Alpha Leadership Conference - Another Perspective

by Rev Ralph Mayhew, Mission Accompanying Team

I went into the UK Alpha trip unsure of what to expect; another conference of information exchange, with some 'how to' on Alpha, a week-long sales pitch to be an Alpha church. I could not have been further from the truth. It was easily one of the most life transforming experiences I've had. Maybe it's best summed up with the following sentence: I've never been to a conference and afterwards not looked at my notebook so little, while going back to my prayer journal so much. I discovered a hunger for God, I'd not experienced in the Western Church, which was infectious. I found myself longing and praying that what God was doing in and through the Church of England he would do in and through the Uniting Church in Queensland.

Every speaker was wonderful and interesting, but what made them truly captivating was the Spirit of God upon them and what God had been doing with them. Just 20 years ago the Church of England was in a far worse place than we are in now, but testimony after testimony revealed that as the churches had come together, put aside their agenda and sought the living God, that God had responded and come to dwell more significantly in the church, and through his dwelling he had started and continues to call people to him.

This is where Alpha fits in as a channel for people to find and put their faith in Jesus. We heard so many stories of people who, relatively recently, were atheists and are now planting churches. I imagine a future now, where those who don't yet know Christ will be leading churches into areas we are currently not equipped to go. When we turn our hearts to seeking the Lord and his presence, we will see the fruit we all long for.