1 Before I took the Alpha course, I had lots of intellectual theological questions going round and round in my mind, and no clear answers. One question was about whether God truly does intervene in our lives.

During the Alpha course, I loved the small group discussions, where I could

air my questions, but I wasn't sure if I was getting any answers. Then I went to the Alpha healing evening, with a lot of skepticism and a worrisome ongoing physical condition of heart palpitations. I got up the nerve to go forward for ministry. Two of the leaders prayed for me, I felt the Holy Spirit very powerfully, and the heart palpitations went away and have never returned.

Since the Alpha course, my relationship with God has deepened. I've come through perhaps the most personally difficult year of my life with a strength and serenity I didn't think were possible. And my questions have been answered, not in a theoretical

way as I expected, but through my experience of the living God.

Ex-lawyer, community volunteer, work-at-home mother of a 9 year old.

2 I must admit that when I first heard about Alpha, I didn't want to go to a course that was "Evangelistic" That word had negative connotations for me. But what I

found was not an aggressive sell of Christianity based out of fear, but a course based on love and respect.  I had the chance to discuss my doubts and questions about “Who Is Jesus?” “Why, and how do I pray?” “How do I read the bible?”

Alpha helped me to develop my personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 

The sessions and retreat on “What is the Holy Spirit?” and “How do I receive the Holy Spirit,?” were really powerful for me.

Since then, I have prayed and received the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit that feeds me and gives me the confidence, direction and energy in my work as an inner-city Speech Pathologist, teaching new immigrants and refugees how to communicate and read.  I now have a

passion to sing in our worship band and co-lead Youth Alpha.

I thank God for the friendships which developed in my Alpha small group. We have been on retreats together, and some of us run together during the week.  It was these friends who formed my prayer and support group for my recent missions trip in Curacao.

I feel that Alpha has renewed my Faith in God and my understanding of living in Christian community and for that I am truly grateful.

Speech language pathologist,

age 28:

3 I took the Alpha course last fall.  Looking back on it, I realize now what a low point I was at -- divorce, coping with two teens, one of whom was suffering depression, and long hours at the office.  Alpha, which I hadn't heard of before coming to Runnymede, proved to be a 'godsend'.  The meetings were on an evening that I was free.  The topics were clear, logical and presented in a lively manner.  The small group setting invited questions and debate.  At a certain point on the course, I no longer felt alone.  I was able to take that first small step of faith and invited Jesus into my life.  While my problems have not miraculously disappeared, I feel more at peace with myself because I know that Jesus is there to share the burden.  Both my daughters came to Easter Sunday service at Runnymede in the spring to witness my baptism.

lawyer, age 54

4 Before taking Alpha, I felt very unlovable, despite having a wonderful husband and two amazing young children who love me dearly.

I am a perfectionist and I hated myself for being so imperfect. My past experiences with the church had made me think that God was all about rules and being perfect and I knew I just didn’t measure up.

Alpha changed the way I think about myself and about God. Through Nicky’s talks and our small group discussions I slowly came to realize that everyone does things that are “unlovable” and no one is perfect. And, most importantly, that God is not about rules. He doesn’t expect me to be perfect.

On the Holy Spirit retreat I experienced God’s presence in a physical way, reassuring me that He was there and that He loves me just as I am – that I don’t need to wait until I’m perfect to approach Him and experience His love for me.

I know in my heart now that God is not about rules or being perfect. Rather, what He wants is to have a loving and nurturing relationship with me. He is real and cares deeply about me and my well-being. The impact that this has had on my life has been profound. I finally feel that I can be lovable without needing to be perfect. This has given me courage and freedom to make important changes, like taking steps to heal my relationship with my family and to begin to let go of the need to be perfect in all that I do.

Vice President, Marketing Research., age 41:

5 I first heard of Alpha during a regular Sunday morning service at Runnymede.  A woman was giving her testimonial about how Alpha had changed her life.  Her story moved me.

For months, I had been attending services at Runnymede, enjoying Linda's sermons but, something was still missing and I wasn't quite sure what to do ... low and behold, an Alpha brochure arrived in the mail.  I took it as a sign.  For the past few years I had found myself searching for the answers to many questions.  My spiritual quest had taken me to many places from visiting neighbourhood churches, to the Zen Centre and even to a Buddhist temple on a mountaintop in Japan. I was reading, exploring and wondering.  Now, Alpha seemed to be calling my name.

I was a little nervous and apprehensive on the first night of Alpha and was so grateful to have quickly met someone who had many of the same questions and fears as I did.  The weeks would later reveal that almost everyone in our Alpha group had similar questions, hopes and fears. It was a great comfort to know that I was not alone. 

Alpha was a great learning experience for me.  I admit for the first couple of weeks, I sat with my arms crossed with a "prove it to me" kind of attitude but, slowly I noticed my arms beginning to unfold and my heart opening. 

Alpha helped me find the answers to many of my questions.  Things began to make sense for me.  I felt like things were "clicking" in my head.  Lightbulbs flashed on.  Questions were brought forth and answers came to me.  I felt an incredible sense of belonging and love. 

During the 3 month course, I decided that I was indeed a Christian.  My search ended here.  I discovered God's power and love.  I now have a personal relationship with my lord, Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit is living in me and guiding my life. 

My life has changed.  I have learned that I am not in control which is a hard thing to realize for a control freak like me. 

I am filled with a peace, love and belonging that I have never experienced before in my life.  I also have a great new group of friends who are caring and supportive (and fun!). The Alpha course awakened me to our living God. My life has changed and for that I am forever grateful.

Director, Marketing, age: 36:

…..

6

My experience from the Alpha class was something I did not expect. I joined with my mom because she wanted us to share something together. Little did I know that I was in for an experience of a life time.

Through out the 12 weeks of classes, I developed a growing "hunger" for learning about Christianity. I went into the classes having no previous knowledge of faith or religion or any of that stuff! But every week I was filled with a better understanding of my "relationship with God" and what my religion was really all about.

Not only were the classes filled with information, but I was also introduced to many new people. By the end of the 12 weeks I had not only learned new and exciting things, my way of living changed for the better allowing me to get along better with others and be nicer to the world around me. My heart had grown and was filled with more love than ever! (and still is)

19 year old student

8 My name is Kirsten, and I'm a recovering control freak.

I grew up with a single Mom. She’s an incredible, strong, accomplished person and I had a fantastic childhood. I felt so loved by my family. But, because of the sometimes “challenging” situations that come with having only one parent (and one income!), I grew up what my Mom calls the "family hero". From a very young age, I felt that I needed to be perfect so that our little family would have an easier time of it. I felt it was my job to be good, make sure everyone got along, and most of all, make sure everyone thought I was doing just great no matter what.

Long story short: As a result, I suffered from depression most of my life - I never let anyone know how I was feeling and on top of that, I took on everyone's problems as my own. As much as I thought I was, believe me, I was not helping anyone because I couldn't even figure out myself. At 28, I was married; by 30, I was separated. Although there were many factors in the split, I had been coming to a realization for a few years that something needed to change. I needed to find out more about how I really felt about things instead of making sure everyone else was OK with how I felt.

So I'd been on that journey for a few years when I met Donna. I met Donna, at work. We went to a basketball game together one night. We hit it off like we'd known each other for years, and she ended up telling me she was thinking of taking an Alpha course (not a common topic of conversation around our building!). She was shocked when she found out I was interested, too.

And that’s the beginning of how I came to Alpha. God knew there were two ways to get me to listen to His word – music and fellowship. Donna provided the fellowship at first, but I also met the most amazing group of people and we are all still friends. I also started to participate in the music. I didn’t know any of the songs at first, and I felt a little corny singing them. But I am happiest when I am singing, and God knows this! Pretty soon, I was singing the loudest!

I went through the whole Alpha course – I started out really skeptical, but ended up loving it and everyone in it. I can even say “Jesus” now without whispering. Seriously, I came to know Christ on an Alpha training session just a month ago. I had been calling myself a Christian and wanted to learn more about how to really become one. Spending two full days with 2000 Christians will really get you inspired! We prayed and sang and listened to some of the best speakers I’ve ever heard. I went home with Donna that night, and we prayed for the Holy Spirit to come. I had prayed that day that Jesus would enter my heart, and I feel it all came true that night. I woke up the next morning feeling happier than I’d felt since I was a kid. I can’t explain it, I just hope it happens again and again!

Since then, I can see God working in my life. I accept my feelings and it has made a huge impact on my depression. And I don’t take the weight of everyone’s problems on my shoulders. I received a phone call from my Mom recently that normally would have made me feel like I should try to fix things for her and my stepdad. But, when she told me they were going to go to Alpha in September, I knew that God was in control, not me. I actually felt JOYOUS about the phone call, whereas before, I would have taken their problem on my shoulders. It just feels great to know that I don’t need to answer everyone’s questions and solve everyone’s problems. All those years of making small strides in this area, and when I became a Christian, I felt like I took a giant leap forward!

God is helping me to trust Him in all aspects of my life. I am taking more risks in my life and trying to listen to God’s plan for me - not my Mom’s, not my friends’ not even my own. I still mess up, but now I understand that I can pray about it and God will forgive me. He is so patient. He would need to be for a recovering control freak like me!