Running Alpha Effectively

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Running Alpha Effectively

• Getting Started

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Appoint a Course Administrator (Director)

• Spiritually mature with a heart for evangelism
• Understands and agrees with philosophy / theology
  of Alpha
• Willing able to release responsibility
• A servant encourager
• E-mail and Internet friendly

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Alpha Course Schedule
Week 1 Who Is Jesus? (Video 2) Week 2 Why
Did Jesus Die? (Video 3) Week 3 How Can I Be
Sure Of My Faith? (Video 4) Week 4 Why and How
Do I Pray? (Video 6) Week 5 Why and How Should
I Read the Bible? (Video 5) Week 6 How Does
God Guide Us? (Video 7)
Weekend Retreat Schedule Who is The Holy Spirit?
(Video 8) What Does the Holy Spirit Do?
(Video 9) How Can I Be Filled with the Spirit?
(Video 10) How Can I Make the Most of the
Rest of My Life? (Video 15)
Week 7 How Can I Resist Evil? (Video 11) Week
8 Why and How Should We Tell Others? (Video
12) Week 9 Does God Heal Today? (Video
13) Week 10 What About the Church? (Video 14)
Week 11 Celebration (or Alpha) Dinner...
Christianity Boring, Untrue or Irrelevant?
(Video 1)
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Set a Date

• Best run as a rolling program run 3 times a year
• Ensure dates dont conflict with a major holiday

• Sept. to Christmas
• New Year to Easter
• Easter to Summer Holidays

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Determine the dates for team training

• Just before course starts . . .
• Leading Small Groups
• Pastoral Care
• Use the Alpha leaders training video

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Determine the dates for team training

• Just before weekend away
• Ministry on Alpha
• - the third session on the Alpha
• Leaders training video

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Register Your Course Online
www.alphacanada.org
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Invite Your Team

• Team Configuration
• Small Group Hosts (leaders) Helpers
• M/C
• Hospitality Coordinator
• Support Team (Task Force)
• Treasurer
• Worship Leader
• Registration and reception

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Invite Your Team

• Small Group Hosts (leaders) and Helpers
• Hosts facilitate the small group discussion
• Helpers assist hosts where needed with
  appropriate questions or practical duties, and
  prayer
• Helpers are hosts for the meal

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Invite Your Team

• Hospitality Coordinator
• Someone good at details, organizing and
  follow-up.
• Good at building a team of helpers (not taking it
  all on himself/herself)

11
Invite Your Team

• Support Team (Task Force)
• Audio-visual person
• Cooking coordinator
• Kitchen coordinator, servers
• Who might cheerfully set up tables chairs,
  decorate, clean up afterwards?

12
Invite Your Team

• Treasurer
• Who will look after the funds associated with
  running your Alpha course?
• Need an account book

13
Invite Your Team

• Worship Leader
• Live music or CDs still need a leader
• Song selection
• Musicians
• Get Alpha Worship - -gt

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Invite Your Team
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Invite Your Team
Dear Ann, The next Alpha course at HTB begins on
3 October 2007, and I should like to invite you
to join the team. There will be three training
sessions on- Wednesday 12 September Wednesday 26
September Thursday 1 November These will be held
in the church from 7.00pm to 9.30pm and supper
will be provided. It is extremely important that
you come to them! Helping on Alpha means that
you need to be willing to help in any capacity.
You may be asked to help in a Small Group or on
the Task Force. Commitment from the hostship is
of the utmost importance, so if you can help,
please would you make all the dates (and the
weekends) the highest priority in your
diaries. I do hope that you will be able to join
us in September. If you can, please would you
return the enclosed slip by 4 September and then
come to the first training session on 12
September. I look forward to hearing from
you. Lots of love Nicky Gumbel
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Prepare Invitations

• Use Alpha templates or be creative and make your
  own!
• Could be in the form of dinner tickets, greeting
  card-type invitations, flyers

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Advertising

• Personal invitations
• Tie in to other events, such as a special Easter
  or Christmas presentations
• Advertising in joint newspaper ads
• Alpha Canada Website
• Church bulletins

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Location

• A home is a great location for Alpha
• If its at church, make it homey
• Community centre
• Go where the people are!

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Forming the Small Groups
hosts and Helpers

• Ideal 21 ratio 2 hosts, 2 helpers, 8 guests
• There will be people leaving the course
• Use age groups to help place guests
• Try to prevent group hopping

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Prayer / Administration Meeting

• Small group hosts and helpers should come
  together to pray for the guests and for each
  other before each Alpha night dinner and talk
• Cover any administrative details necessary after
  praying together. At least one host from each
  group should be present for prayer

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Intro Night

• Make sure greeting efforts are over the top!
• Keep it light and fun! Its a party!
• Testimonies
• No music or small group discussion
• Application forms

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The Meal

• Cater for special meals (eg vegetarians)
• Helpers - lead the conversation
• Seriously, no religious talk at the table!
• End dinner on time

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Weekly Format
6 30 p.m. start
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Weekend Away

• May need to book a venue before the course begins
  - ask Advisors for ideas
• Begin promoting week 2 or 3
• Decide on a 2 day or a 1 day weekend

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Weekend Away

• Its OK to join with other courses
• Select a leader to invite the Holy Spirit
• Build in fun time and leisure time so its
  not too intense and give time for personal
  reflection. Skits go down really well.
• Take photos including a group photo

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Weekend Away

• Who Is the Holy Spirit?
• What Does the Holy Spirit Do?
• How Can I Be Filled with the Holy Spirit?
• How Can I Make the Most of the Rest of My Life?

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Weekend Away

• The Directors Handbook includes
• weekend sign-up form
• to do list for organizer
• entertainment guidelines
• weekend timetable
• one day timetable

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Bookshop

• Arrange with local Christian bookstore
• Recommended reading list
• Loaner system
• Missed sessions, provide audio tape
• Inexpensive Bibles available

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The last nightWhat about the Church?

• People may be sad
• Invite your pastor(s)
• Show the photos from the weekend
• Questionaire
• Certificates
• Follow with a celebration dinner?

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QuestionnairesGuest Questionnaire Appendix XXII
  Alpha Questionnaire Name Group   1.
How did you hear about the Alpha course? Did you
come to an Alpha Supper party before the
course?   2. Why did you decide to do
Alpha?   3. How many sessions did you
attend?   4. a. i. Were you a Christian when you
started the course? ii. Were you a regular
churchgoer when you started the course?   b. How
would you describe yourself now (in terms of the
Christian faith?)   c. If the answer to a. and
b. is different, when and how did the change
occur?   5. In what ways, if any, did you
benefit from doing the Alpha course?   6. What
did you enjoy most about Alpha?   7. What did
you find most difficult?   8. a. Which, if any,
tapes did you buy? b. Which, if any, books did
you buy? c. Did you find them helpful and if so
why? (please name any books or tapes which you
found particularly helpful)   9. In what way
could the course be improved? a. Talks b. Small
groups c. Generally   10. Any other
comments?   11. Are you going to join a
Homegroup?  
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Thank the Team

• Thank every team member after the course has
  completed
• Write notes of thanks mentioning specific
  contributions
• Keep records

 
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Keeping it Real
Stick to the recipe

• Alphais tried and tested has been running
  for more than 20 years every ingredient has
  important function
• Those courses that leave out an ingredient or
  aspect of the course diminish the impact of the
  course.
• Be prayerful persevere

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Leader Resources
www.alphacanada.org/leaderdownloads   Book How
to Run the Alpha Course David C Cook
Distribution 800-263-2664
Ontario Support Barrie Davies Regional Director
Ontario barriedavies_at_alphacanada.org