Alpha
is a 15-session practical introduction to the Christian
faith designed primarily for non-churchgoers and new Christians
and is being run by every denomination in 163 countries
around the world and translated into 99 languages.
Most
courses take place in the evening with a meal followed by
a talk central to the Christian faith. After the talk, participants
divide into groups of about ten or twelve people to discuss
the talk in an environment where each person is free to
ask or express whatever they wish.
The
Alpha course was started by Charles Marnham at Holy Trinity
Brompton, London in October 1977. It began as a four week
course with 11 new Christians.
Nicky
Gumbel took over in 1990 and moved the focus of Alpha onto
those outside the church.
The
first Alpha conference was at HTB in 1993 with 1000 delegates
- 200 courses started as a result.
Since
1992 the Alpha course has seen astonishing growth, both
in the United Kingdom and internationally. From just five
courses running in the UK in 1992, to over 7,000 registered
Alpha courses in the UK and over 36,000 courses in 163 countries.
It is estimated that over 13 million people have now been
on the course worldwide.
The
first Alpha Course in Hong Kong started at Union Church
Hong Kong in 1994. In 1998, Steve and Hannah Miller, members
of Union Church, organized the first Hong Kong Alpha Conference
with Nicky Gumbel as the speaker. Local Hong Kong churches
started to run Alpha since the Conference. In 1998 Hannah
Miller also started to get involved in the translation work
of Alpha Resources into Chinese.
By
1999, Alpha Course Hong Kong Ltd. was established, and the
main function of the office is to translate the Alpha Resources
into Chinese and to run Alpha Conferences and trainings
to support local churches and overseas Chinese churches
to run the Alpha Course. In 2004, Alpha Hong Kong assisted
in the first Alpha Conferences in Taiwan and Shanghai International
Church.
From
2005 to 2007, three consecutive years of Alpha Invitations
were launched in Hong Kong, with citywide promotion of Alpha,
and encouraged churches to start the course in the same
week. It resulted in an unprecedented growth of the ministry:
there are now over 400 courses running in Hong Kong, including
302 adult and youth courses in churches, 12 prisons, 24
schools and 50 workplaces; and approximately 50,000 people
attended a course to-date.
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