5 May 2013 by Adeline Lum CM-
Shane Taylor was a convicted prisoner in Britain jailed for attempted murder. In jail, his sentence was extended for four years when he attacked a prison officer, which placed him in a maximum security and solitary cell.
But today… Shane is a freed man who is married to his wife, Sam, with two lovely girls. What happened in jail? His life was changed when he attended the Alpha course, where no questions were stupid. Shane Taylor accepted Christ and eventually, he was even given the job of chaplaincy in jail!
And this is just one of the stories about people who were touched by Alpha course.
On May 2, Campus Alpha: The Campus Survival Kit was officially launched in Malaysia at Sunway University College from 7 to 9:30 pm. Christian Fellowship (CF) advisors and committee members from 19 campuses attended the launch.
“The church of the future does not start tomorrow but it starts today. And you are the church!” said Foo Lai Wei, National Director of Alpha Malaysia to the 120 over registered Christian Fellowship advisors and committee members of campuses all over Klang Valley.
Alpha course began in Holy Trinity Brompton in London, founded and put together by former lawyer Nicky Gumble. And in 30 years, the program exploded into 169 countries in 112 languages to an estimated number of 20 million people who have attended the Alpha course as of 2013!
Since then, many different courses had been developed targeting different populations such as Campus Alpha, Youth Alpha, Alpha Belia, Sports Alpha, Worship Central, Alpha in the Workplace, Alpha in a Catholic Context, Alpha for Seniors, Alpha for Forces, Alpha for Prisons ad Alpha for ESOL.
“You have a very influential platform to impact the university,” said Paul Kong, Development Coordinator of Campus Alpha.
Campus Alpha Malaysia is a seven-week course to introduce people to Christian faith in a comfortable environment of three basic components- food, talk and discussion.
Designed for maximum flexibility and personalization, 600 courses has been ran since the launch of Campus Alpha. Running an Alpha course could be as easy as watching a recorded online video by Jamie Haith and following it with a discussion.
“You can ask anything you want. For the younger generation, we don't like to be told. I don’t. Do you? We normally look for answers through explorations. Many of our friends are searching for answers but we do not have a platform. But in Alpha course, your non-Christian friends can ask anything at all. And hopefully, through the talk, they would know Jesus,” said Paul.
How many of us feel awkward and tongue-tied in sharing Christ with our friends?
Next, a video was shown on how a non-Christian boy in campus was open to Christ. But receiving no action in love from his Christian friend, he eventually graduated with a firm agnostic belief when he started working. This video tells us that the best place and time to reach our friends is in the campus, when they’re still open and searching for the meaning in their life.
Sharing his story, Paul was the president for the UCSI CF during his senior years. Recalling his busy schedule of serving in college and also his church, he wondered if his non-Christian friends felt that his activities were more important than spending time with them.
“At CF, you might be too caught up with activities that you miss the cry of your friends’ heart,” said Paul. “Trust me. The best time to reach out to your friends is in college because working… is different.”
Evangelization is process, the peeling of scales from one’s eyes to gradually see the church, build trust and also experiencing the church, which is in us. Seven weeks is a long enough time to build a relationship.
“I think CF people are one of the most loving people. You do community work and even when I said ‘Hi’ just now, many people said ‘Hi, Hi’ back. There’re many people out there who need friends like you… thousands and thousands of people who want to know you,” said Paul.
The traditional pathway of evangelism is to behave first, then believe and lastly, feel belong. But in the Alpha course, it emphasized on instilling a feeling of belonging first, which lead to believing and then only behaving.
Hence, a ‘Campus Alpha team training’ will be held on 1st of June from 8:30 am to 7 pm to introduce the CF committee members and advisors for its installation in respective campuses.
Each participating campus would be given campus survival kits, which include a campus survival book and campus alpha resources! The book could be given to touch another student, publicize the presence of own CF’s in the university and offer insightful answers to common struggles of university students.
Closing the launch, Paul shared how Joshua succeeded.
“Go all out and give your youth to the Lord. Like Joshua, be strong and courageous. Also, it took strong leadership for Joshua to lead the entire team of people to conquer the land. So, it takes a united team with strong leadership to impact your college. The spiritual work you’re doing are against other spiritual warfares such as individualism, materialism and vanity,” said Paul.
“Sometimes, you might feel that this is a long process as well. Joshua conquered one land after another. Hence, you could win one soul at a time. Your friends would come to know Christ one at a time,” said Paul.
The launch ended with ‘Operation Starfish’, an accurate depiction of how saving one person may not mean anything in view of the million of non-believing people, but it sure would make a difference in that one person’s life.
Watch a video of what it meant by Operation Starfish!
You can make a lifetime and eternal difference in your friends’ life. Are you interested in launching and having Alpha Campus in your college?
Sign up with Caleb Lee at caleb.lee@my.alpha.org at 012-234-6249 and R.S.V.P by 25th of May with a fee of RM50 per pax.
Training session includes:
1. What is Campus Alpha?
2. Laying the Foundation
3. Nuts and Bolts
4. Small Group Facilitation
5. Live Talk
6. Spiritual Bits
7. Weekend Away and Sample Sessions
8. Planning the Next Steps
Watch a video of the Campus Alpha in Malaysia 2013!
For more information, please refer to http://www.alpha.org.my/ and http://www.alpha.org/
Dear Viewers in Christ, if you find this article edifying to you, please share with your friends or loved ones by using the social media plugs (Share, Email to this article). The Lord will surely bless you as you bless others. May the Lord’s peace and love be with you. Amen.
Reference for pictures:
Pictures were credited to Lee Seng Yeong, Lecturer of Sunway College University
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