How do we invite more people to Alpha?
Churches often want to know how to look beyond the usual suspects when inviting people on Alpha.
Alpha is the perfect tool to help bring a parish from maintenance to mission. Done right, Alpha can help to build lay leaders, form lifelong disciples, and encourage your church to be outward-looking, welcoming and full of hospitality. Alpha has helped bring thousands of people into a closer relationship with Christ. But one of the core frustrations we commonly hear from churches is that they find it hard to attract non-churchgoers into Alpha. That’s the whole point after all, isn’t it
When a church first runs Alpha, they usually have big dreams about journeying with non-Christians at the start of their faith journey. But often, churches find that the people who come along on any given night are the same people who would show up to anything in the church, regardless of how good it is or who it is aimed at. The reality is that if we want new people to come into our churches, we have to make them places where those people feel welcome. We have to specifically go out of our way to invite people in, and when they arrive, we have to show them a warm, generous hospitality.
A culture of invitation is when a church’s members each take responsibility for reaching out: inviting friends, family and neighbours into the life of the Church. At its heart, a culture of invitation is built upon each member of the church actively and passionately living out their call to discipleship. A culture of invitation reaches out to people, encourages them to try Alpha, walks alongside them on their journey, and then helps to find a place for them in the ongoing life of the Church.
Time and again, we have found that the best way to encourage people to try Alpha comes from personal invitation. When a person is intentionally invited by name by someone who they know and trust, it generally means that the person is willing to at least give it a try. Very often, people can hear about Alpha and assume it's not for them, especially if no one takes the time to tell them why it might actually be perfect for them!
Here are 7 practical ways that you can improve the culture of invitation in your parish:
1) Lead by example. If you’re the parish leader, and you want to see a difference in the way people are invited to Alpha, start by inviting three people who you know, who aren’t part of the parish community already. Experience what it’s like having to ask someone yourself, so that you can truthfully tell others what they can expect.
2) Change the Altar Call. Often a church relies on a member of the parish team reading out a formal announcement about Alpha from the pulpit, or including it in the newsletter. Why not personalise any announcement? Rather than it being purely informational (when, where and what), try to make it personal. Let the congregation know that they are personally invited, and actively encourage them to attend.
3) Include a testimony. If you have run Alpha in the Church before, why not invite someone who attended to speak personally about their experience? Encourage them to be honest. Work with them on the speech, because it can be nerve-wracking sharing personal witness in front of others. Otherwise, reach out to Alpha Ireland and we can share with you some videos of powerful personal testimonies.
4) 10 to 3. Challenge 10 people who you can think of to personally invite three other people they know. It can be friends, coworkers or neighbours. Some could even invite family members. People respond much better to personal invitation than to generic information. Remember, God wants a personal relationship with people. So start with a personal invitation. Put it to the test, and see what happens.
5) Use social media, but personally. You could record a short, personal video on your phone, warmly inviting people to Alpha, and then share it in any Church WhatsApp groups. Encourage people to share it among their friends, so that they can see there is a personal touch. Keep it warm, friendly and positive. Short and sweet is the idea.
6) Be outward-looking. Challenge yourself and others to go beyond the ‘usual suspects’ you might invite to something. Encourage them to pray about it, and to think of someone who might be suited to Alpha, but who they might not normally invite to things. Partner with God in prayer to discern who might be best to invite.
7) Love others. The Greek word for hospitality is “Philoxenia” - literally, love of the other. So that means we have to love the person we’re inviting. Hear their concerns, spend time talking to them about Alpha and answer any questions they might have. You could even offer to go along with them on the first night or, if you can make the commitment, for the duration of the Alpha. Support them on their journey, completely.
Alpha is a great tool to help build a culture of invitation in your church. But it requires a parish-wide vision for including and inviting new people. You don’t have to try change everything all at once, but try to commit to making a few practical improvements the next time you run Alpha.
Written by John Quinn
John is Alpha Ireland’s Director of Church Engagement. You can discuss all of these ideas for the next step after Alpha with him by booking a free one-on-one coaching call.