Council for Mission
Inviting one million people in Ireland to grow closer to Jesus
John Quinn from Alpha shares its vision for mission
By 2033, Alpha Ireland has a dream of inviting 1 million people across our island – half of them young people – to grow closer to Jesus Christ. In the next Mission Matters podcast, from our Council for Mission, John Quinn from Alpha Ireland talks through its progress in introducing thousands of people to the Christian faith. Check it all out at this link: https://tinyurl.com/mission-matters-alpha
Alpha is held in a series of sessions that explain the basics of the Christian faith (usually over 10 weeks) with the help of themed videos and gathering over food. Last year around 6,000 people took part. Churches, homes, cafés, and schools have all served as Alpha venues.
“We see a massive opportunity,” John relates, “for churches in this island to be reignited with mission, to be reignited with sharing the basics of the beautiful Gospel message that we all hold, and not to be worrying about what sets us apart.”
2033 stands out as the two–thousandth anniversary of the Resurrection and the Great Commission, and John is impressed by personal stories of faith coming alive for people – and how churches from different denominations are working together to share their common faith in their communities.
“What we’ve found is that Alpha creates a really safe space for people to explore the big questions in life,” he adds. “It’s not about judging them, it’s not about getting them to believe ‘the right thing’ at the end – it’s about walking with them and encountering them as they encounter God.
“When you are filled up with the Spirit, when you are filled up with the Gospel message, you can’t help but overflow so trying to reach out to other people, to invite them in to experience what you have experienced.”
Watching a video (after gathering for food) leads into time in discussion groups where people are free to disagree and bring their own perspective on an issue, such as why Jesus died and how we can have faith. Alpha also helps Christians in their discipleship as they experience their faith in a new way and step out to invite others into the conversation.
Find out more at www.alphaireland.org
With thanks to Stephen Fletcher, Diocesan Communications Officer for Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe, for production and planning for this and the other podcasts in the series.