Vision

Sharing God’s love with the elderly.

The vision of Senior Alpha is to give every senior member of the community an opportunity to attend an Alpha Course and hear the good news about Jesus Christ.

What is Senior Alpha?

Senior Alpha is a 15-session practical introduction to the Christian faith which provides an opportunity for anyone to explore the meaning of life. It is designed primarily for non-churchgoers and new Christians, and takes place in a relaxed, non-threatening, thought-provoking environment. Above all it is fun and friendly. A meal or some refreshment is served at each session, and there is plenty of time given for asking questions and group discussion.

Who is Senior Alpha for?

Senior Alpha is for anyone over the age of 50 wanting to know more about the Christian faith. It is for non-churchgoers, new believers and those who want to refresh their understanding of Christianity.

What does it involve?

There are 15 talks on the Alpha course, which are given over the ten weeks of the course and the weekend away. Each talk covers key areas of the Christian faith, and small group discussions take place after each talk.

Is there More to Life than This?
Who is Jesus?
Why did Jesus Die?
How can we have Faith?
Why and how do I Pray?
Why and how should I Read the Bible?
How does God Guide us?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
What does the Holy Spirit do?
How can I be Filled with the Holy Spirit?
How can I Resist Evil?
Why and how should I tell Others?
Does God Heal Today?
What about the Church?
How can I Make the Most of the Rest of my Life?

After each talk, guests break into small groups for a time of discussion and interaction. At this point everyone is free to ask any questions they have about the talk. No question is considered too simple, silly or hostile, and everyone’s views are listened to and respected.

Why Senior Alpha

• Because Malaysia is aging, and by 2010 more than 10% of our population will be over the age of 60.
• Many older people have questions of faith that they have never had the time nor the opportunity to ask – but in their retirement and older age they have the time. Senior Alpha gives them the opportunity.
• Many church members have elderly siblings who are pre-believers, spouses who don’t attend church, and uncles and aunties who have not heard the Good News. ‘The Harvest is Plentiful.’
• Often older people feel neglected and forgotten by friends and family, and Senior Alpha can help these people overcome their loneliness. At Senior Alpha older people come together for friendship and discussion with people their own age, who most likely have had similar life experiences.
• Senior Alpha recognises that some participants may have special needs to be catered for, such as bad hearing or eyesight, or varying degrees of dementia. Our training identifies strategies for using the Alpha Course effectively with the elderly.

How is Senior Alpha different?

Senior Alpha Courses are run amongst older people, therefore course facilitators and hosts are trained to be aware of and adaptable to a number of situations:

Within a course group, many guests may have faced or be facing difficult situations such as bereavement, regret or loneliness. Some may have physical disabilities and for some death will be a real and presenting issue. Others may feel neglected or forgotten by their family and friends.

Ideally courses will be run to cater for different dialects and languages.

How to run Alpha

• First, select and train your team from amongst your church members; Alpha Malaysia is happy to help you build and train your team. Ideally, hosts and helpers should be in their 50s or 60s. However, younger helpers can liven up the atmosphere and inject energy.
• The course should be structured to flow with the normal routine of the group. Mornings are generally more suitable than afternoons or evenings.
• Pray - form a prayer team (they could be members from outside the Alpha team).
• Get church members to invite their relatives, siblings and friends who are not churchgoers or have stopped coming to church.
• For worship, use tapes of better known hymns and songs. The services of a guitarist or pianist would be ideal.
• For the talk, Alpha ‘express’ tapes are ideal for Senior Alpha, as each talk is about 25 minutes long. ‘Live’ talks are also encouraged, and Alpha Malaysia can train people who wish to develop the talks for a course.
• And create a relaxed atmosphere throughout. Begin with ‘ice breakers’, jokes or games. Keep up a caring and sharing attitude. Friendliness, warmth and patience should prevail.

Training

Senior Alpha training events are taking place across Malaysia in 2010, and a training calendar can be viewed at alphafriends.org.my. You can also call the Alpha Malaysia Office for details. If no events are scheduled in your region, then training can be specially requested for your church team and churches in your local area.

What people say

Josephine - “The Senior Alpha Course was a blessing to me as it came at a time when i was a ‘young’ Christian and had just started to attend church. The weekly Alpha sessions quite effectively imparted  key concepts to me in a relatively short time. The course is capable of bringing life to the subject matter, and helped me understand what otherwise would have been abstract and difficult to ask.”

Fabian Cheah Kok Hin - “Objectively, the course is an effective way of introducing people to Christianity; it was certainly a factor in my accepting Christ. It was not the only factor, but was certainly the platform for my seed of belief to be planted, and it equipped me in my initial walk with God.”

Lynley Kim - “I have taken God for granted. God has been so patient with me, and now that I have accepted Christ as my saviour I pray for his forgiveness for neglecting him all these years. Through Alpha I have come home, to know God again and his great love for mankind. I was also very touched  by all my new Christian friends; they have been so kind, caring and helpful whether they are in their 50s, 60s or 70s, and everyone is so cheerful and sincere in their friendship... I never attended church services until I joined Senior Alpha, and now I am looking forward to every Sunday.”

Tan Seong - “I was totally ignorant and did not know what to expect... Although my logically inclined mind does not seem to understand it, there was undeniably an ‘unseen force’ which drew me back to Senior Alpha week after week. I developed a hunger to read the bible, and after a few times it seemed like God was speaking to me.”

Stephanie - “Alpha brought me closer to God. The teaching was so helpful and easy to understand, and the fellowship each week has helped me a lot to recover from the depression I have had. I feel so refreshed, like a newborn baby. I am not the former Stephanie because I have changed. My attitudes have changed because I have learnt so much about God.