WHEATON, Ill., June 23, 2008 — Nicky Gumbel, Senior Pastor, Holy Trinity Brompton Church, UK, and founder of the Alpha Course, addresses delegates at this year's national Alpha conference, "Converge," at Wheaton College. Following in the footsteps of leading evangelist Billy Graham, Gumbel has impacted well over 11 million lives worldwide with the Alpha Course. Under the motto "transforming lives, together, today," Gumbel will share with the delegates the international success that Alpha is having in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Churches in the U.S. are struggling to reach young adults and many young people have turned their backs on institutional religion. But this doesn't mean that they have stopped searching for a purpose in life or that they want to stop growing spiritually. They just don't think "church" is the place to go.
At Gumbel's church in downtown London, hundreds of young adults participate in each Alpha Course and the life transformation is mind-boggling. So what's going on at Holy Trinity Brompton and what do the conference delegates want to learn about? It's about the church being equipped to reach out into the community, to communicate with the un-churched or with those who have turned their backs on the church.
At the conference delegates will be introduced to one of Alpha's innovative tools, the "Invitation." Run as a pilot last year in Lake County, IL, the "Invitation" brings local churches together – regardless of affiliation – using a high-powered advertising campaign which creates awareness for the Alpha Course. 21 churches came together to run the "Invitation" and course participation went up by 151%. Twenty US cities/counties across America are now planning to run an "Invitation." Don't be surprised if you see billboards, Metra and Pace bus signs, movie theater advertising, yard signs and bumper stickers in your neighborhood this Fall. It is all meant to make it easier for people to invite friends, neighbors and work colleagues to hear the good news of Jesus Christ on an Alpha Course.
The Alpha Course is open to anyone interested in exploring the claims of the Christian faith in a relaxed setting over ten thought-provoking weeks where every question is welcomed and people are accepted regardless of where they are on their spiritual journey. Each week participants enjoy a meal and a talk on subjects as diverse as "Who is Jesus?" and "How can I make the most of the rest of my life?" Then they break into small groups to discuss the relevance of these subjects for their own lives.
Alpha is currently run in 36,000 churches in 164 countries and the course is translated into 99 languages. Over 8,500 US churches are registered to run an Alpha Course.
For more information about the Alpha Course, visit http://www.Alpha.org or call 1-800-Do-Alpha.
Contact:
Burt Lohoff-Gaida
Alpha USA
224-588-8532
847-317-9627 (fax)
Email
http://www.alpha.org