent business people to your Alpha launch event. Assign somebody who will host these guests for the evening and will be able to chat to them and explain more about the aims of the evening and your Alpha course.
  • Invite high profile people to speak at your event, for example, a local sports personality to share simply about their faith. This will be a provide a huge draw for your event and encourage a wider audience to attend.
  • Prepare a press pack to give to the media, including the key messages about Alpha, a local factsheet and photos with captions that they could include. See ‘Using PR to Promote Local Alpha Courses’ and fact-check Alpha information via ‘Facts and Figures’ in the ‘About the course’ section on alphafriends.org.

Don’t do it alone. Go for it and have fun!

  • Contact Alpha UK if you need help.
  • We may also be able to connect you with someone who has done similar things before.
  • Most importantly, we thank you for all that hard work that you put into making your course happen and we hope that you will blessed in turn and also will enjoy putting together an advertising plan.

Running a combined Alpha course

Combined Alpha Launches

Start your Alpha course with a party! It's easy for church members to invite people to a fun launch event which will give them a flavour of what Alpha is about and a chance to meet other people taking part in the course.

The idea is to have a relaxed event including a short talk to introduce guests to the Christian faith, which can be explored further on the Alpha course. These events are a friendly and welcoming ‘taster’ for people who are unfamiliar with church. Events have taken place in all sorts of venues and formats from sit down meals to band nights in a pub. They have run in homes, hotels, football clubs, cinemas and schools. Choosing an imaginative venue can be a good way to publicise the event and get coverage in the local press. Some launches have a well-known local speaker, others choose someone whose life has been changed by Jesus through an Alpha course. Many churches combine Alpha launch events with harvest celebrations or church barbecues. Joining together with other churches to organise a launch event is lots of fun. This enables groups of churches to share resources and planning responsibilities and to use economies of scale in the taskforce and catering. It also helps to widen the choice of venues. Churches working together sends a powerful message of unity to the press and public.

Alpha UK can offer lots of help and advice and also put you in contact with others who have run fantastic launch events in their area. Please send us an email to find out more –

Case Study

Chepstow & District Churches Together Alpha Team

We have an ongoing Alpha Team from the different Churches locally built up over the last 10 years working together to put on Alpha events. We put on launch events to promote the Courses running and to enable potential guests to have an opportunity to dip their toe in the water and see if the Alpha Course was for them. In 2010 we had an evening Alpha Introduction at "Wetherspoons" in Chepstow returning to the same venue for a second year. Wetherspoons were very accommodating providing a curry meal & a drink for 86 people very efficiently, for which the local Alpha fund picked up the tab. We have made a team decision to do the DVD talks at launch events – as we are doing it as Churches Together this removes any thought that a speaker from 1 denomination would give a particular slant and it has always worked very well.

Combined Alpha courses

You may also like to join together with other churches to run your Alpha course. This is being done by lots of churches across the UK.

Case Study

The Camberley Churches Joint Autumn Alpha Courses

The Camberley Churches are now running their third joint course. They had tried different venues (British Legion Club, a café, and a night club at a hotel). There were some significant advantages:

  1. Saving in overheads (cooking, PA etc).
  2. Each church could take a turn at giving the talk.
  3. More of a “buzz” when several small courses join together.
  4. A ‘neutral’ venue is less intimidating than a church.

Sports Alpha

Alpha International are producing a range of sports materials to assist churches in linking Alpha as a means of follow-up to their 2012 outreach events. Alpha is ideal as a follow-up for such outreach, and Sports Alpha aims to provide material to churches to link their sports outreach to their Alpha course.

The central piece is a series of sports-based short (3-4 minute) films that introduce each of the Alpha sessions. The films feature story/light testimony from athletes, with supporting action sequences. The interviews will be informal in tone, revolving around the personal story of the athlete, touching lightly on the subjects of each alpha session during the interview - prayer, guidance etc. These materials may be downloaded by local churches running the Alpha Course anywhere in the world. They are designed to be used with any Alpha talk product.

To register your interest please email

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