It's the first night of the Alpha Course, and you're a little nervous. You don't go to church very much, and you've never been to this church before, but you park behind the building like it said in the newspaper ad and walk toward the entrance. Reaching the door, you are reassured by the "Welcome to Alpha" sign which directs you to turn left at the bottom of the stairs. Once there, you are enticed by the tantalizing aroma of spaghetti and garlic bread. "Smells good," you think to yourself. "I guess it won't hurt to at least stay for supper and find out more about Alpha."

You enter the large room, where you are greeted by a person with a friendly smile. "Welcome to Alpha! Come on in!" she says, and soon you find yourself sitting at a round table with a plate of spaghetti in front of you. Also around the table are seven other men and women who, much like you, are looking for answers to some of their questions about faith and life, Christianity and Jesus Christ.

The Alpha Course is an opportunity to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed setting over 11 weekly sessions. Each Alpha evening includes supper and a talk on an aspect of Christianity, followed by small group discussion time when participants are encouraged to explore the issues presented in the talk and to ask any faith-related questions they have on their hearts. Topics covered in the 11 sessions include...

• Who is Jesus?
• Why did Jesus Die?
• How Can I Be Sure of My Faith?
• Why and How Should I Read the Bible?
• Why and How Do I Pray?
• How Does God Guide Us?
• Who Is the Holy Spirit?
• What Does the Holy Spirit Do?
• How Can I Be Filled with the Spirit?
• How Can I Resist Evil?
• Why and How Should We Tell Others?
• Does God Heal Today?
• What About the Church?

The course concludes with a  celebration dinner when participants are encouraged to bring guests. The talk for that evening is "Christianity: Boring, Untrue, and Irrelevant?"

For more about Alpha, read on...