the Nuts and Bolts

What’s in Alpha? weekend away Christianity: Boring, untrue and irrelevant? Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus die? How can I be sure of my faith? Why & how should I read the Bible? Why & 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 Holy Spirit? How can I make the most of the rest of my life? How can I resist evil? Why and how should we tell others? Does God heal today? What about the church?

Who is the course for? Young people in your church Young people on the fringe Young people associated with a local club or organization Young people in a local school

When and where? Do some research Think about the options Make it comfortable for young people Church? Community centre? Sports hall? Home? Other options?

Resources Younger youth manual (11-14) Older youth manual (15 +) Leaders Guide Questions of Life My Whole World Jumped Presentations CD

Three Streams Alpha-Tech Alpha-Active Alpha-Lite

ALPHA TECH multimedia cerebral / technical engagement participants confident and willing to explore abstract ideas and discuss them target : older youth and those who have had some exposure to Christianity

interact with the teaching material through activity active games, visual aids, drama sketches and content-related tasks target : younger youth and those not comfortable with academic thought or book culture ALPHA ACTIVE

shorter time requirements, and reduced responsibility upon leadership story-based communication target : schools, peer-led groups and situations with time constraints ALPHA LITE

The makeup of a ‘typical’ session

Set the atmosphere Food Arrival / Gathering

Icebreaker See Leaders Guide for ideas Let’s go through an example

Presentation Use the leaders guide Use your own illustrations Make it fun - not too heavy or intense Keep it factual - communicate the Alpha material Keep things moving - who can help you? Prepare properly

Small Groups Give them the opportunity to voice what they believe No question is too simple or too hostile Leading questions and activities in the Leaders Guide

Small Groups Leadership Who? Preferably, use young people Role of table leader, not guru Encourages, guides and steers discussion Look for opinions Don’t take sides Briefly summarise main points

Small Groups Ground rules No put downs There is no such thing as a stupid question No one is forced to talk and only one person talks at a time What is said in the group stays in the group

YOUTH ALPHA