Alpha is open to everyone but it was designed for those who don't go to church or who don't identify as Christian. It is most effective when used as an opportunity for people to explore faith. Here are some ways that churches across Canada are inviting their friends and family to Alpha.
Churches in action:
1. PRAY for the people God has put on your heart to invite. Organize an Alpha Prayer Team who will pray before, during, and after the Alpha course. (see 5 Tips to Inviting)
2. Personally invite a friend to Alpha by sharing how it has impacted your life (don't send a mass email). Year after year, 86% of guests say they attended Alpha because of a personal invitation. (Watch video: Overcoming your fear of inviting guests to Alpha)
“Around 100 people in the parish responded to us that they had invited someone to Alpha. We had 134 people register for Alpha, which is the largest ever in our parish after doing Alpha for four years.” (Fr.Justin, Vancouver, BC)
3. Hand out our NEW "Ever Wonder" guest invitations with your specific course info.
4. Post your Alpha start date & time on Facebook. Use the free images in MyAlpha specifically for Facebook ("social media images") and use the Alpha topic teasers each week.
5. Email previous Alpha guests and encourage them to invite one other person. Share the video "Who will you invite?" to inspire them (in the MyAlpha Promote section).
6. Create a culture of invitation at church by preaching and teaching about hospitality and reaching those who are far from God. Use the Sunday Service Guide provided in the MyAlpha Promote section.
7. Empower your church community to catch the vision by sharing inspiring Alpha video stories (download from MyAlpha). Position Alpha as a safe place to explore and discover who Jesus is.
8. Share and "like" the Alpha Canada Facebook posts - facebook.com/alphacanada
9. Run the 4-week Life Shared Series (for Christian adults) with your whole church and encourage each person to invite just one person to the next Alpha. Run the 4-week Life on Purpose series with your youth group to equip and inspire them.
10. Launch a hashtag campaign on social media. (Yes, hashtags are still effective!) Get your whole church using the hashtags which creates a virtual word-of-mouth ripple effect. Ask your youth what some trending hashtags are and let the net do the rest. eg. #tryalpha #explore
11. Send a personalized email to individual friends about the next Alpha course and invite them to join you for one night (no pressure). Include the tryalpha.ca website so they can see what Alpha is all about. Follow it up with a face-to-face personal invitation.
86% of guests come to Alpha because of a personal invitation.
(Run Alpha Handbook, p.47)
12. Use our new Alpha "Twitter banners" to tweet about your next Alpha. Position Alpha as a place to ask anything, voice your opinion, and join others asking the same questions as you. Mention @AlphaCanada.
13. Include Alpha info in your personal blog (if you have one)! Many people come to Alpha for the free meal but end up loving the safe atmosphere to share doubts, uncertainties and fears about faith, life, and God.
14. Empower high school students to run Alpha for their friends. (Yes, they CAN do it!) Click here to watch an inspiring story about teens who ran an Alpha for Youth.
15. Target specific groups to create a common bond. Host an Alpha during the week for a Mom & Tots Alpha in the park, host a Fitness Alpha Saturday morning group, or host an Alpha at work or at a pub after work.
16. Host an Alpha Sunday. Show the first video to your whole church and break into small groups for discussion. If they know what Alpha is all about, they will feel more comfortable inviting their friends to the next one.
Download the Sunday Service Guide for talking points, video recommendations, prayer items, etc. Visit the "Promote to Church" section in MyAlpha.
17. Advertise Alpha in your church announcements well in advance so people can start inviting people to the next Alpha. Share a different Alpha teaser and NEW "Story Countdown" image each week (from MyAlpha).
18. Hang an outdoor Alpha banner (9 X 4 feet, horizontal) outside your church with a website link for more info. Download the free graphics online and send them to your local print shop or online printer.
19. Ask your Senior Church Pastor/Lead Pastor to personally invite the church to be part of Alpha. If he/she endorses Alpha and talks about it, people are more likely to join the team and attend the course.
20. Promote Alpha in the other departments and ministries of the church. Invite parents from the Kids Club to take Alpha. Invite water baptism members. Encourage all small groups to go through Alpha.
21. Use our brand NEW carousel images on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Pinterest. This form of promotion uses multiple images that users can swipe or click through on social media. Follow instagram.com/alphacanadaorg.
22. Promote your Alpha start date on the front page of your church website (see the Alpha branding guidelines in MyAlpha).
23. Launch a new Alpha course outside of your church. Alphas in Canada have been run in a community park, local coffee shop, pub, tattoo shop, gym, etc.
24. Run Alpha as part of your Sunday School curriculum for youth, young adults and adults. Then host an Alpha and encourage everyone to invite one friend to join.
Community advertising:
25. "Ever Wonder" Alpha posters. Download & customize our NEW online images (in the Promote section). Customize them with your Alpha details, and post them everywhere with appropriate permission. Libraries, laundromats, coffee shops, pubs, grocery stores, etc.
26. City bus tailgates. Yes, you can rent out space to promote Alpha!
“We have about 5 or 6 churches joining us on a multi-prong ad campaign that includes the tailboards and a couple of radio stations. We are hoping and praying this will raise awareness regarding Alpha in our city.” (Ty, Saskatoon, SK)
27. TV commercial ads. Pricey – yes – but it has been done!
28. Radio station ads. Use the wording on our tryalpha.ca page and/or email communications@alphacanada.org for info about advertising Alpha on radio.
“We went to our local Rogers TV station to tell them what Alpha is all about. We talked about the 9-5 job, trials in life, relationships, what we want to do with all of this etc. We invited the public to join our Alpha group and told them everyone is welcome. This went out to all the city of Barrie, Ontario!" (Doris, Barrie, ON)
29. Work with other churches in your area. Churches working together sends a powerful message of unity. There is strength in numbers (and finances and leadership).
30. Partner with local shops. Ask if you can drop off some Alpha business card invitations or posters, and your church will promote their coffee/restaurant/shop business card.
31. Host an Alpha booth in your local shopping mall. Why not? Banks do it, so do cell phone providers and tax return assistance. Remember to get permission from Mall Management first.
32. Alpha promo on city billboards. Include the tryalpha.ca website.
33. Alpha promo on transit (bus, rail, passenger ferries and planes). Consider digital ads, wall murals, interior posters, etc.
Community events:
34. Partner with your local city centre to promote your Alpha ("arts and culture events"). They will distribute posters and brochures to each community centre, provide acrylic cylinders for posters on hydro poles, and assist with banner or flags on city streets.
35. Free Community BBQ with Alpha sign up opportunity.
“Every September, we have a free Community BBQ. Last time, the youth distributed 4700 flyers and we put up Alpha posters on telephone poles and other strategic spots. We also held a “Lucky Draw” which really appealed to the Asian community (rather than 'door prizes').” (Nancy and Murray, Scarborough, ON)
36. Host a family-related seminar or course such as the free Marriage Course or Pre-Marriage Course and invite them to Alpha after the course is over.
37. Combine a Community Service Day with Alpha promo. Rake leaves, mow lawns, weed gardens, remove garbage – no donation accepted. Only 1 Alpha invitation in exchange for service.
38. Partner with other churches in your community to raise money and advertise your Alpha on Facebook (1 billion daily active users!).
39. Partner with local events – wherever the people are, make sure Alpha is there. Raise money and hand out items with your Alpha details – gum, water bottles, sunscreen, etc. (Stay away from peanuts though.)
40. Promote Alpha at your local university. Get creative! Think outside the box about the ways your church can raise the awareness of Alpha in your community.
Please note: Alpha Canada provides over 50 templates for you to share digitally or to print (in house or at a local print shop). We do not print, sell, or ship promotional resources. We're here to help if you have any questions. 👍
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