At the end of 1998, there can hardly be anyone in England who can honestly
claim not to have heard of 'Alpha', the evangelistic small group meetings
in a relaxed atmosphere on 11 evenings and one weekend, during which
central questions of the Christian faith are discussed. Generally, a large
percentage of the participants decide to become Christians. The media have
picked up on the courses, which 4,100 churches and fellowships cooperated
in publicising in autumn 1998. Nicky Gumbel, vicar at the London's
Anglican Holy Trinity church, where Alpha started, has already been
described by the 'Times' as "the new John Wesley", and the Daily Telegraph
spoke of 'England's re-conversion' through Alpha. There are around 10,000
Alpha courses in 73 countries, 6,400 of them in England. By the end of
1998, almost 2 million people had visited an Alpha course, and the effects
can be felt even in Germany's Lake Constance area, where Boehringen's
Evangelical church is having to extend its building because of the number
of people who have joined the church as a result of the courses.
Source:
German Alpha office, Peter Aschoff, fax 0931-203019; webpage: alpha.tcf.de,