“for many years, the Palau team has pursued a path of innovative evangelism, with particular focus on young seekers. The Alpha Course has been an invaluable
follow-up tool for those who make a decision to follow Christ. Alpha has years of
experience in answering the critical “questions of life,” and we recommend the course
without hesitation.”
- Luis Palau
Testimonials About Houston
"We are in our second year of Alpha. Nothing I have seen in my many years of ministry can compare with what I have seen in the first year. People are coming to Christ. Baptisms have picked up. But not only are people coming to Christ, they are also connecting in the church and are becoming vital participants in our local expression of the body of Christ. Further, Alpha is creating an atmosphere of witness in the church which is resulting in other forms of evangelism being ignited. One tenth of our Sunday attendance (600) came to Christ last year."
- Berton A. Waggoner
Senior Pastor
"The first Wednesday night I arrived about 1 hour early at the Downtown campus to find that as of that date we had 12 people officially signed up for the course. To my amazement we had 24 people show up for our Downtown course and as it turns out we had about 20 people signed up for our Westchase course and 30 people attended the first night there. I found out that many of the participants found our course via the Alpha USA website by typing in "77002" which is the primary Zip Code for Houston as well as our Downtown Campus.
I was amazed at how the participants did not want to be in the same groups every week and as a result have bonded as an entire group rather than just the few people they would otherwise be associated with. We had a rather eclectic group of longtime First Methodist members, relatively new church members, church visitors, members of a Lutheran Church and members of a Baptist church.
I can't thank the Alpha Houston office enough for the support, encouragement and prayers they have showered on us and I wanted them to know the difference the Lord is already making in the lives of those involved with the Alpha Course. "
- Greg & Robin Smith
Houston
"Before starting ALPHA, my spirituality was virtually non-existent. I doubted most everything associated with faith and religion. ALPHA essentially proved the existence of God and has sparked an interest in me to learn more about Jesus."
- Participant
St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church
Full Transcript of the Testimony by Rick Warren
"Over 30 years ago in London, England, God began a movement that has now spread all around the world. It?s called the Alpha course, begun by my dear friends Nicky Gumbel, Ken Costa and other friends. We?ve seen this course expand to be used to reach literally millions of people to Christ.
If you have never heard of Alpha, I want to challenge you to check it out. It is one of the most effective evangelism tools for the 21st century.
The Alpha course can be used in three different ways. First, it can be used with people who have absolutely no religious background at all. It can be used with seekers or enquirers. It is a good way to bring people to a small group study who would never be caught dead in a church ? they?ll take that first step, they?ll sit on a couch with some friends and examine the claims of Christ and what is really does mean to be a follower of Jesus. Millions of people have come to Christ through this way.
A second way you can use it is to revitalize your Church, to bring new renewal in a Church which has lost its vision, that has lost its commitment, that has been on auto pilot for some time. Many, many traditional Churches, mainstream, mainline Churches have used Alpha to find new growth and new renewal as people come alive and rediscover the vision of the great message of the good news.
A third way you can use it is to help with new believers. It is a great first step course, because it goes over the basics of why we believe what we believe and what we do believe.
Many of you have heard of the 40 Days of Purpose campaign that is also being used by God mightily around the world. 40 Days of Purpose and Alpha fit together like hand in glove. It really doesn?t matter which one you do first. If you have done 40 Days of Purpose, you need to do Alpha: if you have done Alpha, you need to do 40 Days of Purpose, because these two are similar programs inspired by the Holy Spirit to
- deepen and develop the Church
- help us fellowship deeper
- help us grow more like Christ
- help us learn to serve in ministry
- help us to share our faith in mission
So, as the author of The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life, I, Rick Warren, want to tell you that Alpha has my 100% endorsement and I would encourage you to use it in small groups in your Church and everywhere that you can.
God bless you."
- Rick Warren, Author and Founder Purpose Driven Church
Alpha, One of the most effective evangelism tools |
One Life?