Alpha had its best year ever in Asia-Pacific in 2023. As the Asian churches continued to grow, many people explored the Christian faith through Alpha. A staggering 418,000 people went through an Alpha course in the region (+38% more than the year before). This was because 11,700 churches, organisations and individuals ran 19,650 Alpha courses (+34% more than the previous year).
The contextualised Alpha Film Series continued to be used by a growing number of churches, in particular the Chinese Alpha Film Series, the Alpha Film Series: konteks Indonesia, and the Hindi and Tamil Alpha Film Series. These new products and the continued growth of the new Australian Alpha Film Series drove much of the growth in people being reached with the good news.
Our focus for 2024 is Alpha for youth, reaching Gen Z with the good news of Jesus. Bringing together senior pastors and youth pastors at our regional gathering in KL in June, we will prepare the churches for the launch of the new Alpha Youth Series in November. This new series will be a game-changer in equipping churches to reach the many young people in our region.
Whilst we obviously thank God for all that He did amongst His churches to bring in a harvest last year, your amazing support and partnership was crucial in seeing this happen. Thank you for the part that you played in making this possible – your prayers, your giving and your service makes a huge difference.
Thank you for your love, generosity and the difference you are making as Alpha continues to equip and empower the Church in Asia for such a time as this.
Miles Toulmin Executive Director of Alpha Asia Pacific
About Alpha
Alpha is a series of interactive sessions exploring the Christian faith. Alpha transcends denominational boundaries across the global Church and presents an opportunity for everyone, everywhere to freely explore their unique questions about life, faith, and God in an open, friendly, and informal environment.
Alpha is entirely funded by voluntary donations from friends like you who are passionate about evangelism.
Alpha grew out of a move of the Holy Spirit in 1990 from a local church, Holy Trinity Brompton in London, and is now run in over 140 countries and in over 100 languages.
Alpha is run all around the globe in churches, schools, universities, workplaces, cafes, homes, and more!
In 2014, the Alpha Asia Pacific Hub in Kuala Lumpur was opened to serve the region that is home to two thirds of the world’s population and the world’s largest mission field of unreached people in the world, where approximately just 8% of the population know Jesus.
Globally in 2023, more people participated in Alpha than in any other year.
Alpha’s Mission
Alpha equips and serves the Church in its mission to help people discover and develop a relationship with Jesus.
“…Over the last 30 years we have worked hard to develop and refine Alpha as we have offered it to all churches around the world. We believe now is the time to press on further, using all that we have learned, to make Alpha still more widely available…”
Nicky Gumbel Founder of Alpha
Prayer Is Central To Alpha’s Ministry
Alpha is reliant on the Holy Spirit and prayer is vital to the effectiveness of Alpha. At Alpha we are a praying team dependent and seeking the Lord for direction and in every step of the way.
Prayer can transform a nation.
Prayer and the ministry of the Holy Spirit are essential to introducing people to Jesus, helping Christians grow in their faith, and to running Alpha.
Prayer releases resources from all God’s people, each one has an indispensable part of this Kingdom work that we get to do together.
“Whether 18 or 81, the people who run Alphas or attend an Alpha can always learn something new. It is FUN and the experience of my own encounter with the Holy Spirit at Alpha is what keeps me going.”
Deacon Sanda started Alpha for university students when he was a college professor at Nagoya University, and he continues to run Alpha now, more than 20 years later!
Deacon Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japan
Japanese Physicist
What Makes Alpha Unique And Effective?
Alpha provides a safe space for guests to explore the basics of the Christian faith and ask questions in a casual, fun and non-judgemental environment.
Alpha is free, with no strings attached!
Alpha places importance on building relationships through 11-weeks of journeying together.
Alpha models the gospel in community and is effective for raising small group leaders for mission and evangelism.
Alpha is deeply reliant on the Holy Spirit, creating space at the Holy Spirit weekend for people to encounter God through worship and prayer.
How You Helped People AcrossAsia Pacific Explore Faith
How We Spent In 2023
“I grew up as an orphan, I kept seeking love in relationships which deepened my despair, creating a painful cycle that pushed me towards hopelessness. Despite two suicide attempts, I survived.
I tried Alpha and it gradually transformed my life, lifting the burden of bitterness and despair. The narrative of a child struggling to move a rock alone deeply resonated with me. It made me realise that I couldn’t navigate life or bring about change alone. Embracing God has brought me a sense of vitality, hope, and a feeling of being loved. Thanks to Alpha, I now have a newfound passion for the word of God and a flourishing relationship with God who knows me intimately.”
Sneh, India
Alpha in Hindi Guest
Grandma Chea from Cambodia came to faith at 67 years old. She heard about Alpha from her grand-niece who is friends with an Alpha host. On Alpha, she was very active, open and engaged with the weekly discussions and episodes. After Alpha, she cut off the red string on her wrist proclaiming that Jesus is her one true God! Now she is attending a cell group at church.
Grandma Chea, Cambodia
How You Helped Expand Our Reach
By Supporting New Mission Fields
Nepal
“Jaimashiha! I joined an Alpha course in March last year. The Alpha programme has been very important to the youth ministry in my church.
My friends and I did not have the guts to preach the gospel before enrolling in the Alpha course at my church because people are so busy and critical that they do not believe in reading tracks or spreading it in public places.
This generation wants affection, care, attention, and hospitality since they feel increasingly alone. Because I care about them and watch the Alpha series with them, I have been able to share the gospel with my non-believing friends and family in a casual and hospitable way through Alpha. I now know how to make new friends and share my faith without worrying about criticism and my church members’ non-Christian friends are coming with them.”
Bimala, Nepal
Alpha Youth Leader
By Creating New Resources
Thus far, Alpha has been translated in 35 Asian languages. Last year, Alpha Asia Pacific completed 21 resource development projects and translations in 15 languages.
Additionally, we produced and translated supplementary training materials, masterclass videos, and marketing collaterals, to help our National Alpha Offices serve the church and their guests better.
Ps. Wen Bin’s Story
In 2019, Ps. Wen Bin started a new church in Cambodia.
He came across a video featuring Ps. Yang’s story about Alpha in Taiwan and decided to give Alpha a try in his own church.
In this story, Ps. Wen Bin also shares his insights about what it takes to run Alpha and how to partner with God in using this tool for the transformation of society in our region.
By Supporting Our Contextualisation Journey
The Asian Alpha Film Series
This collection was launched in June 2022, and featured Alpha’s first fully contextualised product – the Chinese Alpha Film Series, and partially contextualised products in Hindi, Tamil, and Bahasa Indonesia.
The Alpha Creative Hub
Alpha’s new Creative Hub located in Kuala Lumpur is our new centre of excellence in creativity and production. It is designed to enable significant scaling up of translations and contextualisation work for the new Alpha Film Series and Alpha Youth Series.
By merging digital and technological advancement with missional values, the Alpha Creative Hub will enable us to play our part in the evangelisation of the nations on a greater scale.
Our Contextualisation Journey
Watch: The Asian Alpha Film Series Trailer It all started with one church, one vision. Today the Alpha Film Series has gone further than ever imagined.
Watch: Evolution of the Alpha Film Series The same Alpha course in new expressions – from talking head to rich and culturally relevant storytelling.
Impact of Contextualisation since July 2022
By Empowering Regional & Global Initiatives
Alpha Regional Gathering 2023 (ARG23)
ARG is an annual highlight hosted by the Alpha Hub in Kuala Lumpur. Each year, church leaders from across Asia Pacific gather in a week-long event that transcends generational, denominational, and ethnic boundaries, fostering a sense of Kingdom unity.
Last June, 509 leaders from 309 churches from 17 countries attended ARG, out of which we saw 281 Alphas starting after this Kingdom gathering.
Feedback from delegates:
“The session about “Generations” stretched my faith and desire to use Alpha as a tool to reach across age groups. Alpha helps me understand how to work with and prepare for volunteers of Alpha…”
“My heart is so blessed with the immense power of God that I witnessed through the generosity and hospitality of the event, speakers and staff.”
Global Chinese Alpha Conference (GCAC)
Last July, Alpha Asia Pacific hosted the Global Chinese Alpha Conference (GCAC) in Singapore, in partnership with Alpha Singapore. Over 1000 pastors and leaders from 260 churches gathered to be equipped, envisioned and mobilised to reach the Chinese globally with the gospel using the Chinese Alpha Film Series (CAFS) as an evangelistic tool.
Feedback from delegates:
“I especially felt that when everyone was worshipping together during the conference, the Holy Spirit moved and worked powerfully among us. I was very touched.”
“The message was very clear: The crops are ripe. We urgently need more people going out and doing the work of harvesting.”
By Enabling Partnerships
Development with multi-denominations
In Indonesia, we have been blessed to be in partnership with 20 denominations and more than 10,000 churches, helping create an awareness of Alpha within their larger, more extensive networks of churches.
“Alpha is an effective tool to help the Church in executing its vision and mission to fulfil the Great Commission. Our church is currently using Alpha to help every member of our congregation become re-rooted in the Church and join the cell groups. We even have a specific Alpha programme now aimed at introducing Jesus to our Muslim friends.”
Chairman of a church synod Indonesia
Hub Churches
A core value at Alpha is that we are for the church and by the church. Ultimately we aim to partner with local Hub Churches who model Alpha well. These Hub Churches in turn, possess a vision to help other local churches, and have the influence and capacity to do so. Hub Churches play a vital role in scaling up evangelism exponentially.
Last year the number of Hub Churches in the region grew 33% to 200 multi-denominational churches serving as Hub Churches in Asia.
“Our young people of Lighthouse have gone through Alpha and are actively reaching their world for Christ. With Alpha Youth as part of our discipleship programme, the new generation is equipped to impact other young people with the love of Jesus.”
Today, LCC is one of the strongest examples of a Hub Church that is welcoming and generous to equip others. They actively run several Alpha streams for members of different generations within their community and continue to grow in numbers, in their faith and in robust ministry initiatives.
Ptr. Jojo Baldo, Senior Pastor Lighthouse Christian Community, Philippines
New Catholic Faith Hub in Cebu
The new Catholic Faith Hub in Cebu is a collaborative initiative between Alpha Philippines and the Brothers of Saint John for the development of Alpha in Cebu. The Faith Hub serves as a centre of excellence for Alpha programmes in the Catholic Context not just in the Philippines but for the region.
In just over a year, the Faith Hub is now a vibrant community space that equips and develops people for mission, evangelism, and family life.
By Reaching The Next Generation
Across the world, youth are fundamentally open and motivated to discover more about Jesus. Relationships and trust are a high priority for teens. When it comes to evangelism, they want someone who listens without judgement, is honest about doubts, does not force a conclusion, and cares about them as a person – all attributes of genuine hospitality.
David’s Story Alpha Youth Leader, Southern India
Two years ago David started running Alpha as a third-year college student for 35 friends from his home church with the goal of spiritually restoring them after the pandemic had taken a toll on their spiritual well-being. Then he ran Alpha for another 90 unchurched youth, and led an envisioning gathering with 100 youth leaders. Over the recent year, David joined forces with his father and lead pastor of their church to run Alpha trainings across neighbouring towns and cities bringing Alpha to both young and old.
One spark of faith by a young man has set ablaze a whole region. Please pray for our young men and women like David who are reaching hundreds more with the love of Christ.
“This is a generation that has so many questions. The more we help churches to be places of conversation and dialogue, the better chance we have at reaching the next generation.”
Dan Blythe,
Alpha Global Youth Director
“Before I joined Alpha, my faith wasn’t firm, and I distanced myself from church and from the Lord. My best experience in Alpha was when somebody was listening to me or praying for me. The number one thing that changed in me is that I learned how to forgive others, without force.”
“I used to be a Muslim. I encountered Jesus during the Alpha Weekend, I felt the Lord touch my heart, leading me to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. At the age of 17 years old, I’m confident to step up and believe that I have Jesus, who already has great plans prepared for my life and future.”
This is Nhat’s story about his journey of discovering faith through Alpha, and how he is transformed into a bolder and more confident person in sharing the Gospel.
By Blessing Churches, Ministries And Couples Across The Region Through The Marriage Course
“We have been married for 17 years, and communication has been challenging for us. The walls began to crumble as our differences became more apparent. Despite being good parents, we struggled to connect as a couple. Through the course, we learned the importance and effectiveness of openness in communication and actively listening to each other, which has helped us very much in our relationship.”
Christopher and Tanya Yap TMC Guests, Cebu
The Marriage Course ran in 16 of the 22 countries in Asia Pacific in 2023 and grew 32% from the previous year.
South Korea
There was a pastor couple in their 60s who attended The Marriage Course Experience. Throughout their years of being married to each other, they never had personal conversations with each other beyond conversations about their ministry. They were very considerate towards their congregation and ministry but never to each other. While going through The Marriage Course Experience, they found their love for each other rekindling and reignited. For the very first time in their lives, they even wrote love letters to each other.
Highlights
Transforming Parishes 2023 (TP23)
Transforming Parishes is fast becoming a significant ‘catalytic moment of renewal’ in the life of the Catholic Church across the region. It is a key annual event as part of our Catholic Engagement Strategy and is positioned to support our shared mission of evangelisation with the Catholic Church.
Last year, the Alpha Hub in Kuala Lumpur hosted TP23 and welcomed 100 clergy and lay leaders from 7 countries – Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
“Alpha is highly relevant in the modern world as a welcoming space for individuals to reinvigorate and explore the Christian faith, and for people to bring the message of the gospel to the modern world using innovative means.”
His Excellency, Most Rev. Jose S. Palma
Archbishop of Cebu
“Every time I run Alpha, I enjoy the gentle move of the Holy Spirit among us and at every session, my spirit rejoices to see so many coming back to the Father’s house. I believe that through Alpha, churches can learn how to be supportive and welcoming places where everyone can come in and enjoy God’s embrace and unconditional love.”
David Istacky, Bangalore
Alpha Champion
The Bible with Nicky andPippa Gumbel
The Bible in One Year underwent a small makeover and is now called The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (BNAP). To date, over 4.5 million people from 160 countries have experienced God’s Word daily through BNAP.
BNAP Playlist – click on your preferred language and select the video you are on for the day.
BNAP is currently available in 5 Asian languages; Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, Thai and Vietnamese.
“I just wanted to thank you all for making the word of God available and manageable. I always got overwhelmed when I tried to read the Bible, and now it is my favourite thing to do. It has changed my life and has given me purpose. I’m on my 2nd time through BNAP and have thoroughly enjoyed His word, your commentary, and growing deeper in a relationship with God. When I started this journey, I was suicidal and beyond desperate. God has used you to save my life. God bless you all.”
Anonymous User
Looking Ahead
Alpha’s global vision over the next decade until the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus in 2033 is for everyone, everywhere to have the opportunity to explore faith through Alpha.
Going to the Nations
Over these three years from 2023 to 2025, our great hope is to give 1.5 million people in Asia the opportunity to experience Alpha by the end of 2025 – that’s next year!
Last year we saw 418,000 people from the region explore faith in Jesus through Alpha. Our goal is to reach 500,000 more people this year and next year.
We believe God is leading us into a bold vision to reach more people than we have ever reached before and 2024-2025 are set to be remarkable years in Alpha Asia Pacific’s journey.
Alpha is an important part of the faith journey of millions of people, and you are an important part of Alpha’s story.
Mohamid was of the Muslim faith. One day, he stumbled across Alpha on Facebook and was attracted to the question mark logo. He felt wonderfully surprised that unlike his pre-conception of church, Alpha was completely different and loved being a part of a small group in a safe space where everyone had a chance to speak up. He was moved by the hospitality and generosity of the church running Alpha. Today Mohamid is attending church and living out his faith. *Mohamid name’s has been changed to protect his identity.
Mohamid, Pakistan Alpha Guest
Alpha Asia Pacific 2024 Budget
Alpha is active in 22 countries in the region of Asia Pacific with National Alpha Offices in 12 countries. The 3 countries with pioneering initiatives are Nepal, Bangladesh and Laos.
Alpha Asia Pacific’s budget includes the cost of supporting 10 countries without National Alpha Offices.
We serve by providing:
Strategic direction and leadership for regional ministry.
Shared services as a centre of excellence for Digital & Marketing, HR, Fundraising, Finance, Impact Measurement and Governance.
Creating contextualised product and resources to equip local leaders for ministry.
Financing, hosting and empowering regional initiatives.
With your continued support, we can continue to give Alpha away for free and equip churches, organisations and individuals to run Alphas in many different ways that is accessible for someone just like Mohamid, giving even more opportunities for people to encounter Jesus.
How We Will Invest
How Alpha’s work lines up with this God-breathed vision
2023-2025, 3-Year Regional Goals
Alpha Regional Gathering 2024 (ARG24) | 24-26 June 2024
The Asia Pacific Hub in Kuala Lumpur will be hosting pastors and leaders from across the region at ARG24. This year’s youth focused theme is ‘Reimagining What’s Next for Youth, Leadership and Evangelism’. Keynotes, conversations and panels will focus on key evangelistic themes and efforts among Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Churches will also be able to experience the expression of Alpha’s culture and hospitality within a Hub Church.
This year’s ARG will also serve as a launching pad for equipping churches in the region with the updated tool of the new Alpha Youth Series, which will be available in 8 Asian languages at the end of 2024.
The spirit of evangelism that I witnessed in Alpha and its people is something that will stay with me. Alpha has a huge tent, I pray that more churches find shelter in this tent.
Fr. Aristotle, Philippines
President, Ateneo De Naga University
The brand new Alpha Youth Series for release in 2024
The current Alpha Youth Series was released in 2017 and has been translated into over 40 languages, with an estimated 3 million young people having seen and experienced the series.
With global and youth culture rapidly shifting, there is now a need for new content that is relevant to young people in today’s cultural moment.
This calls for us to reimagine the current Alpha Youth Series. Production for the new Alpha Youth Series is now underway, with a focus on involving youth every step of the way. This will be a series by youth for youth, incorporating their voices, perspectives, and questions.
The new Alpha Youth Series will be available in English by the end of 2024, with translations into 8 Asian languages.
Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese | Vietnamese | Hindi | Tamil | Bahasa Indonesia | Korean | Thai
Globally, the new Alpha Youth Series will be translated into 55 languages, with eight contextualised versions covering 5 regions. The Alpha Creative Hub will be a key entity in allowing this huge endeavour to take place.
The Alpha Creative Hub
The Alpha Creative Hub is set within the Alpha Hub in Kuala Lumpur. The aim for the Alpha Creative Hub is for it to be a centre of excellence in digital content for evangelism and Christian ministry around the world.
As we advance along our global 10-year vision of making Alpha available to anyone, everywhere, our core products like the Alpha Film Series and the Alpha Youth Series will be critical in helping us achieve this goal. The Alpha Creative Hub will be key in helping us bring this dream to life in enabling us to exponentially scale our translation and contextualisation efforts.
Alpha’s work through the Alpha Creative Hub is a holy endeavour to make the gospel available to everyone, everywhere in their heart language and within a context that is culturally relevant to them.
Multiply Your Impact
Your continued support matters. Thank you for making this possible. None of this would be possible without your partnership, prayers, friendship towards Alpha, and the time you invest in sharing your faith with others.
God is leading us into future new areas and you are an essential part of the work that God is doing through Alpha.
Your planned giving alongside other donors becomes a collective force, multiplying impact across the region and is the foundation for stability and growth. Alpha’s initiatives contribute to projects and capacity building to better support and equip churches, organisations and individuals in the region to more widely access translated and contextualised Alpha talks and resources, and evangelise with the tool of Alpha.
Your gift, no matter the size, has the power to multiply the impact of Alpha’s work to give as many people as possible the opportunity to explore faith in Jesus and be touched by God’s love.
Your continuedsupport matters
Please prayerfully consider continuing to support Alpha in 2024. Your voluntary contribution enables local churches to reach their communities with the love and hope of the Gospel, and at no cost to the guest.
We love doing this work with you and we could not do this without you!
