We help make spaces where people can freely explore the basics of the Christian faith together.
Alpha is an experience that unpacks the basics of the Christian faith in an open, friendly environment. It’s for anyone who’s curious, no matter their beliefs or background. More
What if the whole world could hear the good news, in a good way? Well, that would be very good.
Since 1990, we’ve been helping churches invite people to explore the Christian faith together. We provide talks, tools, and training (for free) that help people around the world connect with their local communities – so they can share the good news in a good way.
Some of the things we do
So far, over 30 million people have experienced Alpha in over 175 countries and over 100 languages.
Anyone can run Alpha, anywhere, for free. Alpha runs across all major Christian denominations and in a variety of different contexts.
Alpha teams and offices all around the world
We have friendly teams all around the globe. If you’re thinking of trying Alpha, running a course, or just have questions – discover Alpha where you are.
Est.1977
Alpha was originally founded in 1977. Then, in 1990, Nicky Gumbel, turned the small course at HTB Church in London into a tool that has now helped millions around the world explore the Christian faith for themselves.
The Alpha Story
Alpha began at a church called Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London in 1977, it was taken by Nicky Gumbel in 1990 and repositioned as a course for those outside the congregation. The number of people attending Alpha at HTB grew quickly into the hundreds and attracted the attention of other churches across denominations seeking to find an effective tool for connecting with those outside the church.
This led to the first Alpha conference in 1993 at HTB where over 1000 church leaders attended to learn about Alpha and how to use it in their congregations. As interest grew, Alpha conferences were organised internationally and the original talks were filmed in 1994, and shared on VHS, to make it accessible to the widest possible audience.
The course grew, and in 1998 bespoke courses for students and people in the workplace were created – with one hour DVD sessions to help it fit into lunch breaks.
By the start of 2008, fifteen years after Alpha’s global launch, it had reached over 10 million people worldwide.
In 2000, The Marriage Course launched, created by Nicky and Sila Lee, and by 2003 it had already expanded to 280 locations in 17 countries.
2003 also saw Jackie Pullinger share at Alpha’s Leadership Conference – since then many leaders in and out of the church have contributed at the global event, including Tony Blair, Simon Sinek, Miranda Hart, Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, Christine Caine, Bryan Stevenson, and Jon Tyson.
In 2009, Nicky Gumbel, then vicar of HTB, challenged the church congregation to read the Bible in just one year, creating an annual reading plan that has since travelled the world. It became an app in 2015 and now the Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel is read, and listened to, by millions.
The Alpha brand got a new coat of paint in 2014, changing name from The Alpha Course to simply, Alpha. It was also the first time that the Alpha talks were reimagined for video – presented creatively, in episode format, for a new generation in the first Alpha Youth Film Series.
In 2016, the Alpha Film Series was launched, filmed all around the world, with inspiring stories and insights from experts in their field.
That year also saw the first ever global campaign, promoting Alpha all around the world – with Bear Grylls sharing his story as part of the campaign. By 2022 the Alpha Film Series had been translated into 53 languages.
2024 saw the launch of a brand new Alpha Youth Series – designed to speak to a new generation of young people all around the world.
Now, all over the world, millions of people have tried Alpha and it has been translated into over 100 different languages. Even as times have changed, Alpha has continued to be used by the global church as an engaging, effective tool to help people discover Jesus for themselves.
I believe that one of the reasons that God has so richly blessed Alpha is because Nicky Gumbel and others have always given away what they had. They’ve not kept it and, I will tell you, if they had, it would have gone off. With passion, they have gone on sharing, gone to new tents, and gone to new countries where they are lacking. If you don’t keep giving away your surplus, it goes mouldy. That’s exactly how Alpha has been blessed. They’ve blessed and blessed and given away and given away… and they haven’t run out. They’ve got more. That’s how it works.
Jackie Pullinger
A brand new series of Alpha episodes – made for young people, by young people.
Alpha Youth creates spaces for young people worldwide to have real and open conversations about life, faith and purpose. This year, we created a whole new series of Alpha episodes to help younger people engage with the big questions. More
Real stories of real people who were curious about faith.
Eleven stories from eleven very different people, all around the world, who all decided to explore faith through Alpha.