One of the oddest incidents in the Book of Exodus occurs when Moses’ father-in-law Jethro visits him in the Sinai wilderness (Exodus 18). Moses and the Israelites had just witnessed some of the greatest miracles in the Israel’s history: the plagues, the Passover, the Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the provision of food and water in the desert. Then, Jethro shows up at their wilderness camp, and everything moves from the miraculous to the mundane. After watching his son-in-law at work settling endless disputes among the people, Jethro gives Moses a leadership management course so that he won’t burn himself out. Jethro says, “The work is too heavy for you, you cannot handle it alone. . . . Select capable men from all the people . . . and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. . . . That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you” (Exodus 18:18-22). This amazingly modern counsel somehow doesn’t seem to fit in an incredibly ancient culture. But there it is, recorded in Scripture, because God in His eternal wisdom knew that every leader in the world, including pastors, would need it.
This incident resonates with every pastor. We have all had our “Jethro moments,” when it became obvious that we were spread too thin in our ministry. However, it is not easy to recruit, train, deploy, and manage leaders. Because it is not easy, our default position is DIY—do it yourself. As a result, pastors are exhausted, and churches remain small.
In this final blog of the series on Alpha, I want to focus on Alpha as a leadership development tool. The previous three blogs look at Alpha as a tool for Evangelism, Discipleship, and Community Building. I believe Alpha is also one of the best ways to begin to develop Christian leaders.
In order to function properly, the Alpha Course requires a pastor to recruit leaders for several distinct leadership roles.
- ALPHA DIRECTOR. The first and most essential is that of the Alpha Director. Start by praying for God to reveal this person to you. He or she should have a mature faith in Christ, a solid marriage (if married), a resiliency in the face of spiritual warfare, a love for people, and a passion to see lost people found by Christ. Fortunately, Alpha provides excellent training opportunities for directors; find one and send your director to it. The small church that my wife and I now attend recently decided to launch Alpha. A wonderful director and her husband were recruited and then sent to a weeklong Alpha Conference in Florida at the church’s expense. They came back filled to the brim with excitement, skills, knowledge, and confidence that God was going to use them to lead a successful Alpha course, and He did. The first course resulted in several people receiving Christ and being filled with Holy Spirit. It also drew several people from outside the church. The second course, which was for teenagers (Youth Alpha) has just wrapped up as I write, with similar results.
- HOSTS. The next level of leader is small group Host. The hosts convene the weekly small discussion groups, which are the heart of the Alpha course. It is in these groups where the guests get to process with others the weekly teaching content. The hosts get their training from the Director in advance of the launch from excellent material provided by Alpha. Hosts don’t teach; instead, their job is to help build relationships, ask questions, and provide the accepting atmosphere for the guests to respond to the Gospel message they are hearing week by week.
- HELPERS. The third level of leader consists of Helpers who work alongside the Hosts. Their job is to mostly listen and pray during the small group discussion and to be a second set of eyes and ears, alert to the dynamics of the group. They help the Host discern which group members are confused and which are engaged and growing.
- SUPPORT TEAM. The fourth level is the Support Team. These people coordinate the provision of meals for the ten weeks of the course. The meals can be catered or provided by volunteers in the church. The youth Alpha course at our church thrived on weekly pizza generously provided free by a local pizza shop. The support team sets up and takes down tables, serves the meals, and cleans up afterward.
- TECH TEAM. The Tech Team sets up and runs the equipment needed for the weekly teaching videos. That way, the Hosts and Helpers can pay attention to people, not equipment.
- PRAYER TEAM. Members of this team are volunteers recruited from the congregation to hold the Alpha course, the Hosts and Helpers, and the guests in prayer. These individuals are prayer warriors, beseeching the Lord to move mightily to save.
Leadership training is such an essential part of Alpha that each person serving as a Host or Helper must undergo the training at the start of every course and before the Alpha weekend. This repetitive process deepens the leaders’ understanding and commitment to Alpha. It also keeps the Alpha course from creeping from its core mission and strategy. Simple and efficient training material is provided for training the volunteers, so pastors or Alpha directors do not have to create the training process.
Because Alpha is a one-time-only experience for guests, the only way to continue to be part of the Alpha experience is to join the leadership or support team on the next course. With each successive course, the pool of potential leaders grows as guests “graduate” and, because of Alpha’s impact on their lives, volunteer to help next time around.
Brand new Christians are not only permitted to serve on the next Alpha team but are encouraged to do so, as a way for them to continue their spiritual formation. Many might question the wisdom of allowing newly minted believers the responsibility of being part of such a critical work. It certainly isn’t the way many churches work, where the same leaders are recycled over and over in leadership positions, denying recent converts the opportunity to serve. The reasoning behind this is that new believers are often the most enthusiastic believers in a church, and their fresh enthusiasm is contagious. Besides, the teaching content of Alpha is provided by the biblically sound and professionally crafted teaching videos, not team members.
By encouraging new Alpha grads to participate in leading future courses, Alpha creates a leadership pipeline. Many of the Alpha Hosts and Helpers in my church’s Alpha courses went on to serve in the church in many ways and many leadership functions. They were built up by the confidence and experience of their Alpha service, gained not in some tedious committee assignment but in the exciting, life-transforming ministry of Alpha.
True Christian leadership is servant leadership—the hallmark of Alpha. The meal teams, the setup teams, the tech teams, the prayer teams all exhibit servant leadership according to their spiritual gifts and callings.
John the Evangelist declares in 3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than to hear [and see] that my children are walking in the truth.” As the former pastor of a church that has offered Alpha continuously for more than 20 years, I can honestly say, I had no greater joy in ministry than seeing people come to know Jesus through Alpha, then continue to walk with Him week after week as they joyfully served others as leaders in Alpha.
If you are thinking of introducing Alpha in your church, here is some friendly advice:
- Investigate Alpha and familiarize yourself with it thoroughly. If possible, take the Alpha course along with your key leaders when it is offered in a nearby church.
- Underwrite the training for your Director, and consider fully funding the Alpha course every time you offer it so that the gospel is free to all who seek.
- Insist that your elders and other key leaders take the Alpha course themselves so they can give it their full support.
- See it as a whole outreach culture for your church, not simply as a “one and done” program. Pray that God will sustain it for the long haul.
- Be prepared for spiritual warfare as people are won from darkness into the light of Christ.
- Follow the guidelines that Alpha has established, and resist the temptation to adapt or modify the recipe too much.
If you stay with it, I believe you will find that God will use Alpha to help meet your leadership needs the way He used Jethro for Moses, to sustain you for the long journey of Christian ministry.
