Run a Course

Our vision

To give every older person an opportunity to attend an Alpha course and to play our part in reaching seniors with the good news about Jesus.

The opportunities

In the UK, almost 20 per cent of the total population is of pensionable age (age 60 for women and age 65 for men). In 1980, there were 378 million people worldwide aged 60 or above. Thirty years later that figure has doubled to 759 million and it is projected to rise to 2 billion by 2050. The 80+ age group is growing fastest.

Start a course

Courses are run in churches, people’s homes, sheltered accommodation and residential care homes.

How to run an Alpha course

Step by Step guidelines on how to run the course

You may like to consider the following format for your course:

  1. Welcome and chat over morning tea/lunch
  2. Introduction of speaker and sing one or two hymns
  3. Talk of 20-25 minutes
  4. Discussion
  5. End

You may also consider running an Alpha Day, if this is appropriate, to incorporate the Holy Spirit talks. If this is not appropriate then the talks can be included in the weekly programme, extending the course to 14 weeks.

We have found that it may be helpful to break talks into two segments, pausing for discussion halfway through. 

Download the Alpha for Seniors Intro Guide