Youth Alive and Alpha Course Team Up
by Sandy Simpson, 1999


How lucky can we be?  Now we not only have the Alpha Course produced by the Toronto "Blessing" and Youth Alive, a program of the Assemblies Of God with strong ties to Brownsville A/G and Awake America, but now Youth Alive is using a new course called "Youth Alpha".  This is really not a surprise, but it will be to many young people who have no idea what they are being "softened up" to.  Youth Alive and Alpha Course, as well as this new Youth Alpha Course are simply entry points to the counterfeit revival "river".

This explanation is off the Youth Alive site in Victoria at: http://www.youthalivevictoria.com.au/resources.html


Youth Alpha Leaders Manual

This manual is an Alpha resource. The Alpha course is a practical introduction to the Christian faith. It was initiated by Holy Trinity Brompton in London1 and is now being run by thousands of churches throughout the UK, as well as overseas. Today there is a desperate need within the Church to reach and keep young people who once attended church no longer do so. Recent statistics suggest that only 7% of those under 18 years of age have any regular contact with ‘organized religion’.

Youth Alpha offers a fresh and creative approach to reaching young people with the good news of Jesus Christ. This leaders’ manual is an attempt to equip you to bring alive the truth of God’s word to those who have grown tired of listening to it and those who have never heard it before.2 This manual can be purchased from Christian Bookstores or copies will be available at the Youth Alpha Training Seminar hosted by Youth Alive Victoria on 5 – 6 November. See Coming Events for further details about this up and coming seminar.

Youth Alpha,

In a High School During Term 3, myself and four other senior students led a Youth Alpha group at our High School. We had run a Christian group for almost a year and after attending a Youth Alpha conference we could see how well it could work at school. We began a widespread advertising campaign and talked directly to students. At our first meeting we had about 22 students. This number fell to an average of about 14 per week, however we were never quite sure who would turn up. Over the next ten weeks we took turns in giving a five minute talk and leading a discussion. We had a day away together where we had the Holy Spirit talks3, prayer and a picnic at a really nice place. It was a great day and really brought the group together. Our group had a diverse range of ages and it was really encouraging to watch friendships develop as the course progressed.

I would encourage other groups to use the Youth Alpha program as it covers almost everything to do with Christianity in a very friendly and uncomplicated way. Our group was lucky to have a supportive teacher who recognized the need for us to run the group ourselves in order to make the students feel most comfortable. I found that I learned a lot about God and other people. I found that prayer was very important throughout the course as was giving enough time for socializing before and after the talks.

I would also recommend having plenty of soft drinks, chips, chocolates and lollies which help the group dynamics4

… K.R.

(Emphasis mine)

1. Holy Trinity Brompton is one of the first Toronto "Blessing" churches in Britain and was the place where Steve Hill, evangelist at Brownsville, received his "anointing" and subsequently brought it to Brownsville A/G.  They initially denied the Brownsville connection with the Toronto "Blessing" but now have given up that "spin", except in places in the world where people aren't aware of the history behind this movement.  This program and course further illustrates the identical agenda behind Brownsville and Toronto "Blessing" churches.

2. I have to wonder how they are sprucing up God's Word?  I think I can say with confidence, judging from what is happening in the Third Wave, that what is being added is new revelation, new unbiblical teachings, and new experiences that are not of the Holy Spirit, but of spirits.  Nothing like introducing our young and most impressionable to spiritism, occult techniques, and Christian magic.  Nothing like giving them what their flesh wants instead of what their minds, bodies and spirits really need -- which is the Bread of Life!

3. "Holy Spirit talks"?  Is the Holy Spirit talking in these "talks" or is the leader talking about the Holy Spirit?  If the Holy Spirit is talking they should be in God's Word since that is the main place He speaks.  If the leader is talking about the Holy Spirit, he ought to be in the Word also because that is where we learn about God.  But then they just said they were offering new things to kids who were bored with what they had heard before, so they probably aren't using the Bible much, or using it in ways it was never meant to be used. Teaching our youth to expect inner voices, impressions, visions, and out-of-body experiences is not what the Doctor ordered.

4. Nothing quite like augmenting "group dynamics" in a youth meeting with sugar and caffeine!  If you haven't experienced this, you don't know what you are missing.  This from a guy who has worked with youth quite a bit.  Now, which was it? The sugar, the caffeine or the "Spirit"?