The Alpha National Initiative

By Tony Copple
28 Sept 2003

Amalie Muncaster was hanging on the edge of a 45-metre rockface — about the height of a 13-storey building — when she found the Lord.

The 21-year-old was in the middle of an unharnessed free-climb when she got stuck on the side of the rock. She was hanging on with her fingers and there was no one at the top or bottom to help her.

Amalie Muncaster was hanging on the edge of a 45-metre rockface when she found the Lord.
I was crying... I was begging... then all of a sudden I felt really calm...
I can't explain it...I just really felt that God was with me.

I was crying — bawling my head off, actually. I was begging to make it, and then all of a sudden I felt really calm and I figured out what to do to get past the groove. I can't explain it — it's something you have to experience for yourself, but I just really felt that God was with me.

Immediately, she went from being a typical eye-rolling teen to an active Christian. She shared her story at Camp Alpha at WorshipFest, while discussing the Alpha course with the Ottawa Citizen’s Jennifer Campbell and it was published September 1, 2003.

Alpha’s involvement in WorshipFest was one of the results of the work of the local team formed to promote the Alpha Initiative this past September, with Helen Lenthall as chair. Helen is an Alpha leader at Woodvale Pentecostal in Nepean and has a long background in media promotion. Janette Sears-Poulin and Mark Poulin from St. John the Divine in Nepean joined her in key leadership roles. Janette brought her marketing and project management experience to bear in heading up a booth campaign in malls and Christian bookstores, persuading Carlingwood and Lincoln Fields mall managements to allow us in – a Christian group! – to create awareness about the Alpha course, and the fact that it is available at some 185 locations in Eastern Ontario. Carlingwood invited us back for a second stint because the adjacent stores remarked that there was an atmosphere of peace and harmony.

Mark’s experience in business and project management at Rona Ottawa drove the vision for Camp Alpha at WorshipFest. 100 volunteers were mobilized to build and operate Camp Alpha, including the Spark Zone where youth were empowered to share the Gospel by inviting their friends to an Alpha course. The 110ft graffiti wall for love letters to God garnered media attention for its originality and as an encourager of great creativity.

Fundraising for the local initiative was ably handled by Keith Preston who sought donations from churches and individuals. The sale of very attractive t-shirts and other special merchandise is also an important source of funds for our approximately $15,000 budget. These are still available; visit the Alpha Initiative page for details. In fact, visit the web site for all aspects of Alpha including venues and dates of courses in the wider Ottawa area.

Alpha has come of age in Canada, with 2,500 courses and around 450,000 participants. If you wonder what 450,000 people would look like all in one place, the Rolling Stones attracted that number for the Toronto Rocks concert. While that was a worthy cause – saving Toronto from SARS – Alpha people believe their cause is worthy of The Lord, and indeed, blessed by Him. So this year Alpha Canada promoted the National Initiative to invite 30 million Canadians to thousands of free introductory Alpha dinners across Canada. A donated billboard and bus ad campaign by Pattison to the tune of $1M made Alpha visible to all, facilitating invitations by friends to friends to come to the dinners. At the very least, a lot of people ate well and learned what Alpha is, a goal of the Initiative, but many also began 10 weekly sessions that will change their lives, showing them that Jesus spoke truth, that He is relevant to our lives today, and that He is certainly not boring. An Ipsos Reid poll in June indicated a 9% recognition in Canada of the Alpha course and logo. A second poll to come soon will measure the increase as a result of the campaign.

Tony is an Ottawa Alpha Advisor and attends St. Paul’s in Kanata, Ontario.