Alpha Course Numbers Soar during Lockdown
Written by Heartsong Live on 10th June 2020
The Alpha Course has seen even larger numbers of people participate during Covid-19 than prior to the lockdown.
Nicky Gumbel, who transformed Alpha from a short-course for new Christians at Holy Trinity Brompton to a global evangelistic tool, admitted he was surprised by how well it was doing after being moved completely online during the pandemic.
In an interview with Pastor Agu Irukwu, of Jesus House in London, Gumbel revealed that the number of people taking part during Covid-19 had tripled.
“Alpha’s just gone online. I didn’t think Alpha would work online. Alpha works even better online than in person. We’ve had more [people],” Gumbel said.
“We normally get 500 people turning up this term. We’ve had 1,600 guests on our course this term and most of them would not be there but for Covid-19.”
He added: “We’ve never had such a low dropout rate.”
He said his own particular small group had seen only one person drop out, and that all but two of the group became Christians over Pentecost.
“The Holy Spirit fell on them in the most powerful way – more powerful than in person on Zoom. Jesus healed at a distance and the Holy Spirit is not confused by Zoom!”
Director of communications for Alpha International, Mark Elsdon-Dew, predicts that online Alpha courses will become a permanent fixture for both HTB and other churches using the course material, as the digital format is easier for some people.
“I think online courses are here to stay.
Original articles appear on Premier Christian News and Christian Today
