what is an "alpha course"?

How much does the Alpha course cost?

Everyone is welcome. How Much Will It Cost? There is no charge for attending the Alpha course. There will be a $3 fee for adult dinners (Kids eat free and free childcare is available during class).

How successful is the Alpha course?

Today, 1.2 million Britons have attended an Alpha Course, and thousands attend HTB services every Sunday. It's British Christianity's biggest success story. I've come to Brompton to meet Nicky Gumbel, vicar of HTB and chief architect of the Alpha Course.

What is Alpha Catholic program?

Alpha is an opportunity to explore life and the Christian faith, in a friendly, open and informal environment, usually over a meal. Alpha is no-cost, no-pressure and no-commitment. More than 4,000 Alpha courses have been run around the world, including in many Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

How long is the Alpha program?

eleven weeksAlpha is a series of sessions exploring the basics of the Christian faith. Typically run over eleven weeks, each session looks at a different question that people can have about faith and is designed to create conversation.

What is wrong with Alpha Course?

Alpha has been criticised for having a charismatic emphasis, with some non-charismatic evangelicals criticising Gumbel's emphasis upon the person and work of the Holy Spirit in particular.

Is Alpha approved by the Catholic Church?

Afterall, Alpha didn't come from the Catholic Church. Alpha started in an Anglican parish in London called Holy Trinity Brompton. It was further developed and popularized by an Anglican vicar named Nicky Gumbel. And it has gone on to be used in churches of virtually every Christian denomination and tradition.

Is Nicky Gumbel Catholic?

Nicholas Glyn Paul Gumbel (born 1955), known as Nicky Gumbel, is an English Anglican priest and author in the evangelical and charismatic traditions. He is known as the developer of the Alpha Course, a basic introduction to Christianity supported by churches of many Christian traditions.

Who narrates Bible in a year?

The Bible in One Year: A Commentary by Nicky Gumbel by Nicky Gumbel | Audiobook | Audible.com.

How many parishes are there in the world?

221,740 parishesStatistics. The number of parishes, similarly, varies widely from diocese to diocese. As of December 2012 there were 221,740 parishes, among total 456,503 pastoral centers in the world.

What is Alpha Youth Series?

Read allThe Alpha Youth Series is a brand new interactive series exploring life, faith and meaning. Re-imagined for today's youth culture, each episode looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. It's for young people with no Christian or church background.

What is the Christianity Explored course?

Christianity Explored is an informal Christian evangelistic teaching course developed by Rico Tice and Barry Cooper at All Souls Church, Langham Place, a leading Anglican church, and published by The Good Book Company. The course is considered to stand within the conservative evangelical tradition.

How is alpha written?

Greek letters are often used to represent functions in mathematics and science....Greek Alphabet.LetterUppercaseLowercaseAlphaΑαBetaΒβGammaΓγDeltaΔδ20 more rows

What is an alpha course?

The Alpha course is an evangelistic course which seeks to introduce the basics of the Christian faith through a series of talks and discussions. It is described by its organisers as "an opportunity to explore the meaning of life". Alpha courses are run in churches, homes, workplaces, prisons, universities and a wide variety of other locations.

What is Alpha's teaching?

Alpha's teachings are intended to centre upon aspects of Christian faith on which all denominations are in general agreement. Nicky Gumbel says (quoting the current Apostolic Preacher Raniero Cantalamessa ), "What unites us is infinitely greater than what divides us."

What is Alpha Film Series?

In April 2016, Alpha introduced the Alpha Film Series, where traditional Alpha content is shown in a series of films, featuring stories and interviews. This series is mainly presented by Nicky Gumbel, Toby Flint (a curate at Holy Trinity Brompton) and Gemma Hunt.

What is the alternative Christianity explored course?

The alternative Christianity Explored course is an attempt to go beyond what Alpha teaches on sin.

What is the Alpha for Prisons course?

Caring for ex-offenders is a follow-up to the Alpha for Prisons course, supporting released prisoners by providing them with material assistance including accommodation, work, food, and pastoral support through church life. It operates in Britain, Canada, South Africa and the United States.

How many courses were there in 1998?

A peak was reached in 1998, when 10,500 courses were run. By 2001 this had fallen to 7,300. In 2018, the Alpha website described the course as running in over 100 countries and over 100 languages, with over 24 million people having taken the course.

When was Alpha founded?

Alpha was started in 1977 by Charles Marnham, a curate at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), a parish of the Church of England in London. It started as a course for church members regarding the basics of beliefs commonly held by many believers in Christ but then began to be used as an introduction for those interested in the faith.

What is the Alpha Course?

Many denominations are using it to introduce new believers to the Bible and biblical doctrines. What exactly is the Alpha Course? It is basically an introductory course to the Christian faith. In general, it is a fly-over and a shallow look at God and the Bible. It was created for new believers and the brainchild of the Holy Trinity Brompton Anglican church in London in the 1980’s, so it has been around for over 30 years now. It has been hailed as a way to explore the meaning of life and is being widely used in churches, homes, prisons, universities, and a variety of locations. There are specific courses for specific locations and vocations, like Alpha in the Workplace, Alpha for Prisons, Senior Alphas, Student Alphas, and several others. Today, over 35,000 courses have been offered in over 170 countries and almost 20 million people have taken the course.

What does the Alphas Course not define?

The Alphas Course, by not defining sin properly, fails to give the emphasis of Jesus sacrifice, the reason for His sacrifice, and for His resurrection.

What does Alpha do?

Alpha then gently puts forward answers from a Christian perspective without being offensive and pushy.

Where did the Alpha start?

Since London is known to be the headquarters of the occult, it is not surprising that the Alpha originated there. In1970 an English cleric, Charles Marnham, devised a four- week series of lessons for non-churchgoers and new Christians. In 1981 a former barrister of Holy Trinity Brompton extended the course to 8 weeks.

Who commended the Alpha Course?

In Alpha News, July 1997 issue, Catholic Bishop Ambrose Griffiths commended the Alpha Course for being a “powerful evangelistic tool…it doesn’t contain anything that is contrary to Catholic doctrine.”

What are the dangers of the Alpha Course?

Dangers are that the main message of the gospel is glossed over to make it have basically little or no effect.

What is the Alpha Course?

The Alpha Course is an effective form of evangelism when done by and through the local church. By focussing on the essentials of the Christian faith, it opens the door for Alpha to be used in almost any context so that everyone has the opportunity to see their friends’ lives transformed by the gospel.

Where did Alpha start?

Alpha began at a church called Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London in 1977, it was taken by Nicky Gumbel in 1990 and repositioned as a course for those outside the church. The number of people attending Alpha at HTB grew quickly into the hundreds and attracted the attention of other churches across denominations seeking to find an effective tool ...

What is the Alpha Talks series?

The Alpha Talks have been repackaged for today’s audience in the Alpha Film Series and the Alpha Youth Series was created to reach a younger generation with the Gospel. Even as times have changed, the Alpha course has continued to be used by the church as an effective tool to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When was Alpha filmed?

As interest grew Alpha conferences were organized internationally and the original Alpha Film Series was filmed in 1994 to make it accessible to the widest possible audience. Now all over the world millions of people have tried Alpha and it has been translated into 112 different languages.

Can you preview all the videos before running Alpha?

Before you run Alpha, you can preview all the videos for all of the Alpha series.

Ecumenism

That Alpha is designed to be ecumenical is very evident. The author of the course himself tells us, “In one sense it is not so important what denomination we are—Roman Catholic or Protestant; Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Anglican or House Church. What is more important is whether or not we have the Spirit of God.”

Charismatic Bias

Closely connected with its ecumenism is a strong Charismatic emphasis. The key question for the “Weekend Away” is “How can I be filled with the Spirit?” In answer, among other things, directions are given for receiving the gift of “tongues.”

Lack of Biblical Teaching

Perhaps the worst feature of Alpha, though, is that is teaches so very little. This is the reason, we suppose, that the Roman bishop mentioned above could say that he found nothing in it contrary to Catholic doctrine. Many key doctrines of the faith are passed over completely or touched on only very lightly.

False Teaching

What the course does teach is more often than not misleading or downright error. Though the Trinity is mentioned, far more time and teaching is devoted to the Holy Spirit than to God the Father or even to Christ, in spite of what Christ says in John 16:13-14.

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Overview

History

Structure

Doctrine

Influenced by

Usage

Criticism

See also