History
Alpha was started in 1977 by the Reverend Charles Marnham, a curate at Holy Trinity, Brompton, a Church of England parish in London. The name "Alpha" was suggested by Marnham's wife, Tricia. It started as a course for church members on the basics of the Christian faith but then began to be used as an introduction for those interested in the faith. The Very Reverend John Irvine, at that time a curate at Holy Trinity, Brompton, took over running the course and developed it into the 10 week format which continues to this day. In 1990 the Reverend Nicky Gumbel, at that time a curate at Holy Trinity, took over the running of the course at the invitation of the Reverend Sandy Millar (the then vicar) and oversaw its revision and expansion.
In 2008 over 33,500 courses were offered in 163 countries by Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, British New Church Movement and Orthodox churches and the Roman Catholic Church. Over 15 million people worldwide have attended an Alpha course (two and a half million in the UK).
Read more about this topic: Alpha Course
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