Alpha: A “Light” Form of Evangelization That Leads Thousands to the Faith

At a time when many parishes are seeking new ways to reach out to those who have drifted away from the faith, Alpha courses have become one of the most widespread evangelization initiatives in various countries. Its approach combines conversation, a warm welcome, and open reflection on the big questions of life and the Christian faith. 

With Anglican origins, Alpha has spread to numerous Christian denominations and today has a significant Catholic presence. In recent decades, dioceses, parishes, and Catholic movements in various countries have adopted this method as a tool for initial evangelization.

In Canada, one of its main promoters in the Catholic sphere is Ed Zadeiks, who for the past eight years has been promoting Alpha “in a Catholic context.” Zadeiks left a successful business career to devote himself full-time to this evangelization enterprise. It was his wife, Shawna, who introduced him to the courses. Both explain how an initiative born in the Anglican tradition has found its own place within the Catholic Church.

The Origin of Alpha

The Zadeiks explain that the Holy Spirit blows where he wills: in this case, in the soul of the Reverend Nicky Gumbel. Born in London in 1955, this son of a Jewish father and a Christian mother—neither of whom were practicing—converted from atheism to Anglicanism during his first year at Cambridge University. A lawyer, married to Pippa, and the father of three children, he was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1987. In 1990, he took over leadership of the Alpha courses. He repositioned these courses, which were already being offered at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) church in London: he decided to offer them to the unchurched. Since it was so successful, he organized the first international conference at HTB in 1993… and a thousand Christian leaders attended. These international conferences have continued year after year. 

That is where Zadeiks has met Gumbel most often. He tells me that Gumbel “has great love and admiration for Catholics.” Zadeiks adds that Pope Francis sent a video message for the opening of the Leadership Conference on May 6, 2024. The video was presented at the opening session by the Gumbels. Francis said that Christian leaders must imitate Jesus—through a life of service, closeness to others, and showing the way to the Father. He encouraged the 5,000 delegates from 30 Christian denominations to be bearers of God’s tenderness and forgiveness. And he called on them to walk together with their eyes fixed on 2033, the two-thousandth anniversary of the Resurrection.

What is Alpha about?

Proclamation of the Christian truth, encounter with Jesus, community. Why not reverse the order of these three steps? This is the modus operandi of Gumbel and Alpha: 1. personal encounter with others, 2. personal encounter with Christ, 3. doctrine. This inverse order has yielded miraculous results.

It’s a simple recipe for success: a series of structured sessions to learn about the Christian faith, and an opportunity to explore the meaning of life. The courses are held in churches, homes, prisons, universities, offices, factories, coffee shops—anywhere. 

The courses themselves are typically held once a week over ten weeks, plus on a weekend. Each session begins with a meal, followed by a talk or video and small-group discussions.

The talks cover basic Christian beliefs: Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus die? How can we believe? Why and how do I pray? Why and how do I read the Bible? How does God guide us? The Holy Spirit (very important in the Alpha course). How can I resist evil? Why and how should I share this with others? Does God heal today? The Church. 

In the One, we are one. Alpha's Ecumenism .

Gumbel says he loves Catholics and all Christians, who, he says, belong “to a Church of 2.4 billion souls.” Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop Emeritus of Vienna, praises the Alpha courses. Many bishops around the world support Alpha.

The first Alpha course was held in 1977 (at HTB). In 1990, Nicky Gumbel took over, gave the program a major boost, and oversaw the revision of the course. The courses grew rapidly in Great Britain during the 1990s. Today, they are taught in about 100 countries and in 110 languages, and more than 25 million people have taken them. Participants come from non-Catholic Christian and Catholic (25% of the total) backgrounds, with some variations in the course material. For this article, I asked three Canadian Catholic priests for their opinions on the course. One praised it, another had a positive experience, and the third preferred to draw inspiration from the method to create his own courses with more doctrinal content.

Beyond the numbers, some priests believe that Alpha’s true impact is seen in the renewal of their parishes. This is the case for Father Michael Leclerc, pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Montreal, where Alpha courses have been offered for nine years.

By putting those courses into practice with their four Rs—something real, relatable (that one can identify with), radical hospitality, and reliance on the Holy Spirit—Leclerc transformed his parish. It is predominantly young non-practicing Catholics and even non-believers who are drawn to it. The average age of parishioners has dropped to 40. And while there used to be 30 parish volunteers, there are now between 150 and 200. They will add a Sunday Mass starting in September. Leclerc puts these courses into practice alongside the Parish Renewal program created by another Canadian priest, Father James Mallon of Halifax, author of *A Divine Renovation: From a Maintenance Parish to a Missionary Parish« and founder of the Divine Renovation Ministry, which operates in English- and German-speaking countries.

The Spanish Alpha website states: “Alpha is a fun dinner, a great talk, and an open discussion. No pressure, free, and appealing.” See Spain: cursoalpha.es. For the Spanish-speaking Americas, see pruebaalpha.org (and a short video by Fr. Sebastián Achcar: pruebaalpha.org/historias-alpha), and alphausa.org/alpha-in-spanish.