A New Chapter Begins


Yes, it has been another while.

I was looking at a fundraising proposal I made a year or so after I joined Alpha in a part-time role in 2011. I stated, in a tone of writing that sounds to me now rather boastful, that my target was to have 100 Alphas run in Alberta in 2012, and that I actually exceeded that target by 10. We had 110 Alphas in the Province in 2012.

I chuckled at my innocence, even naivety, of those early days. In 2017 we had just shy of 700 Alphas in the Province. Already, in the first four months of 2018, there have been over 350 registered, including an encouraging number in the Province's schools.

Having said that, my time with Alpha Canada has come to an end. Alpha Canada has decided to terminate the Alberta Regional Director position as of April 30, 2018, in favour of a Canada West Director to cover both Alberta and British Columbia. (With the current pipeline dispute, as of the date of this post, I hope my replacement will be permitted to cross the border freely.)

Because I truly believe the Lord is not through with me yet, I have come on board with another very effective evangelistic ministry, Christianity Explored (CE). CE is not that different from Alpha, in that it uses a similar format - invitation, food, talk, discussion - where guests are welcomed unconditionally and encouraged to ask any question or offer any opinion without condemnation. Guests are invited to join in a 7-week journey through the Gospel of Mark, including a day away.

I would never discourage any church from running Alpha, or anyone from attending one: I've seen so many lives changed through that wonderful ministry. Although some may actually prefer CE to Alpha for various reasons, and vice versa, I see (and frankly I believe this is from God) CE as the perfect follow-up to Alpha. One of the most common questions churches asked me during my time with Alpha is, "What do we do after Alpha?" Well, in CE I believe we have an answer. Christianity Explored is a perfect course, not only for leading people into a relationship with Jesus Christ on its own, but for securing and deepening the faith of someone whom God has brought to that new relationship through, for instance, Alpha.

CE has four excellent video resources: Christianity Explored, Life Explored, Discipleship Explored and Soul, for mid-teens to young adults. All are excellently produced and contemporary in flavour and quality. I encourage you to check it out. The website is christianityexplored.ca. I'd love to hear from anyone who wants to hear more.

I have loved my time with Alpha. I always tell people that I've been blessed in that for my entire working life, nearly 50 years now, I've enjoyed what I've been doing. But my time with Alpha have been, in the words of the Bryan Adams song, the best years of my life.

Now it's on to the rest of my life.

Blessings,
John Kivell,
Canadian Regional Director,
CE Ministries Canada


Comments

  1. WarrenMay 8, 2018 at 10:23 AM

    John, I am not surprised by your retirement decision, but am still sad to see you go. You have certainly contributed enormously to the Lord's work and I hope that I have as much energy and enthusiasm as you do when I reach your age (even a fraction would be nice). I suspect that you will not simply be putting your feet up and relaxing from this point on - even though some relaxation is richly deserved. May the Lord richly bless you as you start the next chapter of your life.
    Warren

    ReplyDelete
  2. JohnMay 8, 2018 at 12:33 PM

    Thanks Warren. Thank you for all your support and thank you for our encouraging and challenging online interactions. As I say, I hope to continue doing exactly what I have been doing for the last 7 years, just with a new ministry. I hope to continue serving god until He's finished with me and calls me home.
    Blessings

    ReplyDelete

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