Common FAQ's About Running an Alpha Course

yovanne

General Questions
Where Alpha is run and who it is for
Teams/Training to run Alpha
The Alpha Evening
The Weekend
Finances
After Alpha

General Questions

1. Is there a ‘How to start a course’ guide?

For a complete overview of running Alpha, we recommend that you attend an Alpha Training event. This will provide you with the information you require and offer you the opportunity to speak to others who are running Alpha. The book How to Run the Alpha Course:Telling Others sets out the principles behind the Alpha course and explains the best way to go about setting up your own course. It provides detailed timetables for the course and the Weekend – with alternatives where a weekend away is not always possible. The How to Run the Alpha Course: The Director’s Handbook also provides detailed information on how to go about organizing an Alpha course in a step by step format.

2. Do we have to do the course before we can run Alpha at our church?

The best way to learn how to run Alpha is to attend an Alpha Training event. These two day events are designed for those who know little or nothing about Alpha and cover the principles and practicalities of running a course. Click here for a list of Alpha conferences in the USA and International.

If attending a Training event is difficult for you or your team, we would highly encourage you and several team members to observe or visit an established course in your area. Click here to find a course near you.

3. Do we need large numbers?
Alpha can be run with just two people. A survey we have done shows that a high proportion of Alpha courses are run in homes and the average course size is around seventeen.

4. Can we change the course?
We want an Alpha course to remain an Alpha course. Material can be adapted provided the essential character of the course is not changed. Specific details are in the copyright statement.

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Where Alpha is run and who it is for

1. Can we run Alpha in a home group?
Alpha is an evangelistic tool and is primarily for those outside the church. A home group could use Alpha as a back-to-basics course for their members. However, imagine the impact if home groups would see this as an evangelistic tool to reach their neighbors and friends that might not be willing to attend a course offered at the church.

2. Does Alpha only work in specific cultural/social contexts?
Alpha has worked well in all types of communities, and within all levels of educational and social backgrounds. It is being run in a wide variety of different locations and cultures all over the world, including inner cities, prisons, rural areas, workplaces, schools and homeless projects.

3. Is Alpha suitable for our church? - Isn’t it an Anglican course?
Alpha was started in an Anglican church, but since 1993 it has spread through all the major denominations throughout the world. For example, Alpha is now being offered in Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Salvation Army, Assembly of God, Presbyterian, Pentecostal churches and many others. It is also run in homes, schools, universities, hospitals, prisons, etc.

4. Is there an Alpha course for Youth?
There is a complete course for young people with two types of manuals for teens, together with a Leaders’ Manual and a CD. Also, My Whole World Jumped is a book based on the book Questions of Life. The subjects are the same as the adult course, but the presentation is slightly different.

5. Does Alpha appeal to all age groups?
Alpha courses have included people of all ages, from teens to the nineties, but we have found it a particularly effective tool in reaching the 18-35 age group.

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Teams/Training to run Alpha

1. Do the leaders/helpers need any special training?
Training the team is vital to the success of a course, and this should take place every time a course is run. The Alpha Course Small Group Leaders Training DVD and Manual cover subjects like ‘Leading Small Groups’ and ‘Pastoral Care,’ which should be completed in two sessions prior to the start of the course, as well as ‘Praying for Others,’ which is to be completed prior to the Weekend or Day Away. It helps if Leaders are familiar with the book Searching Issues, which contains responses to the seven most commonly raised objections to the Christian faith.

If you have been running Alpha for a few sessions, you may want to keep it fresh for returning Leaders and Helpers by adding some supplemental training. There is a whole section on this website that has been developed to help meet this need. Click here to check it out: Small Group Help/Training.

2. Is a separate ‘Task Force’ important?
The Alpha Task Force is the key group working behind the scenes, especially on larger courses. The Task Force gets the facility ready, prepares and serves the meal, and cleans up. This frees the team Leaders and Helpers to concentrate on looking after the guests.

3. How do we build a prayer team to support our course?

We have seen that active prayer teams and fruitful courses often work together. We have created a section on this website to help you in building your prayer team.

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The Alpha Evening

1. Is the meal important?

The meal is a key element of the course, whether the group is large or small. Having guests, Leaders and Helpers eat together in their groups provides a powerful relational dynamic. Courses that have tried to run without the meal find that fellowship in the small groups often suffers. The meal time enables Leaders and Helpers to get to know the guests in a relaxing way.

2. If we are trying to attract guests from outside the church, should we include a worship segment?
In most larger courses this element is included. Worship at the start of a course should be short and simple but worship sessions can lengthen as the course goes on. In some smaller courses, worship may not be appropriate at the beginning.

3. What materials do we need for the talks?

To present the course, many use The Alpha Course on DVD. Some leaders present the talks themselves, by preparing notes based on the chapters of the book Alpha - Questions of Life (the Alpha course in book form), or by watching the DVDs.

Each guest should be given The Alpha Manual when they arrive, which contains the outline notes for each talk. If you do the talks yourself, you will need to follow the sequence of each chapter of Questions of Life, so that guests can follow in their manual.

The Alpha Course DVD is not essential - but most have found that this is a great way to get started. It enables the Leader/Speaker to concentrate on greeting guests and dealing with other important areas of the course, particularly the small groups. Some larger churches have purchased a video projector, although this can be expensive. Again, the talks can of course be done live, if you have a good speaker.

4. Can we do the talks ourselves?
Yes. The talks are in written form in Alpha - Questions of Life. The Alpha manual follows the same sequence of each talk. A CD-ROM is also available with the book Questions of Life and the transcripts of all the Alpha talks.

5. Does everyone need a copy of Questions of Life?

Alpha - Questions of Life is the Alpha course in book form. It is a good idea to have it available for guests who may wish to buy a copy, but this is not required. It can help to reinforce what the guest has already heard on the course.

6. How important is the Alpha Course Manual?

Ideally each guest should be given The Alpha Course Manual when they arrive on the first night. It includes outline notes for each talk. It is provided free of charge, with costs recouped by donations, or considered part of the church’s giving. They are available for approximately the same cost as it would take to photocopy the manual.

7. Can people change groups?

Yes, but we do not encourage people to change groups. Once small groups have been formed, it is best to leave them as they are. It takes time to build the sense of trust that is the key to the group. Each time a new guest joins, the process starts again. It is possible for people to change after week one, even though relationships are already beginning to form. However, it is extremely hard and very unhelpful to move people into a new group later in the course.

8. Does it matter if people drop out of the course?

Obviously it is very disappointing if people drop out of the course. However, we believe it is important not to put any pressure on the guests, and to leave them to decide whether to come or not. We do say that if they stop coming, we will never run after them.

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The Weekend

1. How important is the Weekend?

Alpha’s Weekend or Day Away is essential to the success of the Alpha course. In fact, omitting it is one of the top causes of an unsuccessful course because it is the proven time for guest transformation. As Nicky Gumbel describes it, the Weekend is the time when the penny drops eighteen inches: from the head to the heart. It is often the time when guests commit or recommit their lives to Christ.

The Weekend is different from the rest of the course because it gives guests the space, time and environment needed to thoroughly process and reflect on what they are learning. It also helps guests, Leaders and Helpers get to know each other better and form lasting relationships. On Alpha evaluation forms, guests consistently indicate that the Weekend or Day Away was the best part of their course.

If planning the Weekend or Day Away seems daunting to you, take a look at the other resources listed below. If you are still unsure about doing the Weekend or Day Away, consider teaming with another church in your area to do the Alpha course, especially one that has been successful with Alpha in the past. You can learn invaluable information from your peers.

• Weekend or Day Away
• How To Run the Alpha Course: Director's Handbook on Alpha Resources
• Prayer Ministry on Alpha Resources

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Finances

1. How do we cover the costs?
No charge is made for people to attend the Alpha course. We do not want to exclude anyone from attending a course. Some churches suggest an amount be donated that will cover the cost of the meal, with the understanding that this is entirely voluntary. Church members have found ways to cover the cost of materials.

Many churches budget to cover the cost of running the course (eg materials such as Alpha manuals) as part of their outreach and evangelistic ministry. There is, however, a cost for the Weekend Away. We aim to keep the cost of the weekend as low as possible. For those who are unable to pay the full cost, scholarships can be offered and given at the discretion of the church. We would recommend that a collection is taken at the Weekend. In this way, those who can afford a little more can pay for those who cannot afford to pay anything at all or only a part.

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After Alpha

1. What happens after Alpha?
Those who have completed an Alpha course may wish to get involved in the church in either of the following ways:

Help on the next Alpha course (new Christians are often very effective evangelists, and their enthusiasm may inspire friends and family to go on a course)
Join a church small group, which could run any of the four listed follow-on options listed below.

2. What can we use as follow-up to the Alpha course?
Here are follow up options from within the "Alpha family." All are suitable for use in small groups.

A Life Worth Living is a nine week Bible study in Philippians designed for all those who want to get going in the Christian life and is the recommended follow-up to the Alpha course. The resources for this course are a DVD, video, book or audio with manual and leaders' manual.
Searching Issues tackles the seven most common objections to the Christian faith - such as 'Why does God allow suffering?', 'Do all religions lead to God?', 'Is there anything wrong with sex before marriage?'. It is practical and understandable and a great help to those struggling with these issues, as well as for those interested in bringing their friends to Christ. There is a manual to be used with the book or audio cassette.
Challenging Lifestyle is nineteen studies based on the Sermon on the Mount. It deals with issues such as 'How to have an influence on society' and 'How to handle money' and is available in manual, book and audio cassette form.
The Heart of Revival is a well-researched approach to revival, based on the book of Isaiah. Available in book, manual and cassette form and includes Bible study notes for use in small groups.
These courses run using the same format as Alpha, i.e. meal, talk, coffee, and small group discussion. Books, audio tapes and manuals are available for each course.
There is one final suggestion for use as either a follow up to Alpha or else a course that can be done before Alpha. It is the Marriage Course. This course has been developed at Holy Trinity Brompton as well, and is an excellent tool to help strengthen marriages.

Here are suggestions of popular resources that may also be used in follow up: