Alpha in the parish of Albury

Alpha courses are run periodically in Albury, if you would like to join one, please email Ken Hobbs for further information.

The Alpha Course

Alpha is a 13-session practical introduction to the Christian faith designed primarily for non-churchgoers and new Christians and is being run by every denomination in 150 countries around the world and translated into 45 languages.

Most courses take place in the evening with a meal followed by a talk central to the Christian faith. After the talk, participants divide into groups of about 10 or 12 people to discuss the talk in an environment where each person is free to ask or express whatever they wish.

alpha logo
  • Who is Jesus?
  • Why did Jesus die?
  • How can I be sure of my faith?
  • How should I read the bible?
  • What about prayer?
  • Who is the Holy Spirit?
  • How does God guide?
  • Hw can I resist evil?
  • Does God heal today?
  • What about the Church?

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, says of Alpha,
"What Alpha has to offer is a unique mixture of Christian content and Christian style. I recommend it as a very special tool of evangelism."

The Alpha course was started by Charles Marnham at Holy Trinity Brompton, (HTB), London in October 1977. It began as a four week course with 11 new Christians. John Irvine took on the course in 1981 and lengthened it to 10 weeks, adding the weekend away with teaching on the Holy Spirit.

Nicky Lee ran the course from 1985 to 1990 and Alpha grew from 30 to 120 guests.

Nicky Gumbel took over in 1990 and moved the focus of Alpha onto those outside the church.

The first Alpha conference was at HTB in 1993 with 1000 delegates - 200 courses started as a result.

Charles Marnham, John Irvine, Nicky Lee and Nicky Gumbel were all ordained clergy (curates) when they ran Alpha at HTB.

Since 1992 the Alpha course has seen astonishing growth, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. From just five courses running in the UK in 1992, to over 7,150 registered Alpha courses in the UK and 28,260 courses world-wide. It is estimated that 6 million people have now been on the course worldwide.

The Growth of Alpha Worldwide

Year Numbered of registered Alpha courses worldwide Estimated cumulative number of guests
1992 5  
1993 200 4,600
1994 750 27,000
1995 2,500 100,000
1996 5,000 250,000
1997 6,500 500,000
1998 10,500 1.3 million
1999 14,200 2 million
2000 17,000 2.8 million
2001 19,800 3.8 million
2002 24,400 5 million
2003 27,000 6 million
2004 28, 263 (as at 2/6/04)  

One of the greatest areas of growth recently has been in the prisons, with 125 of the 162 prisons in the UK now running the course and in 48 countries. Alpha is also running in churches, homes, schools, businesses, hospitals and over 74% of UK universities.

The 2003 survey by MORI shows that 9.5-10 million adults across Britain now know about Alpha and approximately 1.6 million are estimated to have completed an Alpha course. The MORI report revealed, "A fifth of British adults are aware that Alpha is a Christian course. This is the highest level of awareness of the Alpha course since the start of measures in 1999."

National Alpha Initiatives have also been launched in New Zealand, Canada and Australia and in many other countries, including the United States, where plans are being made for their own initiatives.

Alpha International, Holy Trinity Brompton, Brompton Road, London SW7 1JA,
Tel: Direct line +44 (0) 20 7052 0272
email: mark.elsdon-dew@htb.org.uk;
website: http://uk.alphacourse.org