Alpha, the course that has already led millions to faith

In Canada’s third-largest city, in 1999, Vernon Robertson -a butcher by trade and a convert to Catholicism thanks to his wife- managed to get the archdiocese interested in the Alpha program. By 2002, Alpha courses were being held in two dozen parishes. That year, the archbishop of Vancouver was Adam Exner: “Alpha began in the Anglican Church, and it was only after some time that the Catholic diocese realized (its value). It had to mature, to make its way. I saw what Robertson was doing and was impressed. He played a key role in introducing Alpha, and he did so with my blessing” (National Post, April 6, 2002).

Seth Greenham

The Reverend Seth Greenham, a Pentecostal pastor, has specialized in campus ministry. For more than 10 years, he has organized many Alpha courses at Simon Fraser University, together with two other Protestant chaplains. The Catholics who share the Multifaith Center at SFU, where he works, do not organize Alpha courses there, but they can attend a nearby parish. 

Greenham says he really likes the courses because “they provide a safe space for conversation where people can reflect on the Gospel and ask questions. They give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to begin transforming their hearts so they can come to know God better.” 

According to Greenham, Vancouver was a unique case, since both Protestant and Catholic churches have used Alpha to do outreach in the city, and both Protestants and Catholics have been very successful -in Protestant churches and parishes alike- from the early 2000s, throughout the 2010s, and up to the present. “I would recommend Alpha to any church that wants to be welcoming to its neighbors and introduce them to the Gospel,” he says.

Greenham trained with Catholics to lead these courses. There, they learned together how to facilitate, welcome, and create a safe space where non-Christians can explore Christianity. 

It is worth noting that Shaila Visser, director of Alpha Canada and vice president of Alpha International, is from Vancouver.

Ed Zadeiks

Ed Zadeiks is National Director of Alpha in a Catholic Context, a role he has held for eight years. He grew up in Vancouver in a very faithful immigrant Catholic family from Latvia. He played soccer, was an altar boy, graduated with a business degree and had corporate success. His wife, Shawna, a convert, was leading Alpha in their Catholic elementary school, in order to introduce the parents of those kids back into the Catholic Church. “I initially resisted it, because I thought I was so well formed,” he admits. “But, seeing how fruitful those courses were for the parents, I brought it to our men’s group in our parish where we launched it 12 years ago.” Today he is a full-time employee of Alpha and part of its Canada strategy team, and he works exclusively with the Catholic Church in all ten Canadian provinces, helping introduce Alpha.

“We are seeing a renewal of Christianity throughout the world,” says Zadeiks. In his view, Nicky Gumbel “was inspired to lead this movement, and there is no other explanation than the fact that the Holy Spirit has blessed it.”

According to Zadeiks, Gumbel says he is not the founder of the Alpha courses, but he certainly authored its growth, and that he stands on the shoulders of others, including Anglican Bishop Sandy Millar. Gumbel has been the voice of Alpha for several decades around the world. The Alpha Course started in Holy Trinity Brompton and it was meant to be a course to teach parishioners about the Christian faith, but as it was running, Gumbel saw that this tool was perfect to introduce people outside the Church to Christianity.

For Zadeiks, “Gumbel is an incredible evangelist.” According to the figures he provides, Alpha grew from 80,000 courses worldwide in 2024 to 105,000 in 2025: a 25% increase. In Canada, growth was similar during that period: from 5,000 to 7,200 courses, 900 of which were in Catholic contexts. More than 3 million people have participated in Alpha in a Catholic context since 2015, worldwide.

“The Holy Spirit works through the Body of Christ, all the Christian churches. The fullness resides within the Catholic Church,” Zadeiks points out. “But Gumbel loves the entire Church and proclaims that people enter it through the transformative relationship with Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit.” There are 2.4 billion Christians in the world, and 1.4 billion are Catholics; as Zadeiks notes, Gumbel says the Body of Christ includes all 2.4 billion.

In 2026, the Alpha Leadership Conference in London was attended by more than 5,000 people, and one of the key recorded video guests was Cardinal Tagle of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Zadeiks explains that Alpha is a ministry funded entirely by supporters and those who love the ministry. At Holy Trinity Parish in North Vancouver, where he goes, courses are offered in English, Spanish, and Farsi with great success.

“We have begun visiting many prisons and workplaces,” he says. The Canadian bishops of Vancouver, Ottawa, Montréal, Sault Sainte Marie, and St. John, among others, have welcomed them with open arms.

“Alpha is a program of unity. It is kerygmatic in nature,” Zadeiks stresses. “The most important relationship is the one with Christ and our heavenly Father. Alpha is a program about encountering Jesus Christ which leads to a deeper conversion. Alpha is a program for the broad Church to have that initial conversion to Jesus.”

According to Zadeiks, many priests who attend the annual Leadership Conference in London say that it renews their priesthood and that they see what an encounter with Jesus can mean.

These gatherings in London last two days and are always held on the first Monday and Tuesday in May. “In 2027, we will be previewing a new Alpha series,” Zadeiks announces. In 2025, tickets sold out six weeks in advance, and 1,000 people were placed on a waiting list; he expects tickets to the Royal Albert Hall for 2027 to sell out even earlier. In his words, the conferences “offer an opportunity to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in Christian community, with the best of leadership practices.” Last year, the “Happiness Professor” Arthur Brooks, an acclaimed speaker, took part. A quarter of the participants are Catholic.