Promoted by cable TV star,

Alpha course partners with

Luis Palau team

By EDWIN OUELLETTE
CNNW intern reporter
    PORTLAND — Bear Grylls will do just about anything. On the Discovery Channel TV show, Man vs. Wild, Grylls ate yak eyeballs in Siberia, drank his own urine in Australia, and survived a two-day excursion with comedian Will Ferrell in the mountains of northern Sweden.
    Now, Grylls is promoting the Alpha course in Portland.
    The Alpha course offers a casual, non-threatening environment for individuals to explore the Christian faith, said Kirk Petersen, regional director of Alpha Portland. It is targeted toward new believers and non-Christians alike, he added.
    Recently, Alpha has kicked off a massive advertising campaign across 30 regions. Ads featuring Grylls can be found on 40 Tri-Met buses in Portland. Additionally, Alpha has partnered with the Luis Palau Association for Palau’s community outreach effort, Season of Service
   “The Alpha organization has years of experience in answering the critical ‘questions of life’ and we recommend the course without hesitation to all new believers,” stated Palau on the Alpha web site, www.alphausa.org. The New York Times called the Alpha course: “a novel approach to Christian education that has been catching on nationwide.”
     The Alpha course, which runs 10 weeks long, covers such questions as: “Why and how should I read the Bible?” and “How can I make the most of the rest of my life?” The course also works hand in hand with local churches. Alpha participants attend a series of dinners, where a video presentation is given, along with a time for questions and answers.
     The Alpha course has been shown to be substantially effective. According to Petersen, at least 50 percent of Alpha participants make a first time commitment or re-commitment to Christ by the end of the course. The Alpha course connects with the “post-Christian culture” of the current generation, said Petersen.
     This summer, the Alpha team launched a regional office in Portland, said Petersen. Eighteen churches in the Portland area are already running the Alpha course. “We've seen growth in a number of churches," said Petersen.
     The Alpha course was originally started as a Bible study at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, England in the late 1970s, said Petersen. In fact, it was at this very church that Grylls and his wife, both Christians, first participated in the Alpha course.
     In 1990, Nicky Gumble took over the Alpha course and it soon spread across the globe. Since its inception, Alpha has expanded to 33,500 courses in more than 163 countries worldwide, according to the program’s web site.
A Taste of Alpha,” an informational meeting for pastors interested in hosting the course, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 28 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Multnomah Presbyterian Church, 7555 S.W. 45th Ave. in Portland. For more information, contact Petersen at kirkpetersen@alphausa.org.