The Alpha Initiative in the UK
How it started
In 1997, a group of churches in a small English town called
Thanet joined together to advertise their Alpha courses in
the local press. The ad simply said: ‘The Alpha Course
– an opportunity to explore the meaning of life. Coming
soon to a church near you.’ It was followed by details
of 22 churches of all denominations running Alpha in the town.
The Thanet idea was a powerful demonstration of churches
working together, and we decided to use this model when the
time was right to run the first nation-wide advertising campaign
in the UK.
Advertising - the first campaign
In 1998, thousands of churches contributed to the cost of
a national campaign. Alpha adverts were displayed on billboards,
church noticeboards, homes, shops and clubs, and in the regional
press. There were many local publicity events and around 4.5
million invitations to Alpha were distributed by Christians
in the UK. The advertising campaign has evolved over the years
to include billboards, bus-backs and radio spots, and is reinforced
by hundreds of regional and local publicity campaigns mounted
by local churches.
‘Inviting the nation to supper’
In 2000, the first UK ‘Alpha Supper Initiative’
was held. The vision was that everyone in the country should
have an opportunity to attend a celebration Alpha supper,
hear the talk ‘Christianity: Boring, Untrue, Irrelevant?’,
and receive a follow-up invitation to a local Alpha course.
The suppers were a huge success, and have remained at the
heart of each subsequent initiative in the UK.
Training
Training is vital to the quality and effectiveness of Alpha
courses. As part of preparing for each Alpha Initiative, churches
are encouraged to attend two-day Alpha conferences and Alpha
Regional Days (one-day training in the Principles and Practicalities
of Alpha), and to hold joint Team Training days before their
autumn courses.
Prayer
Nothing we do is of any value without prayer, and each year
we co-ordinate a concerted prayer drive to undergird The Alpha
Initiative. Thousands of churches join together in regional
prayer meetings to pray for the impact of the initiative,
praying through the same agenda on or around the same day.
Each year, we have seen a wonderful increase in the number
of churches and individuals coming together to pray.
Impact
The Alpha Initiative has had an amazing impact on the awareness
of Alpha in the UK, and on attendance at local Alpha courses.
MORI research shows that between 2000 and 2002, awareness
of Alpha as a Christian course nearly doubled, increasing
from 9% to 17% of the UK population. This means that Alpha
is now recognised by the biggest proportion of the population
since the course’s inception. A survey by Christian
Research shows that the numbers of non-churchgoers coming
to Alpha suppers and courses has increased year on year.
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