» Parliament to Prison to Pilgrim

4 Responses to “Parliament to Prison to Pilgrim” »»

1. Dale Stephenson
   Comment by Dale Stephenson | 10/10/05 at 2:25 pm

   There is more than one dynamic to the success of Alpha in my opinion. Unmistakably there is Nicky Gumbel who is brilliant at what he does. Beyond Nicky is the dynamic of a group who bond together over a meal and feel safe in the open discussion format. Of the groups that I have led the dynamics of free flowing communication, safe God space and directed conversation was a winner. The weekend away always built on the dynamic that was already established by that time. The experiential nature of praying for one another and new converts sharingso frankly and directly always gave spice to the gatherings. All of this blends together with the annointing of God that goes with an accessible evangelistic initiative. I have seen similar results and dynamics with seeker groups without Alpha.

2. Mark
   Comment by Mark | 10/10/05 at 5:41 pm

   Only just discovered your blog….very interesting, thanks! I am invloved with Alpha both in a hands on sense (leading a group) and somewhat in an organisational way. I think it is so effective for a number of reasons;
   1. It works. Sounds stupid but it’s amazing how many things churches do that simply don’t work – in the sense that ordinary people find them strange or uncomfortable. Alpha works incredibly hard to give people an atmosphere they are comfortable in.
   2. It let’s people say what they think. In the discussion times, it really is discussion. Leaders of groups listen and don’t tell – we believe that God will do the “heavy lifting” and when people are allowed to open up he really does, time after time after time.
   3. The courses are easy to run – you don’t have to be an expert
   4. It encourages local churches and doesn’t charge. Alpha has no ambition to be a para church. This means local churches want to get involved and encourage their people to get involved. This has produced tremendous leverege of resources. 1 million a year do an Alpha course in 153 countries for a total of about 300 paid staff worldwide.
   5. There’s lots more – you’d be really welcome to come to an Alpha conference…!

3. Wendy Henry
   Comment by Wendy Henry | 10/10/05 at 11:44 pm

   Alpha is an excellent tool for the local church.
   The small group is relational, incarnational and allows people to ‘belong before they believe.’
   It is ‘come and see’ evangelism.
   It recognizes that evangelism is a process.
   It allows questions and discussions in a relaxed setting.
   It allows people to experience prayer and the power of God
   Leaders on Alpha don’t teach – they facilitate.
   It is great in homes (gets it out of the church building!)
   It is thought provoking, humorous, interesting and enjoyable.
   As it is used cross-denominationally it demonstrates unity among the churches.
   And it has the annointing of God on it.

4. Jon Seeley
   Comment by Jon Seeley | 10/13/05 at 1:42 pm

   It is my privilege to serve as National Director of Alpha Australia and I am more excited than ever about the potential for Alpha to have enormous strategic impact and leverage for the Kingdom.

   Our Vision: Australian Churches Growing Consistently through Effective Evangelism. Many churches that run Alpha well, tell us that of all their ministries, Alpha is the single most effective in terms of adding people to the Kingdom.

   What excites me most is the very real prospect of mobilising the Australian Church into effective evangelism through Alpha. Alpha is so effective because it:
   •Trains and engages ordinary Christians like you and me into faith-filled prayer, personal invitation and culturally sensitive proclamation of the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ;
   •Creates an intentionally welcoming atmosphere for people to explore a very clear presentation of the Christian faith in a non-confrontational setting;
   •Is something to which people can confidently invite non-Christian friends.

   My vision is to see ordinary Christians getting excited again about the real possibility of seeing their friends coming to faith in Jesus, on a consistent basis. And the best way I have seen for this to happen is as groups of ordinary Christians get together to pray, prepare and present the Alpha Course in relevant settings in their own communities.

   Effective Evangelism is possible for Ordinary Christians! Are you seeing it happen amongst your contacts and in your community? If you’re not and you would like to, let me encourage you to take a fresh look at the Alpha Course.

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