Alpha: Evangelism Strategy? How?

     If you do any research on line about the Alpha course you will likely not find the label "evangelism strategy" related to it.  However, in our promotion of this training I have chosen to use that descriptor in order to give you an idea of what Alpha is about.  In this post I'm answering the question of how Alpha is not like and how it is different from other evangelism strategies.  (Question #2 from the previous blog post).  In a large part, the training will help to clarify that.  But I understand you may not come to the training if you don't have some understanding of what this is.

     When people hear the word evangelism there are some preconceived notions that might come to mind.  For example:

1. Evangelism consists of presenting a memorized outline and list of Bible verses often referred to as "the plan of salvation."
2. Evangelism consists of door-to-door (cold turkey) visits to people we don't know in order to get a chance to present "the plan of salvation."
3. Effective evangelism consists of convincing an individual to pray "the sinner's prayer" at the end of our presentation, hopefully on the first visit.
4. Evangelism is about "saving souls" or getting people into heaven even if we don't get to build a relationship with the person or disciple them.
5. You have to have the gift of evangelism or a lot of courage in order to present the plan of salvation to people.

Alpha does not share any of the above five notions!  So in that sense, it is not like a other evangelism strategies.  Many of these type of evangelism strategies were developed in a modern world where most folks had a Judeo-Christian worldview or notion.  (I'm not saying that other evangelism strategies are not legitimate. I'm simply pointing out how Alpha is different from them).

     So in what sense is Alpha an evangelism strategy?  In that,

1. It seeks to engage those without faith in Christ
2. It explores the biblical truths of God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ
3. Its objective is that at some point those involved will establish a relationship with Jesus that will lead to life-long discipleship

But the Alpha course accomplishes this by building relationships with people in a caring way, facilitating dialogue that is non-judgmental and allows the Holy Spirit to do the convicting, allowing people to voluntarily respond to the gospel after they have understood its context.  This strategy recognized that many folks do not have a Christian or biblical worldview.  So in many ways, it is similar to how the New Testament church might have shared the gospel in the pagan world of the first century.

     So you don't have to have the "gift" of evangelism to use this tool.  You simply have to care for people, treat them as guests, engage in conversation, pray, and let God's Holy Spirit do the rest.

     If this interests you and if you want to know more about how to do this, please register for the training by clicking here.  (The discount code for Calvary leaders is cbcalpha).  Looking forward to seeing you here at Calvary on May 23! 

     To see the answer to my third question click here.