Most people think of Alpha as an evangelism course but it began life as a six-week discipleship course written in 1977 by Charles Marnham, then a curate at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB). It was originally designed for new Christians, although it attracted inquirers almost from the beginning. Today it is used by thousands of churches of all denominations around the world. Yet many churches do their first one or two Alpha courses with church folk in the majority and they find that it is a real source of spiritual growth, even for those who have been attending church for years.
Alpha consists of fifteen talks:
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Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant? |
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Who Is Jesus? |
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Why Did Jesus Die? |
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How Can I Be Sure of My Faith? |
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Why and How Should I Read the Bible? |
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Why and How Do I Pray? |
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How Does God Guide Us? |
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Who Is the Holy Spirit? |
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What Does the Holy Spirit Do? |
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How Can I Be Filled With the Spirit? |
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How Can I Resist Evil? |
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Why and How Should We Tell Others? |
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Does God Heal Today? |
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What About the Church? |
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How Can I Make the Most of the Rest of My Life? |
Each session starts with a shared meal, followed by the talk, and ends with small group discussion in which questions and opinions can be aired. The principle is that, "Alpha is a place where no question is too simple or too hostile".
There is a huge range of resources. A starter pack, containing everything you need to administer and run an Alpha course for up to 20 guests, including 1 Alpha Course Leaders Training Video; 5 Alpha Course Leaders Training Manuals; 1 Alpha Course Administrators Handbook; 1 Alpha Course DVD set (including Alpha Express); 20 Alpha Course Manuals; 1 Searching Issues Book; 1 Alpha - Questions of Life Book; 1 Telling Others - How to Run the Alpha Course Book; 50 Alpha Course Invitations; and 20 Why Jesus? costs £165.00
BetaBeta describes itself as a multimedia pastoral course. It has no direct relationship with Alpha though many see it as a useful follow-on from Alpha. It was produced by Sara Savage, Fraser Watts and Ruth Layzell of the Psychology and Christianity Project, University of Cambridge. Each session of Beta is designed to last for one and a half hours and includes Bible study, video presentation, group discussion, creative reflection, prayer and homework (private journaling and reflection). There are ten sessions:
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An introductory session, |
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Relationships |
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Community |
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Sin and atonement |
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Forgiveness and reconciliation |
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Depression |
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Loss and change |
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Stress and coping |
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Suffering and wholeness |
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Self and God. |
The full set of videos and course books costs £99. Participants booklets cost £3 each.
Called to ServeCalled to Serve: A Workbook for Leaders and Members of a Local Church is a discipleship course written by Tony, Patricia and Michel Higton. Tony is rector of the Wootons benefice.
Christianity ExploredWritten by Rico Tice, Associate Minister at All Souls, Langham Place, in 2001, Christianity Explored is modelled on the Alpha course and designed as much for inquirers as for Christians. Compared with Alpha there is a greater emphasis on the centrality of biblical exposition and less emphasis on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. But the structure is the same, with an opening meal and a focus on small group work. The course is based on Mark's gospel and there re are fourteen sessions, including four which are run on an awayday or weekend:
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Week 1: Introduction |
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Week 2: Jesus - Who Was He? |
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Week 3: Jesus - Why Did He Come? |
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Week 4: Jesus - His Death |
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Week 5: What is Grace? |
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Week 6: Jesus - His Resurrection |
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Exploring Christian Life weekend or day away: The Church, The Holy Spirit, Prayer, The Bible |
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Week 7: What is a Christian? |
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Week 8: Continuing as a Christian |
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Week 9: Choices - King Herod |
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Week 10: Choices - James, John and Bartimaeus |
A lot of the illustrations are contemporary, drawn from movies and modern novels. You are also encouraged to add your own illustrations. As with Alpha, a set of videos are available for leaders who do not feel able to deliver the material themselves.
The starter pack includes 1 How to Run the Course (with CD Rom); 1 DVD set; 3 Leader's Manuals; and 9 Study Guides and costs £105.
DISCIPLEDISCIPLE is a Bible Study Programme of four modules which was compiled by a group of Methodists in the USA in 1986. It has been anglicised and was launched in the UK at Westminster Central Hall in May 1996. It was endorsed at that time by the Moderator of the Free Churches and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Group members are asked to spend 30-45 minutes each day reading assigned passages from the Bible. By the end of the course they will have read approximately 70% of the Bible for themselves.
Each group member is given their own study manual which includes the daily reading assignments of Scripture along with commentary and questions for reflection and response. Suggestions for individual research and study-related activities are also provided.
The group meetings take place weekly when participants start by viewing a short video giving further information on the background and historical content of the Bible passages studied that week. The group leader then encourages members to explore the passages more deeply by using a variety of structured approaches suggested during leadership training.
There are three DISCIPLE Bible Study Programme available in the UK:
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D1: Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study |
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D2: Into the Word Into the World: a 32-week study of Genesis-Exodus and Luke-Acts. |
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D3: Remember Who You Are: a 32-week study of The Prophets and The Letters of St Paul. |
Normally DISCIPLE is only available as a total package, i.e. two days training for the leader—including accommodation for two nights at a conference centre—all the written material which the leader will need, plus a complete set of videos for the 34 sessions and 12 additional copies of the study manual. The cost of this package is £395.
A 17-minute introduction video is available, featuring an inner city DISCIPLE group. In many cases, it is very powerful testimony to the effectiveness of DISCIPLE in the lives of the participants. The cost of purchasing the video is £5, which is redeemable if you register for DISCIPLE leadership training.
Discipleship ExploredDiscipleship Explored was developed by the Christianity Explored team and provides follow-on material based on Paul's letter to the Philippians. The course lasts eight weeks, with each session lasting about 2 hours and comprising of a group discussion, a study in Philippians, a short talk, & further discussion. The sessions are:
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Week 1, Confident In Christ (Philippians 1:1-11) |
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Week 2, Living In Christ (Philippians 1:12-26) |
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Week 3, Standing Together In Christ (Philippians 1:27 - 2:11) |
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Week 4, Transformed By Christ (Philippians 2:12-30) |
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Week 5, Righteous In Christ (Philippians 3:1-9) |
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Week 6, Knowing Christ (Philippians 3:10 - 4:1) |
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Week 7, Rejoicing In Christ (Philippians 4:2-9) |
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Week 8, Content In Christ (Philippians 4:10-23) |
The leader's edition is £6.00 and study guides are £3.00 each.
Emmaus: The Way of FaithEmmaus was written in 1996 by Stephen Cottrell, Steve Croft, John Finney, Felicity Lawson and Robert Warren, all then in the Diocese of Wakefield. A wide variety of learning methods are used including exercises, buzz groups, Bible study and group discussion. Emmaus has three stages:
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Contact—a simple guide to help churches make contact with their local communities and build relationships. |
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Nurture—a fifteen-session course on Christian belief, life and growth. |
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Growth—a number of short courses on different aspects of Christian discipleship. |
The 15 sessions of the Nurture course are:
PART 1: WHAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE
PART 2: HOW CHRISTIANS GROW
PART 3: LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
The Nurture course costs £22.50. This includes photocopyable handouts and a CD-ROM with handouts, PowerPoint presentations and a poster.
There is also Youth Emmaus, an interactive, hands-on course, designed to help young people aged between 11 and 16 to explore the basics of the Christian faith.
Freedom in Christ Discipleship CourseFreedom in Christ Ministries UK is the UK arm of Freedom in Christ Ministries, an American organisation with a conservative doctrinal basis. It offers a thirteen-week discipleship course in a clear, straightforward style. There are three basic components: discipleship teaching that helps Christians understand who they are in Christ, the nature of the spiritual battle, and how to move on to maturity; a ministry process called Steps To Freedom In Christ which helps Christians deal with negative influences and unresolved spiritual conflicts in their lives; and help to stand firm in the freedom gained. The thirteen weekly sessions are:
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Session 1: Where Did I Come From? |
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Session 2: Who Am I Now? |
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Session 3: Choosing To Believe The Truth |
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Session 4: The World’s View Of Truth |
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Session 5: Our Daily Choice |
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Session 6: Demolishing Strongholds |
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Session 7: The Battle For Our Minds |
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Session 8: Handling Emotions Well |
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Session 9: Forgiving From The Heart |
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Session 10: Walking In Freedom Every Day |
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Session 11: Relating To Others |
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Session 12: Where Are You Heading? |
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Session 13: Staying On The Right Path |
Their website offers some case studies from churches which have used the material. Stephen Mawditt, of The Fountain of Life, Ashill and member of the Mission Support Team, also has experience of this course.
A starter pack for twenty people, which includes 1 Course Leader's Guide & CD; 20 Participant's Workbooks; 1 Discipleship Course DVD Set; 20 Steps booklets; 1 Steps DVD; 60 Postcards (20 of each); 50 invitations; 1 Testimony DVD; and 3 Posters (A3) costs £180. A free sampler DVD is also available.
Foundations21Foundations21 is a discipleship course from Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF). It is:
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web-based - using your own computer |
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for new and experienced Christians who want to be more effective disciples of Christ |
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a combination of personal exploration and interaction with other people |
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a mix of Bible exploration, web-based activities and personal application |
There are twelve 'Rooms', with one theme per Room, each of which takes about a month to work through, including a small group meeting. The expectation is that each Room will take a month to explore so the whole course will take about a year. There are four pathways through the material, each based on a different gospel. Participants choose the pathway which seems best suited to their own learning style. Course participants have access to a whole range of multi-media resources including over 6 hours of video, more than 3,500 web pages and thousands of web links.
Access to the course is by subscription. Annual subscription is £59.99 or £49.99 per person if you buy two or more. You can also purchase monthly subscriptions at £5.99 per person (£4.99 for two or more), with a minimum subscription period of six months.
There is also a trial version which gives full access to the learning environment and the Foundations21 community, plus all the DVD content for Room 1 - Jesus, at only £7.99.
A DVD, Adrian Plass introduces Foundations21 is available free. It provides a brief overview of Foundations21 and how it works.
Glad You AskedGlad You Asked is a process evangelism/discipleship course from Innovista, a group dedicated to reaching out to the emerging generations. It was launched at St Hugh's College, Oxford in 2004 and is designed to connect with younger people, especially students. It developed from the question, 'If you could ask God any question, what would you ask?'. They then asked the same question in a survey across Europe and Eurasia. They found that people were asking essentially the same 10 questions, which became the basis for the 10 sessions of Glad You Asked. The sessions are:
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Session one—part one: Does God matter? |
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Session one—part two: Does God exist? |
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Session two: How can God allow pain? |
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Session three: Do the differences in religions matter? |
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Session four: Can the Bible be trusted? |
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Session five: Why is religion full of hypocrites? |
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Session six: What was Jesus really like? |
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Session seven: Questions Jesus Asked: 'Why do you call me good?' |
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Session eight: Questions Jesus Asked: 'Why have you abandoned me?' |
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Session nine: Questions Jesus Asked: 'Why are you crying?' |
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Session ten: Questions Jesus Asked: 'Who do you say I am?' |
A promotional video is available on the website, as are video clips from each session.
A DVD package, costing £49.99, is designed to help churches start and run 'Glad You Asked'. It includes 1 'Glad You Asked' DVD; 3 Leader's Guides; 1 Promotional DVD; and a 20% reduction on 'Glad You Asked' training.
A Life Worth LivingA Life Worth Living was designed as a discipleship follow-on to Alpha, though it can be used as a stand-alone course. It uses the basic Alpha format of shared meal, talk by the leader or from video, discussion groups and prayer. Based on Phillipians it is in nine sessions:
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New Heart |
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New Purpose |
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New Attitude |
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New Responsibilities |
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New Friendships |
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New Confidence |
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New Ambitions |
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New Resources |
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New Generosity. |
The accompanying book A Life Worth Living by Nicky Gumbel costs £5.99.
A starter pack to run the A Life Worth Living course with 10 guests costs £129.99. Contents: 1 DVD Set, 2 A Life Worth Living books, 2 Leader's Guides, and 10 Guest Manuals.
A Passionate Life/Life ShapesMike Breen, was rector of St Thomas, Crookes, where he developed the notion of life shapes. Now at Community Church of Joy in Glendale USA he has written the book A Passionate Life with Walt Kallestad. It is an easy to read guidebook (236 pages) that takes the reader through eight shapes providing memory models for key areas of discipleship. It has been developed into a training course with:
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An eight-session DVD featuring 15 minute presentations by Mike Breen and PowerPoint presentations for group leaders |
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A leader’s guide book |
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A participant’s workbook |
The eight sessions cover:
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A circle of repentance and faith |
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A semi circle of rest and work |
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A triangle of relationships |
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A square of priorities |
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A pentagon of ministry |
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A hexagon of prayer |
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A heptagon of life |
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An octagon of peace |
The resources are supported by a website that provides further stories, audio and video features and news of online training events.
A Passionate Life is available from Kingsway. The small group resource kit costs £59.99 and contains A Passionate Life; Leader's Guide; Six Workbooks; and DVD, including PowerPoint slides.
Purpose-Driven LifeDeveloped by Rick Warren at Saddleback in California, the Purpose-Driven books and courses have been very successful world-wide. The Forty Days of Purpose course contains:
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Worship - Six special worship services, with sermon material, leading to a Celebration Sunday at the close of the journey. |
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Small Groups - Small Groups with study material designed to take the Sunday message deeper by studying specific scripture passages. |
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Personal Study - Each member engages with the daily personal devotional readings in the book The Purpose Driven Life. This is the real heart of the journey. |
The course is arranged around five key purposes:
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Purpose One: You were planned for God's pleasure. |
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Purpose Two: You were formed for God's family |
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Purpose three: You were created to become like Christ |
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Purpose Four: You were shaped for serving God |
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Purpose Five: You were made for a mission |
Cost of the Campaign: £150.00 which includes Training Resources; DVDs; sample resources for small groups; Children and Youth; key rings; posters etc; Training manual and the opportunity to buy the Purpose Driven Life books at £3.60 per copy plus postage.
David Court, vicar of Cromer and member of the Mission Support Team, has experience of using the Purpose-Driven material.