Talking with people about Jesus is hard. Many Christians feel shame about not doing it, awkward when they try to do it, and nervous about responding to the questions or themes that might come up when beginning a faith dialogue with someone. Jesus told us to be fishers of men, but sometimes the way evangelism is talked about sounds more like hunting than the fishing metaphor of throwing out a net.
If you relate to any of that, Alpha can be a helpful resource for you.
Alpha was designed to respond to the exact cultural dynamics of our day. In places where certainty is typically prized, Alpha invites questions. Where people are lonely, Alpha offers friendship. Where people are afraid of being pressured, Alpha provides a low-pressure context to explore. Alpha is an intentionally created space where nothing is off limits, and anything can be said, where the Christian faith is presented in a no-pressure way.
Alpha is for everyone. It is for those who have never been a part of the church, for those who have been hurt by the church, for young people asking questions about their faith for the first time, or for anyone who feels like they might be on the way out of the church. Truly: Alpha is for everyone who is interested in comfortable and meaningful conversations over a good meal.
Alpha is an 8-week course that hosts conversations over dinner around topics like faith, identity, purpose, and belonging from a Christian perspective. Because of the small group dynamic, it provides a space for people to know and be known by others while exploring one’s own relationship to some of life’s biggest questions.
God is using Alpha not only in the United States, but around the world. I have heard people repeatedly say, “If church was like Alpha, I’d go to church.” Here’s one especially powerful Alpha testimony.
Prayer moves God, so don’t underestimate the power of asking God for opportunities and wisdom.
Beyond that, there are some practical tips for how a particular invitation can be approached. I typically wait for people to somehow verbally indicate to me that they would welcome or at least be open to an invitation to something like Alpha. I’ve received only one consistent response to invitations: “I’ve been looking for something just like that!” So, the question is, who in your life is looking for something like Alpha - even if they don’t realize it?
If you’ve heard people in your life express any of these things, prayerfully consider sending them an invitation to Alpha. The best invitation is one that says, “I’ll go with you,” but if that’s not possible in this season, you can send an invitation anyway (you can let one of us know to be looking out for your friend!).
Here’s a sample text you could send:
“Hey, at one point we had a conversation about ______, where you expressed an interest in talking more about faith. I’m not sure if this would be interesting to you, but there’s an 8-week course that meets Thursdays at Dynamo Coffee starting September 25th until November 13th and it explores topics of faith and purpose. It’s called Alpha, and it’s a weekly dinner group that watches a video about some aspect of the Christian faith and then has a facilitated conversation. All faith backgrounds or perspectives are invited. It’s really just a low pressure environment and you could try it just once to see if it’s something you would want to continue participating in. Is that something you’d want to try? I think you might really like it, but no pressure. Here’s the website if you want to look into it more: alphacos.org/iac.”
Alpha has some great videos and resources on this, but the number one rule is to be natural and personal. And if you can, and if appropriate, say something like, “I’m not currently involved but I’d be happy to attend with you.”
For more information on IAC’s Alpha course, please go to alphacos.org/iac. Or for information on other Alpha locations in Colorado Springs, you can head to alphacos.org.
We’re looking for a few people to help us out with providing meals for Alpha. If you’re interested in providing something for a part of one of these dinners, that can be signed up for HERE.
If you want to be involved in another way, you can always show up as a guest to check it out. Anyone is welcome to come with questions, humility, and their own stories to be a participant in these evenings.
Thank you for being a safe place For people to discuss their questions/doubt about God/faith. Being in Alpha (when l was) felt refreshing... Be encouraged that your faithfulness makes a difference in a world so full of pain/ hurt from the "religious community". Nothing screams Jesus more than a come as you are atmosphere.
That's what I found at Alpha.
— Kaela