Register now for Alpha 2010

We're looking forward to another great Alpha Course, beginning at St Paul's on 26 January. I'm just about to send out postal invitations to people who might be interested.

The Alpha Course is an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith.

It's relaxed, low key, friendly and fun.

There is a meal together at the beginning of each session, which gives our guests an opportunity to get to know each other.

Listen, learn, discuss and discover. And ask anything.

If you, or someone you know is interested and you'd like to recieve an invitation, please email me with your details and I'll get one straight to you.

Alpha males

To counter the misconception that church is just a bit 'girly', Bear Grylls features on a new Alpha video.

We're putting on an Alpha Supper on 1 December, 2009 and will be running a new Alpha Course in January 2010. Get in touch if you're interested.

Programme for the Alpha Course 2009

The programme for the Alpha Course has been set for a while and I thought people might appreciate seeing it here on the blog:

Alpha Course 2009 - Guests' programme

Tue 20 Jan Week 1 Who is Jesus?
Tue 27 Jan Week 2 Why did Jesus Die?
Tue 3 Feb Week 3 How can we have Faith?
Tue 10 Feb Week 4 Why and how do I Pray?
(17 Feb half term - no meeting)
Tue 24 Feb Week 5 Why and how should I read the Bible?
Tue 3 Mar Week 6 How does God Guide us?
Sat 7 Mar Holy Spirit Day
Tue 10 Mar Week 7 How can I Resist Evil?
Tue 17 Mar Week 8 Why and how should I tell Others?
Tue 24 Mar Week 9 Does God Heal Today?
Tue 31 Mar Week 10 What about the Church?


Each evening follows this pattern:

7.00 Supper Barnabas Centre
7.40 Welcome Church
7.50 Talk Church
8.30 Coffee Barnabas Centre
8.40 Small groups Barnabas Centre
9.20 – 9.30 Finish

Alpha Course registration is now open

I've just sent off piles of letters, each with an invitation to our next Alpha Course, which begins on 20 January. I'm hoping that they'll arrive in people's homes after the rush of Christmas cards but in that period when there's a chance for reflection and looking forward into 2009.

Alpha was a real highlight of 2008 and it was fabuous to hear people say how good it was to be part of it.

If you, or someone you know is interested but you haven't yet received an invitation, please email me with your details and I'll get one straight to you.

Plans are set for the Alpha Course at St Paul's, Oadby in 2009

We're looking forward to an exciting new Alpha Course, starting on 20 January 2009. Our Alpha leaders team has been assembled, a programme of meetings arranged, publicity and materials ordered. Now we wait...

This year's Alpha was a very special course. Nineteen guests came and were served by a brilliant team of leaders. Here are some quotes from people who came on Alpha at St Paul's this year:

"I enjoyed being part of a diverse and friendly group of people on a Christian course that was informative and challenging. The structure of weekly sessions with input by the leader to the whole group, followed by the excellent DVD’s, and ending with small group sessions worked well. PS: and the supper each week was great also."

"Alpha at St Paul's presented a warm and friendly place that gave me the opportunity to explore the Christian faith and meet people from all backgrounds and points of view."

"I appreciated most the new friendships I made, and also how nice the atmosphere was each evening, right through from the meal to the small group discussions at the end.

"It was a life changing experience that not only brought more depth and meaning to my life but also changed my approach to life, which in turn has benefitted the people that I meet in the course of my day."

"I have always had a faith, but I always had questions that needed to be answered. The Alpha course helped me to answer those questions. In fact a lot of the questions that the course itself asked were similar to those that I wanted answering."

Remember, these aren't the words from some slick marketing team. They're the words of people who responded to invitations and came to Alpha at St Paul's in 2008.

So who will you invite to Alpha in January 2009?

It's a people thing

Last night we enjoyed ourselves with 32 people packed into our home for one of our regular "Welcome Nights". The idea is really simple. We invited everyone who's been involved with the recent Alpha course plus all those who've joined St Paul's in recent months. No agenda, no planning, just people.

It's good to chat over a cuppa at the end of a service but often those conversations are limited to a few minutes. So a longer evening gave us all the chance to get to know each other a little better.

Thanks to everyone who came and made it a very special night.

The end (of our Alpha Course) is nigh

After three months, ten evening sessions, a whole Saturday together, our Alpha Course comes to an end on Tuesday.

And what an experience it's been. I've had the privilege of working with a great team of gifted group leaders and hospitality heroes and the pleasure of getting to know delightful guests. It's been remarkable that virtually everyone who began the course is still with us (apart from two who are now looking to finish the course in South Africa, to where they emigrated in Week 7). But it's even more thrilling to hear people tell me that they have found the whole experience encouraging of their faith.

On the first night, eighteen guests came into the Barnabas Centre understandably nervous about what lay ahead. In the weeks that have followed, these people have become our friends, and friends to each other.

We've explored the really big issues about Christian faith and some of the more difficult issues too. A number of our guests are now coming to church regularly and have expressed an interest in the confirmation service in June.

All set for Alpha

Though there's not been much news on this blog, we're excited about the Alpha Course which starts on Tuesday. The response has exceeded expectations, though I want to be a little reticent about numbers until we see who actually comes along.

For anyone on the course who drops into the blog, let me assure you that we will never report who participates or what is said by any of our guests. Just in case you thought that your name might appear here, it won't! I hope you'll have a great time.

Evangelism and the strength of weak ties

The Alpha invitations have gone out by post and email, to several dozen contacts and people on the edges of St Paul's. On Sunday, I'll be asking the congregation to take at least one flyer each and think about who they could invite.

Classically, congregations are encouraged to think first about their family and close friends as those most likely to be invited to an evangelism course. But I'm wondering if it might be better to ask people to think of an acquaintance who could be invited instead.

I've been reading Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point this week. Gladwell talks about the strength of weak ties in the propagation of ideas, fashions and news. He takes the work of sociologist Mark Granovetter who found that personal connections are powerful factors in issues such as getting a job. The surprising thing that Granovetter found is that acquaintances are actually more fruitful than close friends in this respect. Gladwell adopts this idea; that while word-of-mouth is a significant force it's these weak ties that are instrumental. Hence "the strength of weak ties".

I wondered if this might be true for evangelism. Certainly most people find faith through the encouragement of other people who are known to them. Evangelism is a relational matter. But, perhaps contrary to what we might usually think, could it be through our acquaintances, rather than through our close friends and family, that these introductions happen. There's plenty of evidence in the bible for the spread of the gospel through the strong ties of family and close friendships. But there's also evidence of people receiving encouragement through weaker ties too.

When I think about the list of people who I have sent the invitations to, they are people who are known to me through funerals, weddings, baptisms, community use of our buildings etc. I know them well enough to remember their names and some relevant information about them, but I'm hardly their friends.

So this Sunday, I shall be asking the congregation to think in the same terms. Perhaps there are people in their street, office or in the pubs where they drink, that they might invite. I'll report back through the blog how we get on.

Dates confirmed for the new Alpha Course at St Paul's

We have a leaders' planning meeting next week but we have already confirmed that the Alpha Course will be on Tuesdays, beginning on 15 January 2008.

DCC meeting - October 2007

Last night's District Church Council meeting at St Paul's discussed:

• The new Gartree North Mission Partnership
• A review of the 25th anniversary celebrations - we didn't rule out doing another fete again!
• The Alpha Course - we made a major commitment to do the Alpha course but changed our planned timetable so that we could prepare properly. Alpha at St Paul's will begin in January 2008.
• Modifications to the church sound system to overcome the faulty connections in the plug-and-socket arrangement. This will make the whole system far more reliable but it will mean that we won't be able to disconnect the sound desk. A foldback speaker will be bought to aid the musicians. We committed ourselves to purchase next year additional microphones to cater for our expanded music group and a new radio mic.
• Increasing the numbers at the next Hooray Day through better publicity.
• A financial review, which included the uncomfortable fact that our income from giving is around 10% below the budgeted amount.
  
• A review of our mission giving and donations.
• The new constitution of Churches Together in Oadby and its calendar of events in 2008.
  

Is there more to life than this?

Click the arrow in the middle to play the video (and put your computer speakers on if you have any).

I like this. It's one of the latest 'viral' advertisements for the Alpha Course (click the link to see more). Simon Heathfield used it during his presentation at today's Vocation Day for the Diocese of Leicester.