FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY | TO SEE THE EVANGELISATION OF THE SUBCONTINENT & THE TRANSFORMATION OF OUR SOCIETIES | ALPHAINDIA.ORG
alpha india news
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 | OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
NEWS IN BRIEF
Student Alpha Student Alpha launched Nationwide. Stories from Mysore & Chandigarh. Pg. 4 Alpha in Prisons: Alpha course runs in prisons and also in old age homes. Pg. 5 Alpha Marriage course Marriages revived and restored as couples benefit from the Marriage course. Pg. 5
THE QUARTERLY NEWSPAPER OF ALPHA INDIA
DEVELOPING New
Partnerships
Methodist Churches Mennonite Brethren Mission
New Partnership: Vice Chancellor of Allahabad Agricultural University Dr R.B. Lal extends warm welcome to Alpha on their campus. Pg. 6 Alpha in North-East New developments in the North-East as they take on the Alpha course. Pg. 8 Follow-Up Baptism Two former transvestites decide to get baptised and follow a new lifestyle. Pg. 9 Servant Leadership: Great insights on leadership by Stephen R. Covey. Pg. 9-10
• 400 Methodist churches and • 1000 Mennonite Churches take up Alpha. • Light India to train 30,000 leaders by 2012 end Read more on Pg 6
Financial Partnership We appreciate your financial partnership. If you are inspired to support Alpha India then please use the details below, or contact Josy Joseph at the Alpha India Office. Alpha India Account: Account Number: 03532000005741 Name: Alpha India Bank: HDFC Bank Ltd. Branch: Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore Acc Type: Current Account
Alpha course runs in Leprosy colonies in Tamil Nadu
Read more on Pg 7
2 National Alpha Office contact details:
Alpha India: 219, 5th A Main Road, HRBR 2nd Block, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore - 560 043 Tel: 080 2542 0902 IDD: +91 80 2542 0902 Email: contact@alphaindia.org, Web: www.alphaindia.org
National Director: Mr J. Varadaraj Board Members:
alpha notes
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
READERS’ STORIES&PHOTOS Many thanks for the testimonies, stories and photos that have been posted to us. Once again in this issue your stories have been printed throughout the newspaper, together with other encouraging stories we have collected from across the nation. Please send your stories to, Email: stories.alphaindia@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/alphacourseindia Postal address: Alpha India National Office 219, 5th A Main Road HRBR 2nd Block, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore - 560 043
Scott Norling, Chairman Chris Sadler, Alpha Asia Pacific Chairman J. Varadaraj, National Director Dr A. F. Pinto, CEO of St. Xavier Group of Schools and Ryan International Schools Gul Kripalani, Managing Director of Pijikay Fr. Anthony D’Souza S.J. Director of the Xavier Institute of Leadership Amrit Kunder, Builder/Developer Noel Swaranjit Sen, Former Police Chief of A.P T. David Raj, Joyce Meyer Ministries, India Matthew Anthony, Secretary for Evangelisation, Archdiocese of Delhi
RESPONSE CARDS
Church Advisory Board:
These are a few responses from people who have attended Alpha
Archbishop Vincent Concessao Bishop Rt. Rev. V. M. Malaviya Rev. Dr. D. Mohan, Superintendant of AOG India
Alpha India Regional Offices: Thomas Mathew, North West Region, Chandigarh Email : thomas.alphaindia@gmail.com Ph : 91-172-2601188 Mob : 081465-67573 Jimmy Harshkant, West Region, Ahmedabad Email : damorejimmy@gmail.com Ph : 09825-444197 Prabir Mondal, East Region, Kolkata Email : prabir.alphaindia@gmail.com Ph : 096744-61951 Ranjit De, North East Region, Shillong Email : ranjitde@alphaindia.org Ph : 094347-59794
National Coordinator’s Contact details: Alpha in the Workplace: Santosh Chettri Mob: 090070-22889
ü Inspired
me to seek God sincerely. ü Very good lessons for ministry and evangelism. ü A powerful instrument for evangelism and church growth. ü Interested in program for marriage and parenting. ü Changing lives by allowing people to ask questions. ü New and interesting way to reach the youth. ü Very satisfying and wholesome. ü A powerful tool to reach the lost in our generation.
Alpha for Prisons: Peace & Anik Khapai Mob: 09597-421832 Youth Alpha: Melissa Thomas Mob: 0959196-6293
State Coordinators’ Contact details:
Andhra Pradesh: Susheel K Chattar Mob: 098660-99184 Andhra Pradesh - Hindupur: Paul J L Mob: 094408-61979 Bihar: George Muller Mob: 094310-16124 Himachal Pradesh: Rupak K Nayak Mob: 093189-02997 Jammu & Kashmir: Mushtaq Ahmad Mob: 099066-84250 Kerala: Binu N. Philip Mob: 093882-04322 Karnataka - Bangalore : Joseph & Rebecca Mob: 098866-08954 Karnataka: Sam Victor Mob: 099646-98118 Odisha: Tushar K Behera Mob: 093371-41600 Odisha: Jayadeep Samantroy Mob: 098535-03813 Rajasthan: Kamlesh Parmar Mob: 099830 03637 Uttarakhand: Janus Peter Mob: 095920 24511 Uttar Pradesh: Vinay P Dayal Mob: 093594-86843 West Bengal: Dilip and Kakali Debnath Mob: 098742-07760 North-East Diaspora: M Rampan Mob : 099029 90313
© Alpha India 2011, edited and published by J.V. Raj for Alpha India
Alpha India Staff updates
Janus Peter Singh State Co-ordinator Uttarakhand
Kamlesh Kumar Asst. Co-ordinator Rajasthan
Blessy Lydia IT - Support Executive
David Simpson Consultant Student Alpha
M. Rampan North-East Diaspora Coordinator
3
alpha notes
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
From the National Director
Building bridges and new partnerships It seems the year is coming to a close even before it began. It has been a very busy year with several new developments. The opening up of a fresh relationship with the Methodist Churches in India has been very encouraging. I am sure as you read the story elsewhere in the newspaper you will see the hand of God upon this work. We are thankful to the leaders of the Methodist Church in India for their active and practical participation in the process of training their churches. The leaders of the Methodist Church introduced us to the leaders of the Mennonite Church and a new relationship has begun with them as well. Bishop M. V. Christy, Rev. M. A. Daniel, Rev. C. Cornelius and several others need to be appreciated. We also have had a conversation with Archbishop Jonathan Ansari of the National Church of India, about rolling out trainings for their leaders in over 2000 of their churches. We have entered into a partnership programme with Light India Ministries (formerly My Hope India) and have just concluded a Masters’ Training Programme for 77 of their core leaders. The idea is to train around 30,000 leaders by the end of December 2012.
David Simpson joined us, as Student Alpha Consultant, in the month of July 2011 and has been very active in trying to establish a model work in Bangalore, along with Melissa Thomas, our National Youth Alpha Co-ordinator. They have been exploring new avenues at the universities in India. Our Regional Managers have been very busy with engaging new staff as well as developing fresh relationships, apart from the trainings. We are amazed at the open doors that continue to welcome us. This means more hard work. Our training and development team were in the field with back to back trainings for two weeks with every day work. We are grateful to our Chairman and the Trustees who work selflessly to support us. We are continuing to hire new staff, train them as well as discover new partnerships. Prophet Elisha was on his death bed when King Joash comes to seek his counsel (2 Kings 13). It is heartening to note that Elisha served God till he died. What a privilege if one can be called home to glory while in service. His sickness or deathbed did not deter him from the call of duty. Elisha was
not happy when King Joash stopped striking the arrow after the third time. He asked him, “Why did you not strike five or six times?” The passionate leader was upset that Joash did not do all that he could have done to take on the enemy. In the New Testament, Mark narrates a story when a woman breaks open a jar of costly perfume to wash the feet of her Master. To the criticism of others; her Master Jesus said “She has done what she could.” In the world that is so needy on all fronts, and in its own way seeking for answers, the question is, are we doing all that we can do in spreading the good news of the Kingdom. It is also an important question to ask, as to why the leaders of the nation are not going to the church to seek answers to the many questions they have. We have many miles to go.
Raj
INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Alpha in Philippines Sometime last year, we conducted an Alpha Introductory Day Training Seminar for 42 pastors in the Christian Development Center (CDC) in Tagaytay, Philippines. While the pastors, who were largely composed of Baptists under the leadership of Bishop Cesar Punzalan, had largely positive responses to the Alpha course, they decided to spend some time evaluating Alpha and how it would fit with their existing programs. Meanwhile, the management and staff of the CDC decided to make the long trek to the NAO in Metro Manila and get some Alpha course manuals. None of them had any pastoral or theological training. They were simple, humble folk. They made their beds, cooked meals, and generally made sure that the CDC was spic and span. All they had was a huge heart for evangelism. And even though they felt that they were not called to be preachers, healers or teachers, they all felt that as Christians, they should do their part to be effective witnesses of the saving power of Jesus Christ. They now run the largest Alpha course in the Philippines. Every Sunday, more than 400 young men and women attend the Alpha course. For an entire generation of Filipinos who have never got the opportunity to encounter Christ outside of a hellfire and brimstone sermon, Alpha is a breath of fresh air. The discussion is spirited, and hearts hungry for meaning are filled with the love of Jesus every week. Because of Ate (Auntie) Milette and the other members of the staff of CDC, many pastors are encouraged to run the Alpha course in the Philippines. The Holy Spirit is truly moving in the Philippines!
4
from the field
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
WHAT IS STUDENT ALPHA? Student Alpha is a seven week course for any students who want to explore the meaning of life and understand the Christian faith. No question is regarded as too simple or too hostile. The course takes place in a relaxed setting over seven thought-provoking and fun weekly sessions with a day away.
Student Alpha Launches 2012 Hi, my name is David Simpson and I have just arrived from the UK to launch Student Alpha across India. I have come on the back of having run the evangelism activities at the ‘Christian Union’ at my university in Scotland. We used Student Alpha as follow up to our annual mission.
Initially we will be starting Student Alpha across Bangalore. Over the next few months, I am going to be networking and building a team of thirty red-hot Christian students who love the Lord and the lost. I have already started building a team by making contact with students at St Josephs’ Fest (see picture). In January we will start running Student Alpha through various student ministries and the students themselves on the campus.
Student Alpha is a strategic ministry. India has over 50% of its population below the age of 25 and universities produce the next generations’ foremost leaders in science, business, politics and other important spheres of life. If we reach students for Christ, tomorrow’s future will be brighter.
By June we want to see Student Alpha launched nation-wide. If you know of any students who may be interested in running Student Alpha, please let me know. I would love to meet them as I start building a team across the cities and in the colleges of this wonderful nation!
Alpha for Students
I am Pastor Vijay running a new church called Passion Fellowship in Mysore. I started this fellowship for students who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior through our campus ministry. We are so excited to use the Alpha course as a tool for evangelism at this stage of our ministry to reach many students from Mysore University. We also visit a couple of other colleges including JSS Law College, Apollo Hospital Nursing college and Mission Hospital Nursing College. Our team of about seven people visit students on their campuses and at their hostels regularly and run Alpha courses for the small groups within these campuses. The Alpha course has helped students discover the truth about their life, God’s love for man and His eternal plans. As a result of the Alpha course, some of the students have started attending our Passion Fellowship.
Student Alpha in Chandigarh - Thomas Mathew In April 2011, Alpha India’s National Director Mr. Varadaraj met a few key leaders of the
city. He was invited by the founder of one of the leading schools in the city to share more about Alpha. He expressed his desire to have the Alpha ministry on their school campus. We heard God speaking very clearly to us to start a Student ministry based on Alpha.
hope in Jesus to their school mates. While preparing and practicing for the concert we were able to impart many Christian and moral values to them. They were taught on honesty, forgiveness, grace, prayer, obedience and many more.
Thomas Mathew, Regional Manager for North West region advised us to attend an upcoming Youth Alpha program. Mr. & Mrs Satyarahi attended the Youth Alpha training in May 2011 and after two months of prayer and waiting upon the Lord in July 2011 they started the student Alpha course with 19 students.
As a ministering couple we want to testify that we witnessed the presence and working of the Spirit of God in the different Alpha programs. We believe there are people upholding this ministry through prayer.
For seven weeks we had a wonderful time of sharing, witnessing and teaching through the Student Alpha course. 75% of these students were from non – Christian backgrounds and for the first time they heard the gospel. They shared their testimonies about reading the Bible and learnt how to pray through Jesus for the first time in their life. Together we explored many basics of the Christian faith and life for 7 weeks.
Youth Alpha - Melissa Thomas
The urban youths of today are ambitious, technology-oriented, and confident. Young Indians are moving from villages and towns to metro cities in pursuit of better education and opportunities. India’s urban population is projected to soar from 340 million in 2008 to 590 million in 2030. The first batch of the Student Alpha course concluded with a gospel concert on the 3rd of September, 2011 where all student Alpha participants presented gospel songs and a Christian play for more than 110 students. Through this they were able to share their newly found faith and message of love and
Churches are seeing the increase of youth in their congregations and are looking for programmes that will enable the spiritual growth of youth and focus their energy for God’s kingdom. In the last four months, Youth Alpha has seen a tremendous breakthrough in major educational hubs around the
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
from the field
country. In the last quarter alone, there were 430 youth trained in cities like Mangalore, Jaipur, Ranchi, Kohima, Delhi and Pune. The youth were excited about this new tool which enabled them to not only share the gospel effectively but also challenged them to live a lifestyle that exemplifies Christ. Pastors were overjoyed to see the passion among the youth being stirred up during the activities, games and sessions.
September. We have got 15 prisons that are ready to run the Prison Alpha course. We are preparing and forming a team of 15 pastors, evangelists and leaders who have a burden for prison ministry. Our prayer is that not just hundreds but thousands of churches will catch this burden for those who are really in need of help and are eagerly looking for the truth and wanting to get rid of their guilt and to be truly free in Christ.
“I am blessed to be part of the training. I needed leadership guidance and you guys provided me with the solution. Keep rocking!” - Renende Apon from Kohima, Nagaland
Alpha Marriage Course Training – North West India
“Small Group Discussion was helpful in building confidence. I loved sharing my faith in the small group setting.” Gracious Timothy, Mangalore
- Peace Khapai
This is the first ever Alpha marriage course training in the North West Region of India. The Alpha marriage course training caters to people of all walks of life.
Bashir and Jyoti have been in the old age home for the last 10 years and this was the first time they are hearing and learning about Jesus from the Bible so clearly. Jyoti, who has been confined to her bed says she had been praying for the last 10 years to know who Jesus really is; She said “I know that Jesus loves me and gave Himself for me. He is my friend and there is purpose to my life. I have a hope and future and I came to know all this through the Alpha course.” Bashir said he is so happy hear and know who Jesus is. During the Alpha Talk Time the inmates are very receptive and long to know more of Him. After the first talk on, “Who is Jesus?” we asked them, “how many of you want this person Jesus to be your Lord?” All of them raised their hands and prayed along with our Alpha team. A policeman helped us organize the Alpha prison course at Chamrajnagar, Mysore. The Prison Superintendent, who is a Hindu, said he also wants to do the Alpha course after he heard and saw what we did. So we are going to run the course for the Police this
Marriages restored through Alpha Marriage Course - Chacko & Molly Resource Persons
- Thomas Mathew
Freedom within walls
I thank God for the amazing things happening among prisoners and the handicapped through the Alpha course. God opened the door for us in places where everything is barred and locked in. We are really pleased to see the Alpha course run among the handicapped, in an old age home and in two prisons.
5
The group of delegates consisted of 13 couples, both young and old. The four unique phases of marital life that the Alpha Marriage Course has are beautifully portrayed in the form of the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. All the couples came from different parts of Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, and Delhi. One of the spouses openly confessed to be drawn to pornography because of dissatisfaction, conflicts and un-forgiveness. Due to this their marriage was on the verge of breaking apart. The course helped the spouse to overcome the addiction and to forgive - their marriage was restored. They were very thankful to have been invited. Another couple shared a similar story of resentment and dissatisfaction. The spouse was working among sex workers and their daily life influenced her to the extent of her developing a hatred to physical intimacy. But the session on sex and intimacy helped her to overcome her negative feelings. The couple’s commitment to each other was revived. This and many other sessions on Building strong foundations, Resolving conflict, Art of communication, Love in Action saw breakthroughs, transformation, confessions, apologies made and accepted, forgiveness given and received, communication reestablished and broken hearts were mended. The work of the Holy Spirit made their stubborn hearts melt. The outcome of the marriage course was enriched marriages between the couples who attended.
In September 2008, we had the opportunity to meet Mr. J. Varadaraj and spent time in talking to him about starting the course in our church. He encouraged us, prayed with us and told us to start the course. Many a time he has called and encouraged us. This initiation has now helped see 11 batches run and train about 114 couples. Some who wanted to divorce, due to various reasons, took a decision to cling on to the wedding vows. Many with small differences ironed them out during the course. The 8 weeks of the course gave way for couples to come close to each other. The topics like Foundation for Marriage, Communication in Marriage, Hurts and Forgiveness, Parents and In-Laws, Sex in Marriage and the 5 Love Languages were covered; each topic was dealt with in detail and helped the participants to set their lives in accordance to the Word of God. Seeing the remarkable change in the lives of the couples, Alpha India decided to make this course available to many regions and they invited us to travel and do training programs in different parts of the country. We did programs in Ahmadabad, Shillong and Deradhun. We saw many marriages restored during these training programs. We are excited to see marriages restored through the Alpha Marriage course - a great initiative!
Over sessions you will discover practical tools to help you: • understand each other’s needs • communicate more effectively • grow closer through resolving conflict • heal the ways you’ve hurt each other • recognise how your upbringing affects your relationship • improve relationships with parents and in-laws • develop greater sexual intimacy • discover each other’s love languages and much, much more!
DEVELOPING NEW
6
NEW PARTNERSHIPS Allahabad Agricultural University Our joy knew no bounds as we met Dr. R. B. Lal, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Bishop of Yeshu Durbar, a close friend for a number of years. We participated and preached in the evening worship and prayer meeting where 4000+ new Christians were present. On Monday we met with the Heads of the Departments, professors as well as the Theological Faculty of the University. It was here that we introduced Alpha, Student Alpha, the Marriage course and God at Work. There was a very healthy discussion.
Dr. R. B. Lal Vice Chancellor of Allahabad Agricultural University
Methodist Churches: 400 Pastors and Leaders to be trained - Susheel Kumar
It was a wonderful morning when I met Bishop M.V. Christy at his office, Chapel Road Nampally, Hyderabad to introduce the Alpha course. The Bishop was so excited about the course. He expressed his desire and passion to use the Alpha course in the ministries he is involved in. There are about 10,000,000 baptized memberships in 400 churches. The vision of the church is for each member to win one soul for our Lord Jesus Christ. If this happens they will become 20,000,000 members. Bishop Christy feels that the Alpha course is the appropriate tool to use in every church to share the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. Bishop Christy has assigned this responsibility to Mr. G. Christopher, who is the Director for Evangelism and Missions at the Hyderabad Conference, to take up this project. We had a vision meeting with the entire District Superintendent leaders of Methodist Churches of the Hyderabad Conference. The Alpha team from Bangalore and Hyderabad shared the vision of Alpha and developed a partnership with Methodist church of India. From then on Mr. G. Christopher has taken the responsibility to proceed to train the pastors and leaders of the Hyderabad Conference to run the Alpha course.
It has been decided to have trainings for different types of Alpha in the month of November 2011. The Students Retreat for 2000 plus students is being planned. We have discussed the possibility of including the Alpha course into the curriculum of the university.
There was another meeting with the core team of the Methodist church of India on how to train 400 church pastors and leaders. We have finalized the dates for training. The first training was done on the 21st & 22nd of September 2011 at Zehirabad with 40 churches. By November 2011 we will be training all the churches of the Hyderabad Conference. We praise God for this wonderful partnership with the Methodist Churches to reach out with the Gospel message.
community, I have introduced Alpha as an amazing tool. The vision of Alpha is in line with the vision of the Mennonite mission. Dr. Arnold was excited about the course and wanted to use this course in all the 1000 churches they have in the 7 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai and Raichur, in Karnataka. They have over 200,000 baptized members in all their churches and it is Dr. Arnold’s vision to strengthen the churches with strong biblical foundations to reach out to the community through the local church.
The Alpha team along with National Director Mr. Varadaraj met with the District Superintendent Rev. M. A. Daniel, Rev C. Cornelius - Pastor of Old Ham Methodist Church, Pune, where they welcomed the prospect of using Alpha as an evangelistic tool across the Methodist Churches in India. Alpha was also presented at Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu where the Methodist Leaders Conference was held on August 19th, 2011.
We had a Vision Meeting with the key leaders of the Mennonite Brethren. The Alpha training team shared the vision of Alpha and encouraged them to build the kingdom of God together.
Mennonite Brethren Church: Alpha course in 1000 churches
We had a planning meeting with the core team of the Mennonite Brethren Mission of India including Rev. Dr. P.B. Arnold, President of Governing Council Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Church of India, and Rev. Dr. R. S. Lamuel, President for the Mennonite Brethren Board of Evangelism and Church Ministries in Governing Council. Having a passion for evangelism and looking for the local church to reach out the
Dr. Arnold is passionate about training all the pastors and leaders from 1000 churches to run the Alpha course to reach the community with the gospel message in a friendly environment.
New Developments in Allahabad & Lucknow Church leaders from Allahabad gathered on 10th September 2011 for a time of fellowship with the Alpha team headed by the National Director Mr. J. Varadaraj. The meeting was primarily to envision the leaders on the evangelization of our nation and transformation of society with the gospel of Christ. We were happy to see more than seventy leaders come to attend the meeting. The Alpha course, with its different streams of ministry such as Youth Alpha and Prison Alpha, was introduced. In Lucknow we invited pastors and leaders from different Churches and we were excited to see 92 leaders come together for the Alpha fellowship. Mr. J. Varadaraj shared the vision of Alpha and his personal burden for the lost. There was a lot of excitement and some even offered to volunteer to help the Alpha ministry in Lucknow.
W PARTNERSHIPS
7
ALPHA COURSE RUNS IN LEPROSY COMMUNITIES
Delegates from Embrace the Village attend Alpha Course Training
The small group discussion and fellowship time really makes a lot of difference My name is Anil Kumar. I work in Tamil Nadu with Embrace the Village, India. ‘Embrace the Village’ is committed to working among people affected by leprosy. Our vision is to transform the leprosy community spiritually, physically and socially. In order to achieve this goal, we have different types of projects like medical camps to treat people. For instance, we make special shoes for lepers. We also have a project for 250 children of these lepers that facilitates their education. We currently have 26 house fellowships. Out of the 55 leper colonies, we are working in 35 of them. Part of our vision is that they know the Word of God and accept Christ as their personal Savior. A police friend of mine, who had been to London, had attended an Alpha course there. He came back to India and shared with me about Alpha. He comes from a non-Christian family. I was really interested to know more about Alpha. I made a lot of enquiry and finally attended the Alpha course training in Coimbatore. After going through the training, we were able to take this programme to the leprosy communities and use this tool for evangelism. Currently we are running 22 Alpha courses in different places in Tamil Nadu. Alpha guests are very excited and they can hardly wait every week for Alpha to take place. After we reach the entire state of Tamil Nadu, we are keen to cover the leprosy colonies in Andhra Pradesh and, hopefully, the nation as well.
The reason why Alpha works so well is that it allows people to participate in the small group discussion. Other Bible studies only allow the preacher to talk and once he is finished everybody says “Praise the Lord,” “Amen” and leave, but in Alpha it is the group discussion and fellowship that really makes a lot of difference. It makes people feel valuable. We are so thankful to God for the partnership with Alpha. We have seen great change as lives are being transformed.
Happy to see their lives transform I am Jabez from Chennai working among the leprosy communities for the last 8 years. Our vision in the last 8 years has been to see churches planted in every leprosy colony. We have tried different strategies to reach our goal. Through some friends we found out about Alpha and its method. We decided to try this to see how it works among the leper communities here. From the first Alpha meeting we could see people getting involved in this program. People cooperated with us so well and they were so excited to do Alpha. We have decided to continue our church planting with the Alpha course as the method of bringing people together. For the last several years our programmes have only involved us and not them. Their opinions and thoughts were not welcome. There was no environment for them to share their views and ideas. In the Alpha small group discussion, we noticed they were so interested to share their thoughts and questions. So the small group discussion is the most interesting part where everybody gets an opportunity to share. This is where they get involved; we have discovered this to be an excellent tool to share the gospel! They are so excited;
they can hardly wait for the next meeting and they even want to know what the topic of discussion would be. So much excitement is taking place in the lives of those in the leprosy colonies. We are very happy to see their lives transformed by doing the Alpha course. We have 10 groups in Chennai. Two more are about to start for women in the Leper colonies. We also plan to start Youth Alpha in the community soon.
Facts about Leprosy Leprosy is an infectious disease that has been known since biblical times. It is characterized by disfiguring skin sores, nerve damage, and progressive debilitation. In 2008 2.5 lakh new cases of leprosy were recorded globally; India accounted for 1.37 lakh of those, followed by 38,914 cases in Brazil and 17,441 in Indonesia. According to WHO’s latest estimate, around 35% of new leprosy cases in India — 48,000 — are women. India also recorded the highest number of children newly detected with leprosy — 13,610. India is home to over 700 leper colonies. It is also ahead of all other countries in the number of relapse cases (at 325). The Alpha course is in a small way helping this socially segregated group of people find meaning and purpose of life in Jesus Christ.
FROM THE FIELD
8
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
North-East resonateS with Alpha I have been actively involved in Dimapur I’m actively involved in the church This is the family I’ve Also Christian Fellowship. weekly Bible Study. And I’m looking forward to be trained to run the next Alpha course. always dreamt of Alpha is a tool which will help reach out to the lost who need the Lord in their lives. I and wanted recommend the course to both unbelievers The good thing and new believers who want to discover how My name is Temsurenla the Christian faith can be exciting and lifeabout Alpha is that, Longchar from Dimapur, changing. I am so grateful to God there’s no heavy for the Alpha course. This course has totally North-East Diaspora preaching changed my life. I received the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior through the Alpha course. I first came to know about the Alpha course through Pastor Razo from Dimapur Christian Fellowship. The way he introduced it was quite interesting and appealing. Curiosity and hunger for a change in my life made me join the Alpha course in October 2010. Throughout the course, I was quite comfortable and for the first time I felt peace at heart and I knew I was in the right place.
Listening to Nicky Gumbel’s talk and coming across other people share their comments and views has really helped me. Through them I was able to know myself better. We are all alike yet different in so many ways. I loved the attention and care shown towards us and no one went unnoticed. This is the family I’ve always dreamt of and wanted it’s a blessing to be a part of it. I thoroughly loved and enjoyed the food too. During this course I’ve identified a lot of different situations in my own personal life, but I really thank God that this course has helped me to cope with my difficult circumstances. Now I can say that I’m not just existing but living an abundant life. I’ve learned to be more humble and focused.
We ran the Alpha course for 500 people - Rev R.C. Seth.
Over the last 11 years of ministry we have baptized more than 1200 people but we found that many members of our churches are not strong in their faith. So I started wondering what I can do to build them up in the faith. As I was looking for some method I heard about the Alpha course and took part in the training which was held in Lucknow
Firstly, I praise the Lord for Alpha, because this course has brought me closer to Christ. I was introduced to the Alpha course by Pastor Razo from Dimapur Christian Fellowship in the month of October 2010. Initially, I was a little hesitant to join the Alpha course, because it was something very new to me. I was very naive about Christianity but I was challenged by the thought of where my life was heading. I had so many questions; I was lost and confused. After attending the Alpha course for a couple of weeks I became comfortable and to my surprise I started to enjoy and relate to Nicky Gumbel’s talks. Gradually I got answers to all my questions, I started to see life differently and saw that God was doing something in my life. Since then, I’ve never looked back. The good thing about Alpha is that there’s no heavy preaching. It is very casual and informal with stimulating discussions. We also get to have good food! I feel that joining the Alpha course was the best decision I ever made in my life. It has helped me transform my thinking and understand what it means to follow Christ. And since this course two years ago. I found that it would be very effective for our church and for those who have never heard about the Lord Jesus Christ. We ran the Alpha course for 500 people. With the help of pastors and church leaders we started 30 courses. As weeks passed we saw people from the Alpha course start attending the church services and we found that those who were weak in their faith grow in the knowledge of the Lord. In the Alpha course they got an opportunity to ask questions and clarify their doubts during the small group discussions. When the 10 weeks were over many of them came to us and asked for baptism. This was an eye-opener for me because I have never seen in my eleven years of ministry so many people ready to take baptism within just 10 weeks. By the grace of God we have baptized more than a hundred people as a result of the Alpha course. For me it is a real blessing, which I cannot express in words, because I have found something that I had always longed for.
- Rampan
I want to thank God for the opportunity given through Alpha India to exclusively focus on the North East Diaspora to explore the meaning of life through the Alpha course. I have started initiating the work by meeting leaders from different cities from various groups, sharing our concern to have a method to reach out and train leader in churches and also build partnerships to build God’s Kingdom together. The NE leaders have been very positive about using Alpha as a tool for evangelism for their church. Our main focus is working alongside churches, para-churches and other groups in order to strengthen their mission strategy and to pray for the challenges that they face in the metros.
We kept on praying and all their diseases were healed
I am Ps Jabesh Kumar Nag of Sindh Bahali Village of Kalahandi District. We started the Alpha course for the first time in the year 2010 and I was truly discouraged with the results. However, I did not lose hope and continued to run the course. Recently the Lord blessed us with some great results to share with others.
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
FROM THE FIELD
Two families, Anweswar Senapati and Premanidhi Senapati, were from a different faith and accepted Christ as their personal Savior. Previously they hated Christians - so much so that if by mistake they stepped on a Christian’s shadow, they would take a bath believing that they had become unholy. Over the course of time, they were diagnosed with a disease which they spent a lot of money on for treatment; they also visited temples to receive healing. Their problems only seemed to increase. Without much hope, they came to an Alpha small group and requested us to pray for them. They started coming to the small group regularly every week. It was the Lord’s doing; as we kept on praying all their diseases were healed and their problems were solved.
Two guests attending Alpha were struggling with witchcraft activities for a long period.
Recently they have taken water baptism and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Now they are very active members of our Alpha small group and share their new testimony with other relatives and friends and bring them along to the Alpha course.
I am Jeol Narayana, Pastor of Calvary AG church at Kollegal of Chamrajnagar district. I have been using the Alpha course as a tool for evangelism in my church. I am running the Alpha course at many of my church cell groups in different villages regularly. Many people have benefited by knowing who Jesus really is and it is helping them to grow in their faith.
Pray for Alpha in India Praise Points: 1. Praise God for the lives that have been transformed and the churches that have grown as a result of the Alpha course.
They have been completely released from witchcraft and do not believe in such activities any longer. The power of the living God has changed them.
FOLLOW-UP BAPTISM
2. Praise God for the work of Alpha in Prisons. 3. Praise God for the many trainings that are happening across the Nation. 4. Praise God for the great success of the Alpha International Week. 5. Praise God for the soul stirring testimonies of the people around the globe that was shared at the Alpha International Week. Prayer Points:
Completely released from witchcraft - Sam Victor
9
1. Pray for Coordinators for Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Chandigarh. In the last issue, we carried a story of Alpha course running among Transvestites. After the course three of them committed their lives to Jesus Christ. The Alpha course is helping people gain their identity in Christ and live a normal healthy lifestyle. These three have expressed publicly that their lives are made new in Christ by getting baptized on August 14th 2011 at Campus Crusade, Bangalore.
2. Pray for many more people to be trained and that many churches would do the Classic and Youth Alpha course. 3. Pray for the health of all the Alpha Staff and Coordinators. 4. Pray for new partnerships to emerge. 5. Pray for the new Regional Offices in Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Shillong.
GLOBAL ALPHA TRAINING BANGALORE
We had the first GLOBAL ALPHA TRAINING (GAT) at Vishranti Nilayam, Bangalore from the 16th to the 19th of August, 2011. God gave us the opportunity over the last month to train 135 church planters, pastors & missionaries in Bangalore and Karnataka. We were privileged to have a GAT resource team from New Life Assembly of God Church - Idaho, USA. The team was led by Pas. David Warnick and Ms Nikki Warnick, Ms Jamie Streeter and Ms Aimee Thomason. Each pastor that was trained committed to run the Alpha course. We hope and pray that, as a result of this training, many of the church planters, pastors & missionaries in Bangalore and Karnataka would make an impact by running the Alpha course and in seeing lives comie to Christ and being transformed.
10
LEADERSHIP
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
book extract
Servant Leadership by Robert Greenleaf From the Foreword by Stephen R. Covey
Leadership that Endures I believe that the essential quality that sets servant-leaders apart from others is that they live by their conscience –the inward moral sense of what is right and what is wrong. That one quality is the difference between leadership that works and leadership – like servant leadership – that endures. There is a mass of evidence that shows that this moral sense, this conscience, this inner light, is a universal phenomenon. The spiritual or moral nature of people is also independent of religion or of any particular religious approach, culture, geography, nationality, or race. Yet all of the enduring major religious traditions of the worlds are unified when it comes to certain basic underlying principles or values. Immanuel Kant said, “I am constantly amazed by two things: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.” Conscience is the moral law within. It is the overlapping of moral law and behaviour. Many believe, as do I, that it is the voice of God to his children. Others may not share this belief but still recognise that there is an innate sense of fairness and justice, an innate sense of right and wrong, of what is kind and what is unkind, of what contributes and what detracts, of what beautifies and what destroys, of what is true and what is false. Admittedly, culture translates this basic moral sense into different kinds of practices and words, but this translation does not negate the underlying sense of right and wrong. As I work in nations of different religions and different cultures, I have seen this universal conscience revealed time and again. There really is a set of values, a sense of fairness, honesty, respect, and contribution that transcends culture – something that is timeless that transcends the ages and that is also self-evident. It is as self-evident as the requirement of trustworthiness to produce trust.
Four Dimensions of Moral Authority (Conscience)
Let us briefly consider the four dimensions of moral authority, the core of servant leadership. 1. The essence of moral authority or conscience is sacrifice – the subordinating of one’s self or one’s ego to a higher purpose, cause, or principle. This sacrifice can take many forms as it manifests itself in the four dimensions of our lives: making physical and economic sacrifices (the body); cultivating an open inquisitive mind and purging ourselves of prejudices (the mind); showing deep
respect and love to others (the heart); and subordinating our will to a higher will for the greater good (the spirit).
Conscience is the still, small voice within. It is the quite. It is peaceful. Ego is tyrannical, despotic, and dictatorial. Ego focuses on one’s own survival, pleasure, and enhancement to the exclusion of others; ego is selfishly ambitious. It sees relationships in terms of threat or no threat, like little children who classify all people as “nice” or “mean.” Conscience, on the other hand, both democratises and elevates ego to a larger sense of the group, the whole, the community, the greater good. It sees life in terms of service and contribution, in terms of others’ security and fulfilment.
Ego works in the face of genuine crisis but has no discernment in deciding how severe a crisis or threat is. It can’t discern then, from now and when. Conscience sees life on a continuum. It is capable of complex adaptation.
Ego can’t sleep. It micro-manages. It disempowers. It reduces our capability. It excels in control. Conscience deeply reveres people and sees their potential for self-control. Conscience empowers. It reflects the worth and value of all people and affirms their power and freedom to choose. Then natural self-control emerges, imposed neither from above nor from the outside.
Ego is threatened by negative feedback and punishes the messenger. It interprets all data in terms of self-preservation. It constantly censors information. It denies much of reality. Conscience values feedback and attempts to discern whatever truth is contains. It isn’t afraid of information and can accurately interpret what’s going on. It has no need to censor information and is open to an awareness of reality from every direction. Ego is myopic and interprets all of life through its own agenda. Conscience is a social ecologist listening to and sensing the entire system and environment. It fills the body with light, is able to democratise ego to reflect more accurately the entire world.
2. Conscience inspires us to become part of a cause worthy of our commitment. While imprisoned in the death camps of Nazi Germany, Doctor Viktor Frankl first asked himself the question, “What is it that I want?” But gradually he submitted himself to his higher nature, his conscience, and changed the question to “What is wanted of me?” This totally changed his world. Instead of attempting to invent answers to his questions, he listened to his conscience, the moral voice within, and detected the answers. He would then do the same thing with other prisoners. He confronted them directly. He would ask a man who was despairing, for example,
“Then why don’t you take your own life?” The response would be, “Because of the suffering it would cause my wife.” And in that answer, the person found meaning behind his own suffering.
When we change our question from asking what is it we want to what is being asked of us, our conscience is opened up and we allow ourselves to be influenced by it. What a change of mind and heart that is! Feel the passion in George Bernard Shaw’s conviction:
This is true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live: I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” to me; it is sort of a splendid torch which I’ve got to hold up for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
3. Conscience teaches us that ends and means are inseparable, that ends actually pre-exist in the means. Immanuel Kant taught that the means used to accomplish the ends are as important as those ends. Machiavelli taught the opposite, that the ends justify the means.
Gandhi taught that there are seven things that will destroy us. As we study them slowly and carefully, we see in a powerful way how each represents an end being accomplished through an unprincipled or unworthy means: - Wealth without work. - Pleasure without conscience. - Knowledge without character. - Commerce without morality. - Science without humanity. - Worship without sacrifice. - Politics without principle.
Isn’t it interesting how each one of these admirable ends can be falsely attained? But if we reach an admirable end through the wrong means, the ends ultimately turn to dust in our hands.
In our business dealings, we know those who are honest with us and who keep their promises and commitments. We also know exactly who are duplicitous, deceitful, and dishonest. Even when we reach a contract agreement with them, do we really trust that they will come through and keep their word?
It is conscience that constantly tells us the value of both ends and means and how they are inseparable. But it is ego that tells us that the end justifies the means, unaware that a worthy end can
LEADERSHIP
ALPHA INDIA NEWS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2011
never be accomplished with an unworthy means. It may appear that it can, but there are unintended consequences that are not evident at first that will eventually destroy the end. For instance, we can yell at our kids to clean their rooms, and if our end is to have a clean room, we may accomplish just that. But I guarantee that not only will the means negatively affect the relationships, but the room won’t stay clean when we leave town for a few days. 4. Conscience introduces us into the world of relationships. It moves us from an independent to an interdependent state. When this happens, everything is altered. We realise that vision and values must be shared before people will be willing to accept the institutionalised discipline of structures and systems that embody those shared values. Such shared vision creates discipline and order without demanding it. Conscience often provides the why, vision identifies what we are trying to accomplish, discipline represents how we are going to accomplish it, and passion represents the strength of feelings behind the why, the what, and the how.
Conscience also transforms passion into compassion. It engenders sincere caring for others, a combination of both sympathy and empathy, where pain is shared and received. Compassion is the interdependent expression of passion. JoAnn C. Jones relates an experience in which her university professor teaches her to live and learn guided by her conscience.
During my second year of nursing school, our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. “Absolutely,” the professor said. “In your careers, you will meet many people – all are significant. They deserve your attention and care. Even if all you do is smile and say hello.” I have never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
When people strive to live by their conscience, it produces integrity and peace of mind. William J. H. Boetcker says, “That you may retain your selfrespect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.” This selfrespect and integrity, in turn, produces the ability to be both kind and courageous with other people – kind in showing a great respect and reverence for other people, their view, feelings, experiences, and convictions, but also courageous in expressing their own convictions without personal threat. The interplay between differing opinions can produce those third alternatives that are better that what either had initially proposed. This is true synergy in which the whole is greater
than the sum of the parts.
People who do not live by their conscience will not experience this internal integrity and peace of mind. They will find their ego attempting to control relationships. Even though they might pretend or feign kindness and empathy from time to time, they will use subtle forms of manipulation and will even go so far as to engage in kind but dictatorial behaviour.
The private victory of integrity is the foundation for the public victories of establishing a common vision, discipline, and passion. Leadership becomes an independent work rather than an immature interplay between strong, independent, ego-driven rulers and compliant, dependant followers.
Moral Authority and Servant Leadership I define moral authority as Our Moral Nature + Principles + Sacrifice. Many of us know we ought to behave in a certain way, but sacrifice enables us actually to behave in those ways that are in alignment with universal principles. Therefore, sacrifice is the essence of moral authority, and humility is the foundational attribute of sacrifice.
11 It has generally been my experience that the very top people of truly great organisations are servant-leaders. They are the most humble, the most reverent, the most open, the most teachable, the most respectful, the most caring, and the most determined. When people with the formal authority or positional power refuse to use that authority and power except as a last resort, their moral authority increases because it is obvious that they have subordinated their ego and positional power and use reasoning, persuasion, kindness, empathy, and, in short, trustworthiness instead. On the other hand, when people use their formal authority early on, their moral authority will be lessened. When we borrow strength, we build weakness in three places: in self, because we are not developing moral authority; in the other, because they become co-dependent with our use of formal authority; and in the quality of the relationship, because authentic openness and trust are never developed.
Islands of Excellence in a Sea of Mediocrity What if we could get model communities in this country, and model institutions, schools, businesses, government units that would become islands of excellence in seas of mediocrity? What if they could become models and then transport what they learn and become mentors to others so that this whole spirit of stewardship, of servant Moral authority comes through sacrifice leadership, of working at the empowerment in the four basic elements of our nature: process through structures and systems physical and economic sacrifice is could take root and flourish? I honestly think temperance and giving back; emotional/ we could heal our country. I believe that social sacrifice is surrendering self to the value and difference of another, to apologise, the overwhelming majority of the people in this country, with the right kind of servant and to forgive; mental sacrifice is placing leadership at all levels – most important, learning above pleasure and realising that at the family level – could heal our country. true freedom comes from discipline; and Otherwise, these social problems will spiritual sacrifice is living life humbly and worsen and deepen until eventually they will courageously, living and serving wisely. overwhelm the economic machinery – and The interesting thing about moral authority is this will discombobulate everything. what a paradox it is. The dictionary discusses I have hope and confidence that we authority in terms of command, control, can. I have the same hope for people in power, sway, rule, supremacy, domination, every nation, for the principals of servant dominion, strength, might. But its antonyms leadership are universal. I believe that hope are civility, servitude, weakness, follower. is a moral imperative, and that as we keep Moral authority is the gaining of influence our flame of hope burning by our own efforts, through following principles. Moral dominion we become a big part of the solution. is achieved through servanthood, service, contribution. Power and moral supremacy I congratulate the Greenleaf Centre for emerge from humility, where the greatest Servant-Leadership for its invaluable service becomes the servant of all. Moral authority is to society, for carrying the torch of servant achieved through sacrifice. Robert Greenleaf leadership over the years, and for initiating put it this way: this new edition. To the reader, I humbly and A new moral principle is emerging which holds that the only authority deserving one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader. Those who choose to follow this principle will not casually accept the authority of existing institutions. Rather, they will freely respond only to individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted as servants. To the extent that this principle prevails in the future, the only truly viable institutions will be those that are predominantly servant led.
most sincerely commend this book and its absolute treasure of insights to you.
Dr. Stephen Covey is vice-chairman of Franklin Covey Company, the largest management and leadership development organisation in the world. He is perhaps most widely known as the author of The Habits of Highly Effective People, a book with a compelling message that has kept it on numerous best-seller lists for more than ten years running. Those familiar with his work will not be surprised to learn that Dr. Covey has been recognised as one of Time magazine’s twenty-five most influential Americans.
RESOURCES Why Christmas ?
QUESTIONS OF LIFE ?
Wilberforce
THE JESUS LIFESTYLE
A Christmas version of Why Jesus? This would make a good gift to give during the Christmas season. Why Christmas? is also available in Gujarati & Hindi.
• Pursue a big dream • Engage with politics • Speak up for the voiceless • Advance against opposition • Persevere through disappointment Elected to Parliament at the age of twenty-one, William Wilberforce championed the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY www.facebook.com/alphacourseindia
This is the Alpha course in book form, containing the 15 talks of Nicky Gumbel. This is an essential reading for anyone involved in an Alpha course.
In this engaging and fascinating book, Nicky Gumbel takes a closer look at the Sermon on the Mount and presents, with his familiar mix of humour and wisdom, the life that Jesus wants us to live.