Alpha India Quarterly Newsletter

FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY | transformation of our Society through Evangelisation of our Nation | | ALPHA.ORG/INDIA

alpha india news

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 1 | JANUARY - MARCH 2015

Alpha penetrates the North Churches blessed Page 4 Motivational Story Alpha enhancing evangelism Page 5

THE QUARTERLY NEWSPAPER OF ALPHA INDIA

NATIONAL WOMEN

LEADERS CONFERENCE

Awakening 2014 National Women Leaders Conference - Jaipur Page 6-7

More Alpha Trainings & Courses News from the field Page 8

Church growth stories Alpha boosts church growth Page 9

Transformation stories Lives being touched and impacted on Alpha Page 10

Relationship Central Prayer vital to families Page 11

Empowering Women, Influencing the World and Creating a Community of women leaders who will become a positive influence in their homes, churches, and within the community at large. Held at Jaipur, Rajasthan from 3rd - 6th of November 2014.

Contd...Pg 6-7

CNI CHURCH IN AMRITSAR RUNS ALPHA

Christ Church at Rambag, Amritsar started their first Alpha for about 40 people, 30 of whom were from non-Christian faiths. 16 of them dedicated their lives to Jesus. Many people were healed as they yielded to the Spirit of God. 11 church Leaders who ran the first Alpha were excited to run more Alpha in their church.

Contd...Pg 4

ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

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 Jaccob Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of MPCA Matthew 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 K. Nayak Email : rupak@alphaindia.org Mob : +91 93189 02997 West Region, Ahmedabad: Jimmy Harshkant Email : jimmy@alphaindia.org Ph : +91 98254-44197 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 INDIA’S STAFF RETREAT 2014

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 Email : seema@alphaindia.org Alpha in the Workplace: Santosh Chetri Mob: +91 90070-22889

Regional Development Manager (Delhi & NCR) Ashish Mishra, Mob : +91 98995 92929

Regional Coordinators: Andhra Pradesh: Susheel K Chattar Mob: +91 98660-99184 Nanthaniel R Kodavatikanti Mob: +91 99088-22365 Bihar: George Muller Mob: +91 94310-16124 Odisha: Tushar K Behera Mob: +91 93371-41600 Rajasthan: Kamlesh Parmar Mob: +91 99830-03637 Johnson James Mob: +91 98290-77374 Rajesh Makwan Mob: +91 94601 32641 Gujarat: Arpit Rathod Mob: +91 98794-75765 Rev. Uday Bhadra Mob: +91 94085-71049 Jarkhand: Inosh Karad Mob: +91 98976-44709 Uttar Pradesh: Vinay P Dayal Mob: +91 93594-86843 West Bengal: Dilip Debnath Mob: 098742-07760 Priya Ranjan Bag Mob : +91 80172-88279 Tamil Nadu: John Rajan Mob : +91 98434-95572 Samuel Sundar Mob : +91 93808-06974 North East: Rev. Ninghor Kazingmei Mob: +91 90851-57153 Ps. Subhas Lyngdoh Mob: +91 97740-59873 Alpha Assoc. Nagaland: Eyingbemo E. Ngullie, Mob: +91 98566-16680 Alpha Assoc. Imphal Ezra Pamei : +91 76201 17270 Alpha Assoc. Manipur Worshon Kashung : +91 84149-28416 Kathmandu: Rupa Pradhan Mob: 00977 98020 68920 Alpha in the Workplace, Eastern Region: Atmanand Singh, Mob: +91 90515-12161 Relationship Central, Northern Region Vikram Satyarahi, Mob: +91 98763-70480

Alpha India’s Staff Retreat 2014 was held at ‘Claret Nivas’ a Catholic Retreat Centre – Carmelaram, Bangalore from the 8th to the 12th of December. Staff from all across our Nation participated. A panoramic view of the first two chapters of Genesis and the last two chapters of Revelation were expounded by Mr. L. T. Jeyachandran in a series of messages.

He is well known as a Bible expositor. Bonnie Yule-Kuehne the Global Vice President of Alpha International was present and she imparted valuable insights. Also we had Jeanie Hosken come as our special guest to share on how she had partnered with Ps. Shekar Kalyanpur’s New Life Fellowship Church in Mumbai in promoting and doing the Alpha course as well as Relationship Central courses using our Resources. Paulyn Woodburn from the Bangalore International Christian Fellowship came and shared on how she had run the Marriage course for the International community residing and working in Bangalore.

We also had Ps. Victor Demonte of the Adonai Ministries share as to how they as a Church had used the Marriage course and Worship Central course in various pockets of the city of Bangalore. The concluding message was brought forth by Ps. Sam Rajshekhar, General Director at YuvaLok Foundation. He said that the staff are consecrated to serve, consecrated to His royal service and consecrated to radiate Christ.

© Alpha India 2015, edited and published

by J.V. Raj for Alpha India

ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

From the desk of the National Director

Share the Good News as a way of Life As the year begins most of us sit and try to look at all the possibilities of the year.

The world we live in offers us both opportunities and challenges. The aspirations of the heart of man looks out for opportunities and tries to discover the need to overcome challenges. Opportunities to improvise and innovate at each turn can be challenging. Asking the right questions at each turn is the key.

There was a time, when watching news on television was highly expectant and anticipating. Now, there is arson, killing, scheming, and anti-social activities are highlighted, and one wonders if this is what life is all about—seems to be so negative and desperate. I am convinced if there was a time when the world needed the Good News, this is it. Now is the time for good news.

Being born again by the Spirit, opens up the eye to an eternal perspective, taking a long shot of life and would refrain from evil or disruptive activities. One would not take destinies of people into their hands. A quiet trust in our everlasting God will change perspectives.

As you begin this year, it is prudent to sit back and take a long term view of life. As Christians, we need to re-assess our way of life and take the first steps to prioritise. Scripture says, “Seek first the kingdom of God”. Scripture also asks, “Why seek the living among the dead”. I suppose this is a good time to ask questions that matter.

This can be a very exciting year of experiencing the Good News in our life. This will also motivate us to share the Good News among our countrymen and women.

Warmest regards, J V Raj

ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

ALPHA PENETRATES NORTHERN INDIA North India is witnessing wonderful testimonies of successful Alpha’s running in the region which are blessing churches with new people and strengthening the existing congregations. Here are a few stories from the field: -Rupak K. Nayak

CNI CHURCH IN AMRITSAR

For the first time the CNI Church opened their doors in Amritsar to experience Alpha. On 5th of August 2014 Christ Church at Rambagh, Amritsar started their first Alpha with about 40 guests, 30 of whom were from non-Christian faiths, 16 of whom dedicated their lives to Jesus.

People who have been attending Alpha brought 10 new people on the Holy Spirit Day and they were also touched by the power of God. Many people were healed as they yielded to the Spirit of God. 11 church Leaders who ran their first Alpha were excited about doing more Alpha in their church. Church leadership is excited about the effectiveness of Alpha and are planning their next Alpha in January 2015. Rev. Vijay Kumar of Christ Church has a vision to see his church as a mega-church and is very excited about how Alpha can help him to fulfill his vision.

Good News Centre - Delhi

accomodate the newly saved. They also began “A Life Worth Living” course with 100 guests as a follow up to Alpha. Enclosed is the letter from Senior Pastor Daniel Kumar of GNC who testifies saying “I strongly believe that Alpha is an effective tool for church growth.”

New Creation Church - Delhi

Good News Centre demonstrates a powerful story of effectiveness as a result of Alpha.

They had their first Alpha started in April 2014 with 130 people where 60 new people expressed their commitment to Christ. Soon after this they started their second Alpha in August 2014 with 107 people and again 65 new people committed their lives to Jesus.

The Church is overflowing and already they have more than 120 newly added members through Alpha. The Church is ready for their third Alpha in January 2015. GNC already has two worship services on Sundays and they are planning to start another service to

Ps. Rachna Gupta joined in the first Graduation of Alpha in GNC and was inspired to start one for her church as well. They started their first Alpha in October 2014 with 40 people.

About 30 people from non-Christian faiths made their commitment to the Lord Jesus.

Church Leadership says “we have run many

discipleship curriculums but getting people repeatedly on a weekly basis was always a challenge but people on Alpha sessions were so interested and excited that each one of them came week after week with 100% attendance.” Delegates testified that Alpha is so simple and effective. They had 40 guests on their first Alpha and are now ready and excited about their next Alpha.

ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

Alpha at Bethel Community Church

The graduation ceremony at Living God Church, Dwarka was celebrated with great gusto. The graduates who successfully completed Alpha shared their experience of how it had helped them to grow into a deeper relationship with God. A special message was given by guests, Bro. John and Sis. Homa from the United States. Ps Avinash David Mishra congratulated the graduates and encouraged the congregation to participate in the forthcoming Alpha.

Alpha has now become a regular part of the Church activities. It has been a tremendous blessing to us all. We plan to start the, ‘A Life Worth Living’ course in January and in other contexts of Alpha in 2015”, said Ps. Mishra.

- Ashish Mishra

The cell group of the Bethel Community Church, New Delhi is running Alpha. This small group has been blessed by using Alpha.

The participants find group discussions very useful as it gives everyone an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings. They are now encouraged and equipped to share the Gospel.

Graduation at Holy Family - Ashish Mishra

Ps. Kishore

1. How do I run Alpha?

Prayer is vital to the planning, preparation and effectiveness of Alpha. 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 Alpha Step 4 - Prepare your team Step 5 - Procure your resources Step 6 - Persevere Step 7 - Pass on the vision

2. How do I run Alpha outside my church?

Using the same Alpha content and structure, you can run an Alpha at schools, colleges, workplaces, prisons, hospitals, homeless shelters, army bases, slums, among eunuchs and in red light districts.

3. What resources and training opportunities are available to me?

(Pastor of Bethel Community Church) Alpha is a way to reach out to the unreached and share the Gospel in a simple yet effective way.

My Church has been blessed by doing Alpha.

Graduation at Living God Church - Ashish Mishra

Alpha FAQs

The graduates of the Alpha for Youth run at Holy Family Girls’ Home had several stories to share. The graduation was a day of celebration as well as reflection. A special message of encouragement was given by Sis. Lily who encouraged the youth to apply the truths learnt on Alpha in their lives. A total of 27 girls graduated. The testimony of how God touched and transformed these young lives is overwhelming. On the Holy Spirit Day, God’s power poured out and touched them mightily. Many received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. Miracles of healing were witnessed during the ‘Does God Heal Today?’ session, some instantaneous, others that followed later. The young girls now confidently pray for the healing of other people and encourage them to believe in the Word. The testimonies on the Graduation day were just amazing. A young girl shared, “I am confident that even if all leave me, Jesus shall never leave 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 Alpha • 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 Page 2.

MOTIVATIONAL STORY

- Jimmy Damore

Mrs. Naani, 65 years from the Sindhi background, is a very active member of the Rajasthan Pentecostal Church of Udaipur. She attended a training on how to run Alpha on the 29th of August 2014 and was motivated by the talk on how to make friends and share the good news. After the training she went to Banswara to visit her friend and there she shared the Gospel to 5 Sindhi families. After two months Ps. Paul Matthew from Philadelphia Church of Udaipur visited the same town for a convention and was met by the Sindhi families who shared about how Mrs. Naani had befriended them and shared the Good news.

Now the families have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and planning to start an Alpha in January 2015 in their community.

are

NATIONAL WOMEN L

6

Awak

Empowering Women

127 delegates from 15 states of India gathered at Hotel Clarke Amer - Jaipur, Rajasthan. This to millions of ex

Speakers at the J. VARADARAJ

ERIN CLIFFORD

J. Varadaraj, National Director, Alpha India

Erin Clifford was ordained in the Church of England. Currently she is serving as the At Chandigarh the mother of a beautiful Director of Intern and Fellows Program with three month old baby girl had committed International Justice Mission, Washington suicide. She had been constantly taunted and DC. tortured by her mother-in-law for having brought forth a baby girl. The burden to Erin spoke on : “Self-worth of a woman” do something for women in the nation was She said that “women are awesome” as they birthed after this episode. have been fashioned in the image of God. She also spoke on how comparison is the Awakening 2014 conference commenced thief of joy. with Mr. Raj highlighting the inspiring story of MalalaYousafzai.

Yasmi

Shanti

What I like about Alpha is that it allows people to ask questions.

Alpha is very essential in India to awaken and empower the women

COMING SOON Sisters

PEARL BENJAMIN

Pearl Benjamin is a clinical psychologist by profession. Pearl teaches and engages with mothers and women on various issues and provides practical tips to deal with them.

Pearl spoke on : “The role of women in society as an Influencer and Reformer”.

With her deep and practical insights she connected with the women and imparted much wisdom to them.

Voices from the Richa Alpha is a very good tool to connect with people. It is very simple and easy with deep truths.

of India Conferen

LEADERS CONFERENCE

7

kening

n, Influencing the World.

Conference brought in the Christian message of justice, fairness, care-giving and compassion xploited women.

the conference CLARISSA ANDERSON

Clarissa is an Electrical Engineer.

She specializes in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability & Social Impact Investment.

A lot of statistical information on human trafficking and rehabilitation programs happening in the country were put forth by Clarissa Anderson.

SHANEEN CLARKE

Shaneen Clarke is a renowned speaker, author and evangelist who started her career out of IBOLA Bible College in London. In 2003 she founded the UK Registered Charity “A Woman’s Call.”

Shaneen Clarke came out loud and clear on the “Purpose of an individual at the work place and in the neighbourhood”.

Rev. Emmy Wilson

Emmy Wilson joined the staff of Holy Trinity Brompton, London in 1985.

She was ordained in Uganda in 2011 as Chaplain to the worldwide prisons and is based at Holy Trinity Brompton, London.

Emmy Wilson spoke on: “Investing in Relationships”. She said that everything begins with the transformation of the individual.

the conference Elvina Alpha is effective because of the discussion time, where opportunity is for all to open up what is in their heart.

Loreni Alpha is great. It is a simple tool and easy to run. It is simple for people to understand and is non-threatening.

nce MORE DETAILS WILL BE FURNISHED IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

Melissa The fellowship time of the course is significant as it allows people to get to know each other in the group.

ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

Andhra Pradesh witnesses largest Professional’s Alpha

- Nathaniel R

As we approached the end of 2014 in the month of November around 70 members who are Teachers, Bank professionals and businessmen had a wonderful Alpha training. The training program took place in Tuni town at Shalem church. The whole program was sponsored

by Samatha Society under the leadership of Bro. K. Yohan. The program stirred up the passion for Christ, to preach the gospel in their respective professions through Alpha.

“A great foundation to build a solid worship team” - Amy Zeuch, Worship Pastor, Bangalore

Worship Central Course was a highlight for our church; a great foundation to build a solid worship team. The material was excellently laid out, thorough, and full of great scriptural references. It had space to share personal stories from our life. The length of the course was perfect, not too long, and not too short.

We often refer to the lessons when we are rehearsing or praying together as a team and while applying the concepts from the course. Our worship team and church highly benefitted from running the Worship Central Course and we look forward to growing more and seeing more worship leaders equipped.

Now he is able to share the truth among his friends through using Alpha. He is developing the youth of his Church and another Church near by. He has found a new way to serve the Lord through the Alpha Training.

Alpha for Seniors felt needs met -Ashish Mishra

Alpha Training at Baphala Baptist Church Pratyasha Vineyard Church, showed interest in growing in the areas of worship. They needed to grow deeper into the heart of worship, structure of the set, communication, and team dynamics.

A one day training in Bangalore, helped us to start a Worship Central Course in our church with 12 people. We met directly after church at our house for 7 weeks. Each week we took turns leading worship before the class. I led the teaching directly from the manual and then appointed different small group leaders to facilitate conversations from the questions in the participant book. We spent time in prayer for each person as they felt God speaking into specific areas in their lives pertaining to worship. Week after week, there were rave reviews about the impact of this course. Every member looked forward to our gathering to eat together, laugh and learn as a team.

-Ninghor Kazingmei

The Alpha training in Baphala Baptist Church, Jorhat is a great influence among the youth.

Sanjay Doley, Church Youth President was amazingly transformed after the training and he has greatly changed. Before the training he was aimless and had no idea about evangelism.

Alpha for Seniors was started in December 2014 at the ‘Home for the Aged’ in Chattarpur, New Delhi. It has been wonderful to make in-roads here. It was a life-transforming time for our team as we listened to the seniors share from their experience of a life-time. The seniors felt encouraged and strengthened by the Word. The group discussions led to many interesting conversations. We thank God for these wonderful elders He has given to all of us. It was encouraging to learn of the passion that some of them have for evangelism. We pray for God’s blessings and health for all the seniors at this Home.

ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

CHURCH GROWTH STORY

- Kamlesh Parmar

Philadelphia Fellowship Church of India – Udaipur Alpha India is now developing partnership with PFCI – Udaipur. The Church also hosted a Alpha Training and Worship Central Training.

Ps. Paul Matthew is very excited about Alpha that he made it a mandate for all the prayer cell group leaders to run it. Alpha is now running in Eklavya colony, Hiran Magri and Bedla under by the PFCI members.

Ps. Paul Matthews also expressed his interest in discipleship, God’s vision, fulfilment in the believers’ lives through Alpha. In 2015 we have decided to run different contexts of Alpha in The Philadelphia Mission of India where 800-1000 courses are expected to run.

Our personal relationship also developed in over the time with the institution.

On 30th Nov’ 2014 Worship Central Course started in the Pentecostal Church of Udaipur.

Dr. Finny Philip, Principal of the Bible College is very excited about Alpha and has permitted us to start Alpha in the Bible College of Udaipur. We are growing steadily building godly relationships which in turn will help us see the vision come true in our country.

Church of North India -Rajasthan Rev. Emmanuel Damore (All Saints Church– Kherwara), Vice President of the Diocese of Rajasthan and Rev. Ashish George Zawer are running Alpha in their respective Churches. We also introduced Alpha in the Shepherd Memorial Church – Udaipur who will be running Alpha in their neighbourhood.

Rev. Warris K. Masih, CNI Bishop of Rajasthan has come forward to partner with Alpha. He has asked all the Pastors under his leadership to run and promote Alpha.

We were able to train the diocese in other contexts too. Rev. Rajesh has decided to conduct 9 trainings during the first quarter of 2015.

Alpha in the Catholic Context - Udaipur Region Praise God for Fr. Norbert(SVD) Udaipur who played a key role in conducting 2 Alpha intros and a vision casting meet.

The vision casting meet was commenced on the 11th of September 2014 with Bishop Dev Prasad Ganava and the leaders under him.

Mr. Rajesh (COO) Alpha India introduced Alpha during this meet. In 2015 we have planned for trainings on how to run Alpha in different parishes of the Catholic diocese. Fr. Norbert also has paved way to begin Alpha for Prisons and in this year where we expect 1200 inmates to come on the course.

Fr. Norbert also gave us an opportunity to connect with the English Medium Schools of Udaipur. The Principals and Directors are now planning to run Alpha for Students at St. Paul’s School, St. Mary’s, St. Teresa and may other schools in Udaipur.

Sis. Pramila Fernandez is now running Alpha for Prison among women inmates who love to meet with her regularly. The Prison department has now given them the permission to meet every month .

Above 50 Churches/Organizations are now geared up to run Alpha and are planning to partner with Alpha India. In 2014 we were able to develop relationships with key leaders and decision makers in the city of Udaipur as a result of which Barmer, Jaislmer, Bundi, Jhalawar, Rajsamand, Pratapgarh and Sirohi districts have now lined up for trainings.

Spreading the Gospel and preparing churches for Evangelisation and transformation are becoming a reality. We hope for a huge harvest in 2015.

What Leaders say about Alpha Ps. Mikher Gada, Assam After the training on how to run Alpha I was certain that there would be church growth and I was encouraged to win souls and teach others. Now I am running Alpha in my church and I am seeing people’s lives change and new guests are coming on Alpha. The youth are enjoying it the most.

Ps. Mogeswar Phulmali, Assam.

I have been ministering for the last 15 years, and have not seen anything like Alpha. It has helped me and my church grow spiritually and encourages us to go forward in the ministry to win souls for Christ. I am now very excited and encouraged to share the Gospel as Alpha makes it easy to share.

Dr. Machang Jamatia, Tripura

near future.

I thank God for Alpha, which was introduced to Tripura by Rev. Subhas Lyngdoh in 2013. I was introduced to Alpha and soon after I attended an Alpha Master Training.

I want all my Christian Revival churches in Tripura to run Alpha in the

I am fully confident that the churches will grow because of Alpha and evangalisation of our nation will take place as a result of partnering with Alpha India.

Rev. Howoto Sema, Sikkim The prime purpose of writing this is to testify that the teaching methods of Alpha are profound.

I believe that the believers of our churches would get all the benefits from Alpha and mature in their faith.

Ps. Reji John, Uttarakhand

My wife and I have been involved in Church planting ministry in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

We are grateful to Alpha India for introducing Alpha to our church. We are thankful for Alpha which helps us to do personal evangelism for church growth.

We praise God for His faithfulness in our church planting ministry. There has been church growth in our church, and at present we have more than 300 baptized members. Once again we are grateful to Alpha India for helping in our church planting ministry as well as for the extension of God’s Kingdom in Uttarakhand.

ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

TRANSFORMATION STORIES Ps. Dixon Bright, Tamil Nadu Mercy & Esther, Tamil Nadu

I found Alpha to be a simple tool that we used in our church and it has rewarded our church with fruits that embellished our church. Now we have had 4 Alpha trainings where we could follow up people of other faiths and teach them on Alpha. We realized that people learned eagerly about Jesus and gave their hearts to Jesus. Two families gave their hearts to Christ. My church has been effectively running Alpha and we are tremendously blessed by the splendid syllabus of Alpha.

Divya, Tamil Nadu I attended Alpha every Monday for the past two months. I was burdened with many worries and anxieties. Alpha answered my questions, stimulated and motivated me to follow Jesus with perseverance.

I decided to leave my idols and accept Jesus as my personal Savior. I gave my heart to Jesus and attended Alpha regularly.

Vijayakumar, Tamil Nadu

We are physically blind and knew Jesus many years ago when we were at IGL hostel at Salem. But when we happened to move from there we faced many challenges that we gradually drifted away from the truths we learnt. Now we are at Kumarapalayam where Ps. Dixon met us and helped us to get back to God through Alpha. Enthusiastically we attended every session of Alpha. The Church elders and Pastor cared for us with divine love and shared God’s Word. We are blessed

by Alpha and are now attending the church.

Rajesh, Udaipur I am thankful to Alpha because it helps me to know more about Jesus and the Holy Spirit in a simple way. In very less time I have learnt so many things on Alpha. Once again I am thankful to Alpha for their teaching on Jesus.

Sangeeta, Udaipur My colleague Durga invited me to attend Alpha during which I experienced healing in my personal life and my problems were solved. All these changes in my personal life encouraged me to invite my husband to attend an Alpha. Before attending I was weak in my body. But on Alpha I was healed and this change in my life was noticed by my husband and relatives. One day I visited my relative and she was sick with fever. I prayed for her and was able to share the testimony of my life with her. This was possible because of what I learnt on Alpha.

This change in my life encouraged my husband to attend Alpha regularly every week.

Ps. Dixon came to my home one day with the Gospel and I opened my doors to hear more from him. I underwent physical illness due to collar bone surgery therefore we were without comfort and peace. Ps. Dixon regularly visited us every Thursday at 8 pm with some snacks, fruit and milk. I was captivated by his love and was eager to hear about Jesus.

After few weeks of his visit and running Alpha in our family we decided to give our lives to Jesus. It was Jesus who worked wonders and miracles in our family after many tears.

Now joy has filled our home.

The group discussions are a very exciting part of Alpha as it helps us share our views.

After completing Alpha my husband and I decided to take baptism. We also want to do The Marriage Course.

Sanjay, Udaipur My sisters and I have believed in the Lord and my parents are yet to receive the Lord. In 2014 we attended Alpha and it helped me a lot to raise many questions that were solved. Alpha was in the plan of God for our lives.

After attending Alpha the fear that we had for sharing about Jesus has

gone. On Alpha we learnt how to share the Gospel. As we shared with our friends and relatives many of them accepted Jesus as their personal Savior. The Lord is using us for His kingdom.

Prem Kumar, Shillong I used to practice witchcraft for a long time. I came to know Christ through Alpha run by Nabin Rai. Now I am a different person. I no longer practice witchcraft.

I now preach Jesus to my friends.

Mrs. Monica Rai, Shillong I had just become a Christian before attending Alpha in our local church.

After doing Alpha, my life changed. I used to tell lies to my husband, but now I no longer do. Jesus and His Word has changed me.

Amit and Christina Parmar,Gujarat

Alpha has changed our view about the Christian Faith and Living. We have taken strong decisions about reading the Bible daily and also praying especially for the sick and for people in need. Alpha has become a power booster for us. We learnt about the Holy Spirit on the Holy Spirit weekend and our doubts were cleared. On the day of the Holy Spirit my wife and I were touched by the Holy Spirit and we feel we are increasing in Him day by day. We really appreciate the way it was shared and explained to us. I can only say that Alpha has proved to be life changing and a blessing for my wife and myself.

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ALPHA INDIA NEWS JANUARY - MARCH 2015

relationship central Families that pray – Philip David

I recall the efforts my father-in-law, the late Mr. Jimmy Davidar used to take to get the larger family together to pray. We were three couples visiting him for the week end. Dulcie and I would be the first to arrive on Friday evening. Dulcie’s brother and his wife would join by dinner time. Dulcie’s sister and her husband would reach past midnight, after closing business late in the evening. Next morning, my father-in-law, would begin his attempts to get the three couples together to pray.

Due to the different arrival times and sleep schedules, when two couples were up and about,the third was still in bed. When all three were up, my brother-in-law was in the village sorting out issues in the village,that were waiting for his arrival. When he was back, I would have gone to sleep, having woken up very early. Only at lunchtime would all three couples be fully available.

And so my father-in-law’s attempts would finally bear fruit at lunch time.

And lunch would not begin, till every member of the family had prayed. And there was no time limit. Sometimes it would take half an hour and at other times it would go for a full hour. But twenty five years later, we see all three couples blessed and the rich tradition of Family Prayer, continue to the next generation.

Families praying together just won’t happen automatically. We see in many families, individuals have good personal prayer lives. But ask them about the times of prayer together. That would be limited to the functional needs, morning and evening, but not times of prayer like their own individual lives.

A general pattern observed in families, is that prayer leadership is delegated to the wives or mothers. True there is a great legacy left by praying mothers. Susanna Wesley prayed fervently and all eighteen children were blessed and their generations were blessed. John Wesley, Charles Wesley were leaders birthed by the mother’s prayer.

Hannah prayed & the prophet of Israel was born. Samuel went on to become one of the greatest leaders of all times. But sadly the legacy did not continue. Joel, Samuel’s son was not even accepted by the people.

Fathers are required to provide headship in the family and the ‘prayer-role’ just cannot be excluded from the ‘headship-list’. In fact it needs to be on top of the list. That was the instruction given to Abraham ( Genesis 18:19) for I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, by doing what is right and just....) Abraham took leadership in prayer. In the same chapter we see Abraham interceding for the town where his nephew Lot was residing. Genesis 19:26 narrates Abraham going to his regular place of prayer, standing and looking towards Sodom, and the smoke rising up from that city that was destroyed. Genesis 19:29 states that the Lord remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the catastrophe.

Why is it so difficult for couples to tarry in times of prayer on a regular basis?

The reason is because couples have not discovered the secret. Sadly, the devil knows the secret and will do everything in his power to stop couples from having a good time of prayer. Those who discover the secret hold this “prayer time” very dear to them and guard it vigilantly. But for many, this is a hidden truth.

The secret is in the ‘agreement’ between the couple that can do wonders in prayer. If a Christian couple can come to agreement, “Anything they ask for will be done for them” (Mathew 18:19) they will then go on to the next level, which is, ‘binding and loosening’ (Mathew 18: 18 ) We do not realize the ‘authority and power’ we lose by letting our differences and petty issues come in the way of agreement prayer.

May God help us pray as families and live powerful lives,

Resolving conflicts, Power of forgiveness and Impact of familyproves a blessing Ashish and Anjelina Singh My wife and I were married for just over 7-8 months when we came for the marriage course. Not because we wanted to do it, but rather we felt the need for it. As we got to know each other more, we found fewer things we both liked together. We had a difference of opinion in almost 80% of the things that we did and discussed. Things were not bad but definitely moving in that direction. As the marriage course started, the first chapter was Building Foundations, which showed us that what is happening in our marriage is not unique but happens with all married couples (The 4 seasons). Next came (our favorite) Art of Communication.

This was the game changer, just what we needed. This course improved our communication to a great extent (and is still improving). With the sessions on Resolving conflicts, Power of forgiveness and Impact of family we understood what is required to sustain this relationship and make it stronger and have Jesus Christ in the center of it. Good Sex was a session which we felt was not of great importance (initially), but as Nicky and Sila Lee explained, we started to look at the big picture here and not just the physicality of it. Love in action, was an eye opener. It showed us how wrong we were in understanding each other’s Love Languages. The marriage course is not a quick fix to the many problems we face in marriage, but equips us with knowledge and understanding of how to build a great Christ centered married life.

Pray for Alpha India Praise GOD FOR: - Praise God for His providence, guidance and blessing upon the work of Alpha India throughout the last year - Praise God for open doors, partnerships and divine connections He brought about in the last year - Praise God for His protection upon the staff of Alpha India throughout the last year - Praise God for testimonies, transformed lives and miracles He performed in Alpha across the nation - Praise God for all the trainings, courses and exciting events that were conducted during last year Pray FOR: - Pray for God’s guidance, protection and favor upon Alpha India this year - Pray for God’s wisdom upon the Alpha India board members and staff - Pray for the work of Alpha India to increase even more this year - Pray for opportunities to spring up and partnerships to be established in 2015 - Pray for the health of Alpha India staff and board members