Alpha Friends

Running a Youth Alpha Course

A typical Youth Alpha session

Food
One of the key ingredients to a Youth Alpha session is food – eating together is a great chance to chat and get to know each other better. It doesn’t have to be a meal – pizza, doughnuts, sweets, soft drinks, coffee – whatever works for your group!

Fun
Youth Alpha should be a really fun experience for all concerned! The Leaders’ Guide has suggested games and ice breakers to help you out.

Talk
Every week a different topic is covered in the talk/presentation. It's important to note that all Youth Alpha talks are presented 'live' by speakers, unlike the Alpha course which has a DVD/video set. Depending on which ‘stream’ you use, the style of talk will be slightly different. We would suggest talks are no longer than 15 minutes. All talk outlines, including suggested movie clips, games, and illustrations, are included in the Leaders’ Guide. Talks can be given by youth leaders or teenagers helping lead on the course.

Small groups
The small groups are one of the most important parts of Youth Alpha. They are a chance for guests to discuss the talk and raise any questions or thoughts they may have. No question is too simple or hostile – all opinions are welcome. Groups are led by team members, either youth leaders or teenagers themselves.

Weekend/day away
One of the highlights of the course for many is the Youth Alpha weekend (or day if a weekend isn’t practical). The teaching content on the weekend is about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The weekend usually comes midway through the course, often after week 6 of Youth Alpha. We strongly encourage all groups wanting to run Youth Alpha to include this aspect of the course.

The Streams...

Which stream should we use?

	Stream 1 'Alpha- Tech'	Stream 2 ‘Alpha-Active’	Stream 3 ‘Alpha-Lite’
Minimum time required	1 to 1.5 hours	1 to 1.5 hours	30 minutes
Teaching style	Abstract	Concrete	Gentle
Recommended age group	15–18	11–14	Schools
Presentation tools	Multimedia technology	Visual aids and drama	Story
Youth participation	Discussion	Activity	Exploration
Preparation level	High	High	Low

Alpha-Tech
Alpha-Tech is for teenagers who enjoy discussing abstract ideas in groups and engage well with movie clips. Multimedia technology is used to explain the ideas discussed during the course. Alpha-Tech works well with older youth and teenagers who have some knowledge of Christianity.


Alpha-Active
Alpha-Active is aimed at younger youth. If your youth aren't so into books and get restless listening to talks, then this is the stream for your group. It’s called ‘active’ because each session involves games, drama sketches and activities to help the group interact with each other and learn more about Christianity at the same time.

Alpha-Lite
Alpha-Lite is designed for use in groups where the sessions must be shorter, which can include school lunchtime groups. It takes less time to prepare and present and so can be led by young people or less-experienced leaders. Short stories and testimonies are used to start discussions and challenge ideas. Alpha-Lite is about giving teenagers a chance to talk about themselves and their own lives in an open and honest environment.

Which stream should we use?

Take time to think about which stream would best suit your group and also your team’s skills and time. Try out one of the streams in its entirety or ‘mix-and-match’ parts of the different streams to meet your group’s needs. The different approaches are simply recommendations and are not intended to cramp your creativity.
To run any of these streams please get a copy of the Leaders’ Guide.

Publications

Leaders’ Guide + CD-ROM
This comprehensive guide provides course leaders with all the tools required to present the Alpha course to a varied and diverse youth audience.

It contains everything you need to know for each session of the course with sections on ‘strategy’, ‘practical skills’ and ‘planning and preparation’ as well as some tips on different aspects of youth ministry from youth leaders across the world.

It is also split into three streams of running the course depending upon the context:

* Alpha-Tech using multi-media technology
* Alpha-Active using interactive teaching material
* Alpha-Lite a shorter version for use in school groups

Go to the three streams.

The Leaders’ Guide comes with a FREE CD-ROM containing all of the talk outlines in PDF form.
ISBN 1.904074.32.4 ?9.95
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Youth Manuals
The ‘magazine style’ manuals have been designed to appeal to a diverse youth audience and contain the main content of the Alpha course. There are two different versions – one designed for ages 11-14 [red manual], and the other for 15-18 [blue manual]. These are recommendations for ages – either manual can be used to best suit your group.

Red manual
ISBN 1.904074.30.8 ?2.00
Blue manual
ISBN 1.904074.31.6 ?2.00
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Advertising material
We have produced the following posters and postcard invitations for you to use to promote your course.

Posters

These have a blank space at the bottom for you to fill in your course details.
A3 poster Ordering code: AFYA3 ?0.75
A4 poster Ordering code: AFYA4 ?0.50

 

Postcard Invitations:

These are blank on reverse for you to fill in your own details/message.
Pack of 50 Ordering code: AFYPOST ?5.00

 

All Youth Alpha materials can be ordered online at www.alphashop.org.

Worldwide
Local suppliers are listed in the international directory in Alpha News. If your country is not listed, contact the UK distributor:
Tel: +44 (0) 1228 611 749
Fax: +44 (0) 1228 514 949

UK
Contact the Alpha Publications Hotline
Tel: 0845 758 1278

Sign me up

Getting started is simple...

1. Register your course
Register online now

2. Get the Leaders' Guide
Leaders' Guide
We strongly suggest you get a copy of the Leaders’ Guide and read that before you start your course.
It has everything that you will need to know about running it.

3. Let us know
youth@alpha.org
Do let us know how your course goes – we love to hear feedback and testimonies!