FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY | transformation of our Society through Evangelisation of our Nation | ALHAINDIA.ORG
alpha india news
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 | JANUARY - MARCH 2014
NEWS IN BRIEF
Heroes of the Titanic: An inspiring message by Pastor Stanley Mehta on the life and events of the Titanic. Pg. 4 - 5
THE QUARTERLY NEWSPAPER OF ALPHA INDIA
YOUTH AFLAME
The Marriage course: Testimonies of couples that attended the Marriage course in Bhatinda, Ludhiana and Delhi. Pg. 6 Q & A on running the Alpha Marriage course: Interview with a senior couple that has successfully run the course for over 3 years. Pg. 7 Inspiring stories and testimonies: Read about how the Alpha course is transforming lives all over India. Pg. 8 - 9 Resource feature: An excerpt from the Parenting Book by Nicky and Silla Lee, including activities for family time. Pg 10 - 11
PARTICIPATE
Financial Partnership We appreciate your financial partnership. If you are inspired to support Alpha India please use the details below, or contact Josy Joseph at the Alpha India Office.
Alpha India Account: Account Number: 911020054880929 NAME: ALPHA INDIA BANK NAME : AXIS BANK LTD IFSC CODE : UTIB0000734 BRANCH : KALYAN NAGAR BANGALORE.
Acc Type: Current Account
The Youth Fest was organized by the Church of North India, Gujarat Diocese youth advisory board for the youths of Gujarat in partnership with Alpha India. It was held on 16th November 2013 at YMCA International Centre, Ahmedabad. It was attended by over 1400 youth and covered by the DNA English newspaper. The main aim of the youth fest was: - To gather the youths in large number - Evangelize them with the Gospel message; Give them the experience of worshiping the living God and to have a Q & A session to discuss the current topics related to them - After the event these youth should meet on a weekly basis and a youth fellowship should start in their respective Churches by running the Youth Alpha course. Highlights: - We had the powerful ‘Joshua Generation’ worship team from Mumbai who took the youth closer to God and had an amazing time of experiencing His presence through worship. - The world renowned guitarist and preacher Dr. Benny Prasad played his guitar and shared a very powerful life transforming testimony and preached on the ‘Challenges of life’. - The National Director of Alpha India Mr. J V Raj spoke on the ‘Right choices of your life’ by sharing the story of Nicodemus the young man who went in the Right Direction and who approached the Right Person (Jesus) so that he could get the Right Answerer for salvation. - We had a wonderful time of Q & A with Dr. Benny Prasad and Mr. J. V Raj, the youths openly shared their challenges and issues. - The program ended with the Gujarati dance of Garba led by C. Vanveer.
2 Alpha India details: National Director: Mr. J. Varadaraj Board Members: Chris Sadler, Chairman of Alpha Asia-Pacific Scott Norling, Chairman of Alpha India J. Varadaraj, National Director of Alpha India Rajeev & Perola Menon, Private Equity Consultant Mathew Antony, Secretary for Evangelisation, Archdiocese of Delhi
Church Advisory Board: Archbishop (Emeritus) Vincent Concessao Rev. Dr. D. Mohan, Superintendant of AOG India
Alpha India Regional Offices: North West Region, Chandigarh: Rupak Nayak Email : rupak@alphaindia.org Mob : +91 90233-91414 West Region, Ahmedabad: Jimmy Harshkant Email : jimmy@alphaindia.org Ph : +91 9825-444197 East Region, Kolkata: Prabir Mandal Email : prabir@alphaindia.org Ph : +91 96744-61951 North East Region, Shillong : P.O Ryn Jah, Shillong - 793006 Ph : +91 90851-57153
alpha notes
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
READERS STORIES & PHOTOS Thank you for the testimonies, stories and photos that were sent to us. Once again in this issue your stories have been printed throughout the newspaper, along with other encouraging stories that we have received from across the nation. Please send your stories to: Email: stories@alphaindia.org Postal address:
Alpha India 219, 5th A Main Road, HRBR 2nd Block, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore - 560 043 Tel: +91 80 2542 0902 / 0899 / 0881 Email: contact@alphaindia.org, Web: www.alphaindia.org
Alpha Staff Retreat 2013
National Coordinators: Relationship Central : Philip N David Mob : +91 98844-36364 Worship Central : Balajied N Syiem Mob : +91 87942-98633 Alpha for Women : Seema D N Mob : +91 99017 81907 Alpha in the Workplace: Santosh Chetri Mob: +91 90070-22889 Alpha for Prisons: Peace Khapai Mob: +91 9597-421832 North-East Diaspora: Rampan Muivah Mob : +91 99029-90313
Regional Coordinators: Andhra Pradesh: Susheel K Chattar Mob: +91 98660-99184 Bihar: George Muller Mob: +91 94310-16124 South Karnataka: Sam Victor Mob: +91 99646-98118 North Karnataka (Hubli): Abraham Vinay Mob: +91 95914-22225 Kerala : Mon C George Mob: +91 94464 83577 Odisha: Tushar K Behera Mob: +91 93371-41600 Odisha: Jayadeep Samantroy Mob: +91 98535-03813 Rajasthan: Kamlesh Parmar Mob: +91 99830-03637 Rajasthan: Johnson James Mob: +91 98290-77374 Uttar Pradesh: Vinay P Dayal Mob: +91 93594-86843 West Bengal: Dilip Debnath Mob: 098742-07760 Tamil Nadu : John Rajan Mob : +91 98434-95572 Northeast : Rev. Ninghor Kazingmei Mob: +91 90851-57153 Northeast : Ps. Subhas Lyngdoh Mob: +91 97740-59873 Kathmandu : Rupa Chetri Mob: 00977 98132-81683 Kathmandu : Reuben Pradhan Mob: 00977-98020-25522 Alpha in the Workplace, Eastern Region : Atmanand Singh, Mob: +91 90515-12161 Assoc. Coordinator, Chandigarh : Vikram Sathyarahi, Mob: +91 96467-76120 Assoc. Coordinator, Andhra Pradesh : Nanthaniel R Kodavatikanti, Mob: +91 99088-22365
The Alpha India annual staff retreat was held in Goa. The retreat started off with prayer and worship. We began our mornings by listening to the Word of God brought to us in an inspiring way by Mr. Raj. Our main speaker was Pas. Stanley Mehta who in a very lively way shared many thought provoking messages with us. He spoke on a variety of topics and used many innovative ways to keep us engrossed in the message. One of his talks, the Heroes of the Titanic, is showcased on page 4 and 5.
new alpha employees
Eyingbemo E. Ngullie Alpha Associate with CBCNEI, Nagaland
Rev. Uday Bhadra Alpha Associate Rajasthan
Rev. Ajay Singh Alpha Associate Gujarat
Š Alpha India 2013, edited and published by J.V. Raj for Alpha India
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
alpha notes
3
hingeS
From the desk of the National Director
There are many kinds of Hinges. Some of them are - Barrel hinge, Pivot hinges, Mortise hinges, Case hinges, Continuous hinges, Concealed hinges, Butterfly hinges, Flag hinges, Strap hinges, H hinges, HL hinges etc. In biology, many joints function as hinges. A living hinge is a thin flexible hinge (flexure bearing) made from the same material as the two rigid pieces it connects, rather than cloth, leather, or some other flexible substance. It is typically thinned or cut to allow the rigid pieces to bend along the line of the hinge. The role of a Hinge is to hold two different objects so as to enable one of them to move. Some are rigid and others flexible. Each hinge is made for a purpose. Some hinges allow a rotation of up to 360 degrees. Most hinges are hidden while some in the 16-18th centuries were ornamental and visible. A hinge stays quietly in its place and is known only when it creaks. Normally, a hinge is for life. Hinges can rust and need upkeep usually by lubrication. A Christian can be compared to a hinge. He/she is always placed in a relationship; with God, within a family, in the Church and in society. There is no such thing as a lone Christian. He is always in a context. When someone gives the gospel to us this relationship begins. In my case it was a fellow student at the University who gave me a copy of the gospel of John. He then introduced me to other Christians. There was a Pastor, a scientist, a Pharmacist, and a government employee. They would come to my hostel room and sometimes till late in the night would share from the Word. They also took me to meetings. They helped me read and understand the Bible. So my relationship with the History of God’s dealings with His people began the questions that ran in my mind which often were, what can I learn from them?, how can I bless them. They encouraged me to tell my story to many. As I shared my story, new friends came around me and new contexts came about. Many came to believe in Jesus. Their work was like the screws that fit the hinge in the context. I realised the power of personal story and the effect it had in transforming lives and developed a vision and in fact I deeply felt the call of God on my life. Recently a visitor made a telling comment. “My little story and your little story, together are a part of God’s big Story.” Holding relationships requires us to stay in the background. Like a hinge, especially when in conflict. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” often, those who make peace pay a price. Jesus came to make peace between God and man. He paid the price by dying on the cross. In a family, if peace must prevail, one person must be willing to die daily to himself. It is the same in the case of a community, an organisation or a Nation. Hinges of God on the doors of life, I in my corner and you in yours.
Raj National Director Alpha India
4
FROM THE STAFF RETREAT
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
Heroes of the
883 feet long | 92 feet wide | 104 feet high | 46,328 tons | 2,224 passengers The Titanic started it’s official journey from Liverpool. From there it went to the port of South Hampton. It had electric elevators and in those days it was a unique feature. It also had a swimming pool, squash court, Turkish bath, gym and mechanical horse.
On the deck of the ships they have to have life boats that have a mechanism like a mini crane that lowers them. But these structures make the deck look ugly and people don’t want anything to look ugly. They want a cruise liner to look good. As cosmetics over ruled safety on the Titanic they only had 20 life boats. Their argument was that these life boats were not meant for passengers on the Titanic, they were meant to be used only if some other ship needed help. This shows amazing over confidence in man’s ability. They compromised on their basic essentials. By filling all the 20 available life boats they could have saved around 1170 people but only 705 survived and because of some confusion 1517 people died. Every time you travel by an aircraft you will see a safety demonstration with standard instructions. Similarly, before the ship leaves the harbour, the crew has to demonstrate how to use the life boat equipment. But they were trying out a new style of using this equipment and even the crew did not know how to use it. The result was that the haphazard preparation caused panic in the hour of trouble. We should realize what can happen in times of a calamity when we compromise on safety and on the proper routine of training. They say you don’t train for war when the war breaks out; you train for war in the time of peace so that if and when the war breaks out you are ready.
Capt. Edward Smith was the captain of the Titanic. He was enjoying the party in the main dining hall and he ignored the messages that came. It is normal procedure if a ship is going on the high seas and it sees any danger for it to immediately relay a message to who so ever is on that same route. This way they can help each other. So we see that they did receive messages about the danger; and that Capt. Smith should have gone to the bridge and given the command to make some changes so that any calamity could have been averted. The reason he did not was because while the ship was being constructed various journalist made reports on this ship and the technical people said that this ship is made of such quality that if it hits an ice berg the ice berg will splinter into pieces, but this ship will remain intact. And the newspaper headlines read “Even God Himself cannot sink this ship”. Regrets: Whenever things go wrong then we have regrets. Sometimes we can regret and do better next time. But sometimes the mistakes and errors we make are so catastrophic that we don’t have a chance for making amendments later because that decision was so fatal. • It only we had enough life boats • If only we had not strayed into the ice berg infested area; when we got the signal we should have changed the course of the ship • If only we had not lost our binoculars • If only we had not been going at 24 nautical miles which is roughly 44 kms. When you have such a huge ship going so fast and you spot danger you have to slow down so that you can take a detour • If only we had heeded the many telegraphic messages – they had sufficient time to take action and detour, but they did not One can not underestimate an ice berg because approximately only 1/8th of it is visible above water and 7/8th is below water. Sometimes what may look like a narrow ridge on top could
T ITAN IC
have a huge bottom structure and that may hit the under part of the hull. The decision the captain took affected passengers who were young and old, men and women, rich and poor, educated and illiterate and famous and unknown; they all died a horrible death. This scares me because as a leader of a group my decision will affect those who are my followers. More authority, power and influence means the decision process is more risky and therefore all the more reason for us to be careful. The followers safety should constantly help us to take wise decisions. Every follower is a person who is given to you by God. We must keep the fear of God when we look after His special creation. As a result of Capt. Edward Smith’s decision a tragedy struck and 1517 people went into the water. Events around the sinking of the Titanic: When the Titanic hit the iceberg it split the hull and in roughly two hours it sunk. We see that it had some time before it went under; during this time the telegraph team on board the ship sent messages to the neighbouring ships informing them of the situation. Secondly, as per maritime rules they are supposed to shoot a flare gun. The flare gun in shot in rapid succession and the flare goes very high and because the earth is round a ship from far away which cannot directly see this ship can still see the flare and go to rescue. This was when one of the neighbouring ships, the Californian received the message: Californian
They were only 10 miles away. In the time that the Titanic took to sink they could have saved all the passengers. The Californian had many
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
FROM THE STAFF RETREAT
life boats and the capacity to take care of all the passengers. Capt. Stanley Lord who was the captain on that ship, was informed of the message and saw the flares, but he chose to ignore them. He did this because he felt that if they tried to rescue the passengers on the Titanic while in iceberg infested waters they might hit an iceberg themselves. He said that in the morning when there is enough daylight they would do something. So they took a policy of self protection and self focus; they felt this was more important than self sacrifice. One can travel in iceberg infested waters if you go slowly and take some precautions. His tragedy was that he refused to take any action. The next ship is the mystery ship or the ghost ship and it was called the Samson. Samson
All the 705 passengers on the lifeboats said that they thought they saw a ship that was very close but then it vanished. Some experts say that when people are panicking they can hallucinate. If this ship really existed then it could have saved everyone on the Titanic. This event took place on 15th April 1912. But in 1962, 50 yrs later, there was a Norwegian man who was lying on his death bed and he made a confession in which he said, “I was on board the ship the people on the Titanic life boats thought they saw; we did exist. Our captain was Capt. C.J. Ring and we were involved in illegal hunting of seals. We had 3 decks and they were filled with the catch. We saw the Titanic hit the iceberg and we could even hear the screams of the people; that is how close we were. Our captain decided that we should not attempt rescue because if we did then it meant we would have to clean up the decks and loose our profits. We would have been heroes for one day but the next day we would have been arrested. So he told us to switch off the lights and quietly disappear from the scene.” The Norwegian man goes on to say, “For the last 50 years every time I went to bed I could hear the screams of the people on board the Titanic. I have lived a tortured life.” Capt. C.J. Ring took a decision that caused havoc in the life of this sailor. We can see that Capt. Edward Smith, Capt. Stanley and Capt. C.J. Ring all took decisions and affected all their followers. We may not know today, but years from now we will know the consequences of our decisions as a captain. Every one of us is a captain; we are the captain of our homes, we have children who follow us and a community that looks to us; we could be the captain of our cell group or Sunday school. We should think if our decisions come from the Lord and we should pray and ask the Lord for help.
Now we see ship No. 4 called the Carpathia. Carpathia
When the telegraphic man on the Carpathia got the message from the Titanic he double checked it because everyone in the shipping line knew about the mighty ship. The Titanic confirmed and told them the situation and location. It was the middle of the night and the telegraphic man went to their Capt. Sir Arthur. H. Rostron who upon waking up, finding out the situation and double checking discovered that they were about 45 miles away. He then took a full minute to process this information. He decided to turn around and go rescue the people. On the way there he gave orders to put extra lights all around the ship and to post sailors everywhere to spot icebergs also to empty the three dining halls so that people who came onboard would have space. He then said that there may be people who are injured or old and unable to climb into a lifeboat. So he ordered sling bags to be lowered into the water so those people could be pulled up. He also ordered rope ladders to be lowered so that anyone who was floating in the water could come up. He knew that the water temperatures would be very low and hypothermia could have set in for many people and that they would need something hot, so he commanded the kitchen staff to make tea and soup. He also asked the passengers on board his ship if they would be willing to donate their blankets and all the passengers were willing to do so. When you have a captain who gives a rally call and who rises to the occasion he is capable of causing everyone else to rise to the occasion as well. When a man is sacrificial it will produce the same nature in other people. He also called the physician on board to be on duty and he asked the passengers if any of them was a doctor and willing to help. He posted a man on the crow’s nest with his binoculars. Then Sir Arthur. H. Rostron went on to the bridge (control room) and knelt down and prayed. He was a man who believed in God. They reached the place where the Titanic had sunk and found all the life boats and saved all the passengers.
5
As day light broke the crew members told the Capt. that there were shocked to see so many ice bergs that they had not seen in the night; in spite of all the lights. They had no idea how they made it safely. This shows us the faith of the man who calls upon the name of the Lord; God gave him journey mercies. “Ultimate success is when you do what is right irrespective of what others say or do” – Capt Sir Arthur. H. Rostron. When you know in your heart what the right decision is, just take it. The heroes aboard the Titanic:
On board the Titanic there was a band of musicians and they played while people were lowered into the lifeboats. This band wanted to die doing their duty. The music director said that the people are in great distress and music makes a tremendous impact on their lives. They knew some of them are going to be saved but many of them are going to die, and they wanted to play music that would prepare them to meet their Maker. One of the songs he played was “Nearer, My God, to Thee”. Here is someone who is not concerned about his imminent death. He is concerned about ministering to the people around him. Another group of heroes were the crew of the Titanic who were right at the bottom of the ship. They were continuously putting coal into the boiler so that steam could be generated and the generator would run and keep the lights on. They did this so that the rescue operations could happen. They were also aware that when the ship finally sank they would not be able to save themselves but they remained at their post and did their duty. Lessons learnt from the heroes of the Titanic: • Over reliance on science and technology. Do you remember Y2K? When it was around the corner everybody was scared that missiles would go off and power would be shut down etc. So they made it but man was scared of their own invention. • Importance of image rather than safety. Often we are more concerned about how it appears rather than if it is useful. I think people are more worried about image and reputation that about the inner content of their life. There are many other heroic stories. I believe that when we stand before our Lord and Master there will be many heroes and the Lord and the angelic hosts will welcome these unsung heroes and honour them. Despite the captains who took the wrong decisions there were individuals who took the right ones. We should remember that life is not measured in this life span, but it is measured by God in a different way.
6
the marria
marria
Alpha marriage course trainings, workshops and courses are happening in Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. The church leaders in these areas have accepted Alpha with great enthusiasm. An increasing number of marriages are being restored and strengthened and the church leaders are happy to have smiling couples in their churches. Here are a few of the testimonies:
BATHINDA
A ministering couple
An elderly couple
My husband never used to support me publicly or listen to my feelings, so I used to withhold my physical affection from him and was vengeful. But the sessions on ‘Good sex’ and ‘The power of forgiveness’ helped me a lot. This course has added a great deal to our marriage.
Wife, “We have been married for 28 years but I was unable to forgive my husband and was carrying a lot of resentment toward him. The session on forgiveness helped me to overcome my issues and forgive him.” Husband, “I was able to talk to my wife for the first time about my burden and the pressures of life and relationships and it feels so good to be listened to.”
Pastor & wife of independent church This tool on marriage will help us to effectively minister to the couples in our church who are struggling with their marriages.
Mrs. Khurana My husband and I had different opinions and we disagreed on many things because of our family backgrounds and huge age difference. But through this course we were able to understand how we can complement each other though we had our differences.
LUDHIANA Amit and Kasturi My wife is a staff nurse and I am a church pastor, after a long time we were able to sit together and meaningfully talk to each other about our challenges, struggles and life issues.
An elderly couple During the last 28 years of our marriage my husband and I listened to the whole church and their problems but never had the time to listen to each other and share our feelings. I am glad we had the opportunity to talk about us during this course.
Young couple Because my spouse was not interested in showing me any physical affection I was getting tempted into thinking about an extramarital affair. In this course we learned about the sanctity of marriage and the importance of a physical relationship within marriage.
Ajay & Manya For years I was unable to forgive my husband even over small issues. I was even considering getting a divorce. But we learnt in the marriage course that divorce is never God’s desire for my marriage.
Bishop George, CFC Until recently I used to think we were an abnormal couple, but God sent this Alpha marriage tool at the right time and now we are a normal couple! It is normal to have a happy, smiling and fulfilling married life. We welcome and recommend Alpha marriage course as a great tool for strengthening marriages.
age course
7
age DELHI
Mr. & Mrs. Ajit
Pastor Bibek Pathnayak
Saying sorry is very hard for me and my temperament is also very aggressive. But I realized that there is such a thin line between getting angry and sinning. I also learnt how important it is to practice forgiveness within marriage. The teachings on “good sex” are very nice and it helped us answer the tough and sensitive questions in this area.
We have never heard such practical insights on the subject of marriage. This is a wise investment into marriage and we as a church and couple are blessed to have the Alpha marriage course run in our church.
Vijay & Bhamini Even after 7 years of being in a relationship my husband has never said “I love you”, but during the marriage course activity session he wrote on a piece of paper that he loves me! It has given me immense joy. I am going to treasure this priceless memory.
reconciled with my wife. I believe that this is going to be a lifelong partnership. The Alpha marriage workshop is great!
6,500 marriage courses running in 116 countries, in 44 languages
Mrs. & Mr. Kishan Peepli I used to tell my wife that as much as you think from your head I think from my knees. This is why I used to think that I was far superior to her, but during this course I realized the importance and role of a Christian wife. I apologized and
Q & A on running the Marriage course the Alpha marriage course the husband said that they were able to understand and help each other and because of this their married life is going smooth. In another case, the couple was at the verge of divorce. We were counselling them, but the Lord put the burden in our hearts to invite them to the Alpha marriage course. So we did that and when they attended the course their relationship got better and richer. They came closer to each other and now they have at baby. So this is the joy of running the Alpha marriage course.
Interview of Mr and Mrs. Julius Kristy who have been running the Alpha marriage course in their region for over Q- What has your experience been while 3 years. Q- How long have you been running the Alpha Marriage course and why? A- We have been running Alpha for the last 3 yrs and we have completed 5 batches. We do this because we have seen that the people who take part in the Alpha marriage course have benefitted from it. We also run a counselling centre and many couples come to us and say they want a divorce because they cannot live together anymore. When we attended the Alpha marriage course we felt that it would be helpful for the couples that come to us and so we should start it. Another reason why we chose it is because we found the material very useful even for pre-marital counselling. Many couples have said that it prepared them for married life. Q- Any particular testimonies that you would like to share from your experiences in running the course? A- In the case of one particular couple the husband used to drink a lot and they had many problems with each other, but after attending
running this course?
A- Every time we run the Alpha marriage course we are enriched. We have become closer and understand each other better. Mrs. Anita Julias Kristy says, “The ‘love language’ is my favourite. I always deal with this topic and through this I have seen that as a couple we have grown richer in sharing our love and by identifying our particular love language I have seen the difference in the way he expresses his love to me and vice versa.” Q- Any other comments? A- I am heading the women fellowship as the president. The Lord has put in my heart the desire to do something with the marriage course for the women fellowship. We usually have different projects for pastors’ wives, so it occurred to me that we should have the Alpha course for all the pastors of Gujarat with their wives. I have spoken to the regional coordinator of this region, Mr. Jimmy D, and in partnership with him we plan on starting a project for 2 years during which time we will invite pastors and their wives from each
area to attend the Alpha marriage course. We want to do this so that these pastors can take the course back to their congregations and in this way we will have better families, better couples and better relationships! When Alpha was introduced at the Sundargarh Baptist Church, the church secretary Mr. Prasanna Behera and Pr. Subodh Bardhan wanted to train all their church members to use Alpha for the evangelism and growth of the church. Hence, we decided to have a training programme for all the members. This training took place at the Baptist Church in Maheshdihi, Sundargarh, which was attended by 76 leaders and laymen from different churches and organisations. Mr. Susmit. K. Rout encouraged delegates to focus on the Great Commission and remember God’s calling. All the delegates were very excited to know more about Alpha and they said the small group discussion session was very interesting.
What is The Marriage Course? The Marriage Course is for any couple who wants to invest in their relationship, whether you have been together for 1 or 61 years and whether you have a strong relationship or are struggling.
from the field
8
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
INSPIRING STORIES AND testimonIES The Impact of Alpha course in Assam
them; and God has mercifully opened a door for me to minister to them. Almost 70 courses are running among these women groups as they are committed, faithful and have a great desire and thirst for the Word of God. Today, few of these women are confident enough to lead the small group and to train other leaders for new Alpha courses. Moreover, God has filled them with the power of the Holy Spirit to witness and pray for the sick. Through their life and testimony many women are being encouraged and want to be trained and equipped with Alpha.
My name is Pastor Akon Bajronayak and while I was attending the Alpha master trainers meet at Guwahati I was enlightened by the simple truths and the dynamics of evangelism. Since then I have organized 12 master trainer seminars in Sivasagar district and 4 in Jorhat district. So far more than 60 courses are running in upper Assam.
However, as we encouraged them and explained the lessons on salvation, revival of personal and spiritual life, the tools for Church growth, for outreach and evangelization they were amazed and decided to start Alpha. Most of the pastors and leaders are happy to be equipped with the materials and they plan to run the courses in their churches since it is Biblical and has no threat or fear to their tradition. They found it to be an encouraging, relevant and useful tool for their church. Irrespective of denominations such as CNI, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal etc, churches are welcoming Alpha and the congregation is learning to study and meditate on the Word of God. They are encouraging and helping one another to grow in the Lord. Fellowship is growing due to the small group discussions and people are discovering and utilizing their leadership potentialities. Because of this simple way of understanding the Word of God their worship and prayer lives are being transformed and revival is taking place in the churches. Dynamics in the Women Groups of the Churches: Most of the women are consistent in their fellowship, worship and prayer ministry. However 60 to 80 percent are illiterate and daily wage laborers in the tea gardens. But they have a great zeal to learn and minister to their family, churches and society as well. They have nobody to equip and empower
Pastor Premananda
Alpha at Belimen Church, Shillong
Impact in the life of the Churches: In upper Assam most of the Churches are very traditional. They have no programs for Bible study apart from Sunday service. Usually the pastor preaches a sermon in a one hour service. It was difficult for them to welcome anything extra in their method of worship.
- Ninghor
Alpha is for everyone. Many people think that Christianity is boring and full of rules and regulations, but Alpha helps you know Jesus in your life and then you realize that Christianity is full of joy and happiness. Because of this I was able to invite my friends to Alpha.
I am N. Jackson Moyon from the Minor Seminary in Shillong and I believe God does miracles in different ways. The Alpha course being conducted at the Minor Seminary in 2013 was also a miracle. The fact of the matter is that there has never been such a program in our seminary. The three day program helped the staff and students to realize the need of learning and teaching the Word of God systematically for spiritual growth and winning and sustaining the people in the Christian faith. Alpha course is an effective tool for evangelism. As a result of the first course, we are looking forward to training people for the effective implementation of more courses. We are doing this because we know that all the staff and students will go to different places.
Anu Karki I am a 2nd year BA student in Nepal. Alpha has totally changed my life, my perceptions and the way in which I tackle obstacles. I have learnt to have patience and respect other’s feelings. Alpha is a course that shares the gospel by creating a friendly and joyful environment. Before I did Alpha I wanted to share the gospel but had no confidence. I had the Bible in my hand but no clue where to start sharing from. I was praying and searching for a perfect and practical way to evangelize my friends. I was excited when I heard the strategy of Alpha as it was perfect.
I am from the Faith Community Centre, Chandigarh. We have done “A Life Worth Living” by Nicky Gumbel and it has been such a blessing and a compact Bible study material for the youth group in my church. Ten young people were wonderfully blessed and have successfully completed this course. One of them, Mr. Min Gangte has been baptised. I have heard many positive responses from our youth after this course. I really thank God for transforming and giving a better meaning of life for many young people in the group.
Kim Simte It was a great privilege for me to attend the course on ‘A life worth Living’ and I feel blessed. I recommend everyone to attend Alpha as it will help you to grow stronger in your faith and build a better relationship with God. I believe that during this course the entire group had a great time with God. I personally benefitted as it gave me the courage to share my experience with my friends. We also learnt about setting our vision, priority and goal right before God and to be able to live a life worth living. Before I attended Alpha, I used to face problems like feeling insecure, worthless, self-righteous, being judgmental, anxious, worried, and depressed and I had been fighting these issues all alone. However, now I can say that I am complete in God and feel more secure knowing that I have a Father who cares about me. I am rejoicing each day and have learned to enjoy my life after knowing that I am the precious child of God. And I can say that this is possible because of Alpha and the course on ‘A life worth Living’.
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
from the field
Ananta Kumar
talk on “Does God heal today?” I requested the group to pray for my illness, I felt that I got complete healing through His great name. From that day I learnt to trust in the Almighty God and have been regularly attending worship.
Alpha is regularly run in Bhubaneswar and a group of people attend and fellowship. They enjoy discussions on various topics. Mr. Ananta Kumar found out about Alpha from his sister Pinki, who attended Alpha at the MI Church in Niladri Vihar earlier. Ananta faithfully attends Alpha and participates in all the discussions. He decided to accept our Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He also attends all the spiritual activities in his church. He is now growing in the knowledge of the Lord.
Rina Barik As a student I have had the desire to share the Gospel with people and to bring them to the Lord Jesus Christ. But I did not know how to do it effectively and easily. One day I was invited to attend an Alpha training held at Cuttack. After the training I applied the teachings by running Alpha in my village. I invited a dozen of my friends for the first course and they all happily attended. I applied the principles of Alpha by arranging a time of fellowship, a preacher for the talk and small group discussion. It really went well, all my friends were blessed and at the same time we discovered the truth of salvation and Jesus Christ. They are keen to know more and I think this may lead to them accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. I am very happy because I am able to share the Gospel with my friends by using Alpha as a tool of evangelism.
Puja I live in Bhojpur, Bihar. I was severly suffering because I had water in my lungs. We spent a lot of money on treatment and I took many medicines, but I was not cured. I have even visited several sacred places and consulted with witchcraft in the hopes of finding a cure. In spite of every thing there was darkness in my life and I had no hope of survival. We came to know that there was an Alpha course running close by. One evening a friend of mine invited us to attend a session and then to be a part of this course. I started to attend every week without fail. During the
Pastor Paul Victor I have been doing ministry work for the past 10 years but never have I received a training like the one I did at the Alpha training. Alpha has helped our believers to be renewed in their spirit. I also feel that our vision has expanded. Nearly 40 families attend our church and the Alpha training has helped all our believers to become involved in ministry work and our vision.
9
Alpha FAQs 1. How do I get started running Alpha? Prayer is vital to the planning, preparation and effectiveness of your Alpha course. Find a group of people who will pray for every aspect of your Alpha course. Step 1 - Pray Step 2 - Participate Step 3 - Plan your course Step 4 - Prepare your team Step 5 - Procure your resources Step 6 - Persevere Step 7 - Pass on the vision 2. How do I run the Alpha course outside of my church?
Isakkiammal When I attended the Alpha course in Thenbathu I was blessed. I began to read the Bible and have faith in Jesus. I have noticed that my husband’s attitude is changing and our financial condition has also improved, even my character is changing. I realized that if I want to go to heaven, I should leave my sinful ways and become God’s child. While attending Alpha I decided to be God’s child and to get to know more about Him.
Aarti Devi I live in Kaimur, Bihar where my mother in law started attending the Alpha course. After going for one week she wanted me to join her because she felt that they had very good teachings about the Lord Jesus Christ. During the seventh session when we listened to the live talk on “How can I resist evil” I started shouting, crying loudly, jumping around and upsetting things. Everyone was disturbed. I was unable to walk properly and became very weak due to all the sudden activity. The course leader along with the other members prayed for me earnestly. After a while I became normal and there was peace in my heart. From that day onwards I completely believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior and have started to attend church regularly. My husband also trusts in Him because of my transformed life and both of us have completed the course and now we are growing in Him day by day.
ALPHA RESOURCES Alpha course resources are available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese and Urdu.
resources@alphaindia.org
Using the same Alpha course content and structure, you can run an Alpha course at school, colleges, workplace, prisons, hospitals, homeless shelters, army bases, slums, among eunuchs and in red light districts.
3. What resources and training opportunities are available to me? • Access to Alpha’s national training conferences and local training events • Access to a full array of products through the Alpha India website to promote, run and augment your Alpha course • Access to a network of Alpha coordinators and Alpha advisors 4. How do I contact Alpha India?
Your first point of contact is:
• Your local state coordinator, then • The Regional Office and finally • The Alpha India National Office They can all help you locate a training event happening near you. Please find contact details on Pg. 2
Pray for Alpha India Praise GOD FOR: - His grace that enabled us to finish all the expected work. - Our new associates - Our new partnerships Prayer Points: - Pray that a new system should be put into place for quality assessment - Pray for recruitment of new staff - Pray for fresh energy and favor from God throughout this year
10
RESOURCE FEATURE
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
‘Parenting is a higher calling than the pursuit of our own happiness. It carries a big cost. But it can also bring the highest of rewards: the depth of love a parent feels and the privilege knowing that we have helped shape life.’ Nicky & Sila Lee
Creating special family time One would be in less danger, from the wiles of the stranger, if one’s own kin and kith were - Ogden Nash-Poet more fun to be with. I can’t remember seeing much of my father – he - Jim was always busy doing something else. If Mum said, ‘Let’s do a family outing,’ we’d all groan and say, ‘Do we have to?’ And then find we really enjoyed ourselves – even if we didn’t admit -Mary-Writer it. For me the most special times were holidays in Ireland when we were just family. We still talk about things we did together when we were children.
-Kirsty
A
philosophy professor stood before his class. When the class began, he picked up a very large Perspex jar and proceeded to fill it with stones, each about two inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They said that it was. The professor then picked up a box of small pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the stones. He asked the students again if the jar was full. They said it was. The professor then poured sand into the jar. The sand filled up the tiny spaces. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous, ‘Yes.’ ‘Now,’ said the professor, ‘This jar represents your life. The stones are the important things – your faith, your family, your health, your friends – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
‘The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else – the small stuff. ‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the stones. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. ‘Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to stay healthy. Take your partner
out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and mend the door handle. ‘Take care of the stones first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’ Spending time with the people we love the most does not just happen. This dawned on us when our three eldest children were five, three and one. We always seemed to be busy in the evenings and our weekends filled up rapidly with all those activities that clamoured for our attention: doing jobs around the house or garden, catching up with friends and paperwork, shopping, fitting in some extra work, pursuing a hobby, going to parties and attending other special events. We realised, unless we made some changes, we would continue to experience frustration and regret as other aspects of our lives crowded out spending time together as a family. We talked with an older couple who helped us find a solution. We decided to put two regular commitments in our diaries each week.
keeping them has been a challenge. Some weeks, we did not succeed. But we never regretted it when we managed to stick to them. Our ‘marriage time’ gives us the opportunity to communicate regularly at a meaningful level and to keep romance alive in our marriage.1 Neglecting our relationship was an easy trap to fall into, particularly with the huge and often overwhelming responsibilities that came with being parents. But we realised that the strength and well-being of our marriage had farreaching implications for our children, not least safeguarding the presence and involvement of both of us in their lives. Owing to the nature of our work, with weekends often busy, we generally had our family time midweek around a meal in the early evening. Over the years these ‘family nights’ (as they became known) have enabled us to relate to each other beyond the nuts and bolts of daily life and they have built a reservoir of shared memories for our children and for us. Of course there were other occasions in the week when we were all together, but planning at least one weekly time, when we would stop everything else to have fun as a family, has helped to communicate to our children more loudly and clearly than we ever could with our words: ‘You are our priority. We love you. We want to spend time with you.’
Sila To help to make it different and special, we allowed our children to take turns to choose what we ate. It was often something that I might not otherwise make or buy for them. Pizza was a hot favourite when they were younger; stir-fry with noodles became the top choice later on. I sometimes used these evenings to show them how to make their particular choice – cooking and tossing pancakes, making spaghetti bolognese, preparing a fondue. One we called our ‘marriage time’ – a weekly date, time to enjoy being alone together, doing something fun. The other was ‘family time’ – the same concept, with the emphasis on a meal and an activity the whole family could enjoy. Looking back over the past twenty-five years, these times have probably been the best commitments we have ever made. Most weeks,
We also took turns to choose the activity. The only constraint was that it had to be something everyone could join in with. In the summer it might be cricket, football, playing frisbee, roller-blading, going on a bike ride, a barbecue, a picnic, a drink in a café or a trip to the cinema. In the winter their favourites were playing indoor games like hide and seek,
ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY-MARCH 2014
sardines, hunt the thimble, a board game, or a game that involved acting and dressing up. These may sound old-fashioned, but children love them. Your choice of activities may be different to ours. The point is they need to be inclusive, and they do not need to cost anything to be fun. It is the interaction with other family members that provides the amusement. We found that, when we as adults were prepared to be laughed at, to get down to their level and to do things that might be considered silly, they loved it. We connected as a family. Once our children had all become teenagers and more independent, we continued our family night as one occasion each week when we knew we would be together. The games stopped and the meal became longer. The conversation remained as loud as ever. We chose the evening to fit in with our children’s and our own commitments. No child or family should be under such pressure that they cannot find an hour or two each week to relax and have fun together. Homework, music and sports practice could usually be planned around family time. One mother said, ‘There’s only one night in the week when my husband is home in time for us all to eat together – and so I tell the kids, “No late clubs that night,” and we have a family supper.’ If possible, we kept to the same night each week, although we retained flexibility so that this was a mutually agreed time rather than inflicted on our children. Sometimes our family night included a godparent or some other close friend, who understood that conversations would be geared around the children. As they progressed through their teenage years, a boyfriend or girlfriend might join us.
Other families we know have chosen part of the weekend for their regular family time – going out together for the day, playing in the park, Sunday lunch, going for a walk in the country, watching a favourite TV programme or finding a sport that they can all enjoy together.
Persevering with family time In the short-term it is all too easy to measure the impact of our family time by whether a particular event seemed to be a success or a disaster. We often felt that we were fighting an uphill battle. A game sometimes ended in tears and the whole evening was ruined. A video night degenerated into arguments and sulks as we tried to find a film that everyone was happy with. We wondered if it was worth bothering with at all. Having spoken to other families trying to maintain family time, their experience has been
RESOURCE FEATURE the same as ours. A mother told us, ‘I would say that one in three of our family nights ends in a row, or it all goes pear-shaped before we’ve even started. But it’s worth all the aggro for the two that go well.’ Another family said, ‘There’s a lot of compromise that goes on. We have four children between the ages of five and fourteen, and finding something we would all like to do at a time that works is a challenge. But well worth the effort. I save up special offer vouchers from the newspapers and we all go out for a pizza. Or we play tennis and our youngest acts as ball boy.’
11
• Make a collage using anything from old buttons and scrap material to pictures out of a magazine. • Make a family website with photos and news. • Make a simple bird feeder for the winter and hang it where everyone can see it. • Act out a favourite story (eg, Goldilocks and the three bears or Cinderella) with each person taking a different part. Use props and costumes. • Make puppets and put on a puppet show. • Have a barbecue and try bananas in their skins – cut lengthways and stuffed with smarties! • Listen to a story CD or tape – some come with read-along books. • Encourage younger children to draw and colour a picture to send to their grandparents. Older children could send a home-made card. • Play tennis, basketball, golf or whatever sport they enjoy. • Take the children on a tour of a parent’s workplace. • Draw a family tree on paper and complete it as a family – add photographs if you Activities for family time have them. We have included below a list of ideas • Give each person a large piece of paper and take turns tracing the outline of their that could be used to plan a family time with bodies. Colour in each outline to look like your children or to create a surprise for them. the person. Choose the ones that will work with the ages of • Gather a variety of leaves in the autumn your children. and press them in a book. • Go to the park: play football, cricket, • Plan how you could help a child in a Frisbee, etc. developing country as a family. • Have a card, draughts or chess tournament. • Go for a walk near your house to get to • Play charades. know your neighbour-hood better. • Go to the cinema and out for a quick meal • Put together a scrapbook describing a or milkshake before or afterwards. favourite holiday or a special event (with • Draw or paint together. (Try doing some pictures, photos and other souvenirs). portraits of each other.) • Play charades or ‘the adverb game’ (which • Play with bricks, cars or soldiers. involves one member of the family doing • Play ‘houses’ or dressing up. an action on command and the rest of • Try cooking a new recipe together. the family trying to guess the adverb. For • Make something together such as example, someone might have to act out Christmas cards or decorations. eating their supper ‘jerkily’ or playing tennis • Watch a DVD the children will enjoy. ‘clumsily’). • Play hide-and-seek or a similar game. • Go out together for an ice-cream or hot • Go for a walk or a bike ride. chocolate. • Go jogging. • All pile into the same bed at the weekend • Hire a rowing boat or a pedalo on a local for a breakfast-in-bed lie-in. pond. • Have a ‘lock-in day’ – all stay in pyjamas • Go on a picnic (even in the rain!). and do not answer the door or phone. • Make pancakes or pizzas together. • Go roller-blading. • Go swimming. • Explore a park you do not normally go to. • Plan a scavenger hunt. Try to find something in the house beginning with each letter of the alphabet. • Read a book aloud. (Books like C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia appeal to children and adults.) • Look through family photo albums or look at old family videos/DVDs. NICKY AND SILA LEE have been married • Make a recording of your most recent for over thirty years and have a daughter and family news and send it to a friend or three sons. They are on the staff of Holy relative whom you do not see very often. • Play a board game that the children all enjoy Trinity Brompton in London. They have – Monopoly, Scrabble, Balderdash, Pictionary, spoken to thousands on the subjects of Sorry and Trivial Pursuit have been our family marriage, parenting and family life. They are favourites at different times. the best selling authors of The Marriage Book • Sing favourite songs or nursery rhymes and pioneers of The Marriage course, The (perhaps with home-made musical Marriage Preparation course, The Parenting instruments). course and The Parenting Teenagers course.