Pre-course onboarding

Getting Started

Everything you need to run your first Alpha course with confidence.

How to organise your Alpha course week by week

Alpha Film Series runs over 11 weeks with 16 episodes in total (11 standard episodes + 5 Holy Spirit episodes). Here is how that works:

Weeks 1–7

One episode per week. Choose a day in the week to run as your regular weekly session.

The Alpha Day

After your regular session on week 7, set aside one full day for your group to come together. This is not an extra week — it is one dedicated day. On this day you will watch 5 episodes about the Holy Spirit together.

Weeks 8–11

Return to your regular weekly sessions, one episode per week.

How to run each session

Every Alpha session each week has three parts:

1. Connect

Begin with some connection time together before the episode starts — a simple meal, a cup of tea or coffee. The goal is for people to feel comfortable and welcome. Connection does not have to cost much — what matters is that people feel at ease before the session begins.

2. Watch

Play the episode for that week. We recommend doing the episodes in order — they are designed to build on each other.

3. Discussion

After the episode, open the floor for conversation. This is where Alpha is unique — the talk is where you share what Christians believe, the conversation is where your guests share what they think. Your role is to ask questions and listen, not to preach.

Team training before you start

Set aside time to do some training sessions with your team before your first Alpha session. Training is not about having all the answers — it is about creating the right environment for genuine and honest faith conversations to happen.

Resources

Hosting a great Alpha session

18 min · 240 MB

Leading small group discussions

22 min · 290 MB

Pre-course onboarding

Getting Started

Everything you need to run your first Alpha Youth course with confidence.

How to organise your Alpha Youth course

Alpha Youth Series runs over 10 weeks with 10 episodes. Each session is designed for teenagers and university students.

Weekly sessions

One episode per week. Choose a regular day and time that works for your group.

How to run each session

Every session has three parts:

1. Connect

Begin with some connection time together before the episode starts — food and games go a long way with a youth group. The goal is for young people to feel comfortable and welcome before the session begins.

2. Watch

Play the episode for that week. We recommend doing the episodes in order — they are designed to build on each other.

3. Discussion

After the episode, open the floor for conversation. This is where Alpha is unique — your role is to ask questions and listen, not to preach. Let young people share what they really think.

Team training before you start

Set aside time to do some training sessions with your team before your first session. Training is not about having all the answers — it is about creating the right environment for genuine and honest faith conversations to happen.