Launch of Chinese Alpha Film Series

A preview of episode 1 of the Chinese Alpha Film series Koh Geok Cheng worships at Wesley Methodist Church and serves as the Treasurer for Wesley GYM. She is also the TRAC WSCS Treasurer. / Additional information and photos from Alpha SG and Alpha Asia Pacific

Speaking to the hearts of Mandarin-speakers with the Chinese Alpha Film Series

The Alpha film series is a collection of videos featuring interviews with public figures and people with inspiring stories, providing an opening for introducing the Christian faith in an accessible manner. The series was produced in English and dubbed in 52 other languages, enabling more people groups to be reached.

With Mandarin speakers constituting a significant proportion of the world’s population, the Alpha team responded to God’s prompting to produce the Chinese Alpha Film series (CAFS). More than a dubbed version of the original Alpha film series, the CAFS is Alpha’s first fully contextualised version of the Alpha series in a

language other than English. This allows a Mandarin-speaking audience to hear about the Christian faith in a language that they are comfortable with and in a cultural context that is familiar to them.

The entire film series was filmed and produced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Amid lockdowns, travel restrictions and Covid-19 infections, God provided and enabled the team to focus on their work and complete the series despite the obstacles faced. It was officially launched in Kuala Lumpur on 10 July 2022.

Reverend Miles Toulmin, Executive Director of Alpha Asia Pacific and Vicar of Holy Trinity Bukit Bintang (HTBB), said, "I am hugely excited at the potential of this new, contextualised CAFS. I believe this is a powerful tool for evangelism for the Chinese speaking churches in Singapore and for reaching Chinese people with the gospel around the world."

Mr Kenneth Yap, a member of HTBB which hosted the launch, said, "The CAFS could potentially be a big catalyst in the world of Christian evangelism in Asia. With all of the content now contextualised, the CAFS should find broader appeal among Mandarinspeakers as viewers would be hearing the message from people that look like them and sound like them."

The Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) collaborated with Alpha Singapore to launch the much-awaited Chinese Alpha Film Series. Filmed within an Asian context and featuring Chinese presenters and interviews, the series bridges cultural and linguistic gaps, and sets the perfect stage to present the gospel message to a Chinese audience. Held at Toa Payoh Chinese Methodist Church on 31 July, the conference kicked off with a presentation of the first episode of the Chinese Alpha Film Series, titled “Is There More to Life than This?”. Attendees were also able to learn more about the making of the series, and were exhorted to get intentional about creating evangelistic opportunities for the Chinese-speaking community in Singapore.

CAC and ALPHA SINGAPORE

will be initiating the Mid-Autumn pilot run of the Chinese Alpha Film Series on Saturday, 10 September 2022. If you wish to know more about how to be a part of this run, or how to start an Alpha run for the Chinese-speaking community within your church, email

info@alpha.org.sg

An interview with Pastor Andrew Chai (middle), illustrator and presenter for the Chinese Alpha Film Series, together with Steve Chao (right), director for the series.