Alpha is coming to the Boise Vineyard.

The timing for Alpha is now.  People are searching for answers to life's questions, and Alpha is a great way to help guide people to make decisions about their future, and eternity.  We're excited to make Alpha a part of Vineyard Boise .  We have an excellent leadership team that has been meeting for about 12 weeks to build friendships, share testimony's and prepare for this awesome course.  Our hope is that you'll tell your friends about Alpha.  We're prepared to host approximately 50 people, so space is very limited.  Take a brochure and pass it on to someone you know that is searching spiritually, or attend the course yourself.  Most people who attend the course, end up helping to host the next Alpha course.  It's that "reproducible" authentic Christianity that is so much at the very heart of what we  teach here at the Vineyard Boise.  We're looking at holding 3 Alpha courses per year: one in the spring, fall, and winter. 

What is Alpha?

Alpha is a ten-week opportunity to explore the validity and relevance of the Christian faith for our lives today. It is a practical introduction to the basics of Christianity with loads of opportunity for debate and discussion. The style of Alpha is informal, friendly and non-pressured.

Alpha is enjoyed and appreciated as much by those who have never set foot in a church as it is by those who once attended and by the regular churchgoer. No matter what their background, whether investigating Christianity for the first time or revisiting their faith, participants get a lot out of an Alpha Course.

Each week people meet together for a meal, a talk on topics such as "Who is Jesus?", "Why Did Jesus Die?", "How Can I be Sure of My Faith?", and "Does God Still Heal Today?" , followed by small group interaction. There is a day or weekend retreat midway through the course, which focuses on the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

There are over 3000 Alpha courses running in the US and about 500,000 Americans have already participated. Most Americans live within easy access of an Alpha course. Find a Course near you.

Churches of every different type and background, including Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal, Salvation Army, Free Church and House Churches are running Alpha. Because Alpha covers the basics of Christianity all churches provide the same material, making alterations only to suit the local culture.

Alpha originated at Holy Trinity Brompton - an Anglican church in London, England over twenty years ago. The syllabus of the course is contained in the Book "Questions of Life" by Rev. Nicky Gumbel. Thousands of Alpha courses are now running in many countries and it has been translated into many different languages.

Church leaders from all denominations report the astonishing impact the course has on non-churchgoers and existing Christians in their areas. And it's spreading fast to many secular locations - prisons, university campuses, businesses and schools.

 Who is Alpha for?

What's involved?

The Alpha course will start September 16, 2004 and run for 11 consecutive weeks.  We will meet at 6:30 pm for dinner, listen to a talk for 40 minutes then break up into small discussion groups. We'll wrap up by 8:45 pm. Registration is necessary for Alpha due to the limited class size.  Childcare is available free of charge for children 8 and under, but registration is necessary.

Other 11-week Alpha sessions for 2005

Join us!

Click here to fill out the V-mail and let us know that you would like to attend Alpha.

Origins of Alpha

The Alpha course has been running for 20 years, but it was only in 1993 that its astonishing possibilities as a vehicle for evangelism began to emerge. This is the story of how it happened:

Twenty years ago, Charles Marnham, a clergyman at Holy Trinity Brompton, London, began looking for a means of presenting the basic principles of the Christian faith to new Christians in a relaxed and informal setting. He devised the Alpha Course.

The talks addressed such questions as 'Who is Jesus?', 'How and why do I pray?' and 'How does God guide us?'. When Charles Marnham moved on, others took over leadership of the course and made their own changes.

By the time Nicky Gumbel took over Alpha in 1990, the course was a central feature of the church's life, with the number of participants regularly totaling around 100 people on each course.

It was while leading his second Alpha course that Nicky made a discovery which transformed the church's whole approach to the course and gave it a new dynamic. As he looked around the 13 members of his 'small group', he realized to his surprise that apart from the three Christian helpers, all the other 10 members of the group were non-churchgoers.

"They had all the normal objections: 'What about other religions?'; 'What about suffering?', and so on - and we had a stormy first six weeks," he said. Then they went away on the weekend and all 10 announced their Christian conversion together.

The experience transformed Nicky's thinking about Alpha. He realized how this simple course in basic Christianity could become a powerful medium for evangelism. He quickly worked to give the course the kind of ‘feel’ that would be particularly attractive to non-churchgoers.

The method of welcome, the atmosphere of the small groups, the food, the seating, the flowers, the sound, and the material of the talks themselves were all changed to make them as attractive as possible to the person who walked in 'off the street'.

He emphasized to the Alpha small group leaders that no question should be treated as too trivial, threatening or illogical. Every question would be addressed courteously and thoughtfully - and none would ever be 'pestered' if they chose not to continue with the course.