Alpha Alberta Spring Newsletter

Alberta Regional Newsletter
Spring, 2017 From John Kivell, Alberta Regional Director
 

London, UK, 2017                 
Holy Trinity Brompton and Royal Albert Hall

Eva and I just returned from Alpha’s Leadership conference, held May 1& 2, 2017, with an Alpha Global Gathering on the 3rd. These events, held every other year, are extremely encouraging to me in my position with Alpha Canada. Not only do they add to my enthusiasm and optimism for Alpha in Alberta, but it is so encouraging to see what God is accomplishing through Alpha around the world. You can access the talks from the conference here.
 
Click to view highlights of LC17​

I’d like to mention a few nuggets from the various teaching sessions:
 
  • From an expert on Church Planting – “Find an empty building and start running Alpha.”
  • Don’t use people to build your ministry; use your ministry to build up people.
  • Alpha as a program is great; Alpha as a culture is phenomenal.
  • Churches should have signs on their doors, “Enter at your own risk!” We should expect people to encounter Christ when they come through our doors.
  • A parishioner complained "Alpha, Alpha, Alpha - all you ever talk about is Alpha!" To which the Pastor replied, "Well, when people start coming to Christ through your ministry I'll start talking about that.
And, of course, right here in our own Province God is doing wonderful works. In just the first three months of 2017 we had nearly 340 Alphas registered in Alberta. From Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Calgary in the south, through Red Deer and the Edmonton area in Central Alberta, to Fort McMurray and the Peace Country in the northern part of the Province. Thanks to Wes Dong and Grande Prairie Alliance, we had nearly 20 Alpha’s running in the Grande Prairie region alone.
 
As I travel Alberta, practically without fail, I hear stories of salvations and baptisms from Pastors and Alpha Course Administrators. Several Alphas, I've been told, include Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Alpha has been, and is being, run with amazing results on a First Nations Reservation. Lives are being transformed, and in this latter case, entire communities are being changed for the better. Nothing is easy though. Please pray continuously for this area of our ministry especially.
 
Alpha remains the number one tool, in my opinion, for reaching every community with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, changing hearts and transforming lives, and doing it in a way that is not confrontational, not intimidating, yet extremely effective.
 
We know that it is the local churches in every community that make all this possible, so Alpha makes all necessary resources available to local churches at no charge. 
 
Thank you for your support and prayers. Together we are making a difference.
 
(If you haven't already, you may feel called to help financially in this mission to reach our Province for Christ. If so, please consider following the link below or the yellow button, above right)
 
You may give a tax receiptable gift securely online at our Alpha Canada website
You may phone the Alpha Canada office at 1-800-743-0899
Or you can mail a cheque to Alpha Ministries Canada, 
230 - 11331 Coppersmith Way,
Richmond BC V7A 5J9 

Thanks & Blessings,

John

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