Looking for ideas on how to make your Alpha as fun as possible? We’ve got you covered. Here are nine top tips from Dave Larlee in Texas that will keep your guests engaged, entertained and coming back for more.

From his experience at All Saints Dallas we pluck nine top tips on how to find the fun…

In a city with more Bible Studies than coffee shops, Dave wanted to differentiate their church outreach. Having initially run Alpha in their building’s ‘horrific’ basement, Dave realized it was key to frame the course in an environment that was fun. ‘We didn’t want going to Alpha to be synonymous with going to church,’ he explains. ‘We wanted it to be like, ‘Why don’t you come for a fun night out?’’ So they started to look for a location away from the church where guests would feel more engaged.

What better place to invite friends to a night out at than a wine cellar? We can’t think of many. That’s where Dave and his team decided to host their course. ‘All of a sudden, everything started to change in a positive way,’ he says. ‘When the first question you ask people is, ‘Red or White?’ they’re caught off guard, because here in Dallas that’s quite counter cultural.’ After three courses being run in the cellar they’d outgrown it and once again were on the search for a location that would be equally appealing to guests!

There’s no two ways about it, the processes of thriftiness and budget management don’t get many of us excited—but if you know what you have and how you can spend it, a little budget can go a long way! ‘I have someone on my team who knows that for $10 a head we can do this, for $12 we can do that,’ Dave explains. And they didn’t stop there, they even carried research out into the flow of business on a Tuesday night in the city so they could approach the right venue, haggle on price and run the best Alpha possible on their budget.

One of Dave’s team works as an events planner and once they’d outgrown the wine cellar he suggested a venue where he’d recently thrown a fundraiser. The venue was one of Dallas’ most popular nightclubs and, after running one Alpha in the function room, they rented the entire club. ‘Our ceiling jumped from 65 guests—which was the most we’d ever had—to 110 at the course we just finished. It just took off!’

An invitational culture is essential for effective evangelism. At All Saints Dallas, they’ve been making a conscious effort to encourage their congregation to feel comfortable inviting their friends. Dave says, ‘We noticed that the church is very welcoming, however, welcoming does not mean inviting.’ The solution? Three years ago they set up an annual church Christmas party where members could invite their friends and everyone could have a good time together. ‘What it’s done, is given confidence to our members that they can invite their friends to a church event and it will be good.’ And for guests, a social event before Alpha can inform them about the course and give a small taste of what to expect.

For Dave and his team, the culture of fun runs deeper than just Alpha. He describes the three key values they endorse as ‘love, listen and fun.’ ‘We don’t run many programmes, but we do run a lot of events. For instance, we don’t run a newcomers’ class, but we do have a newcomers’ Happy Hour’ he explains. The aim is to make sure that every event the church runs is enjoyable and in a location that people will want to come to.

There are many different ways to present Alpha—with live talks, video talks, or with the Alpha Film Series. All Saints Dallas decided to show the Alpha Film Series to take a fresh approach. The series of episodes travel around the world, with a mixture of stories, animations and interviews that all explore a different question around Christianity. Find out more about the Alpha Film Series.

Like at most Alphas, Dave and his team run an Alpha Day or Weekend where the group spend a block of time together. But what they also do is invite everyone back for an After Party in the evening, outside the course structure. It’s a chance to spend time, have fun and socialize together without a set program.

A team who are passionate and excited to be involved with Alpha can make all the difference! At All Saints it’s a requirement that everyone who helps has experienced the course themselves. ‘If someone’s enjoyed it, I’ll often invite them to come back as a helper,’ explains Dave. If you build your team with people who know what it’s like to try Alpha, it can help narrow the gap between helpers and guests, and lead to great friendships being formed.

So there you have it, 9 top tips on how to run a great Alpha for your guests—now go have fun!

When a church runs Alpha, often a new culture of evangelism, hospitality, invitation, and prayerfulness develops. New leaders are released and congregations grow.

If you are longing to see God do more – Alpha could be the spark of change to help this happen. Find out more about what Alpha is and the impact it could have in your church and community.

“The aim is to make sure that every event the church runs is enjoyable and in a location that people will want to come to.”

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