A growing connection with the local City Mission prompted Church on Ingestre in Whanganui to start up an Alpha Course for people exploring faith.
With a number of people in the church serving as volunteers at the local City Mission and the City Mission Op Shop over the years, the connection developed further as the church partnered with other local churches to start a weekly coffee morning on Thursdays at the City Mission, opening the door for friendship, connection, and conversation.
Church on Ingestre Community Pastor Doug Benn says running an Alpha Course has been a tangible way to help people, “live out our our mission statement as a church: Love God, Love others and Make Disciples...”
Some guests to Alpha came via volunteers serving in various ways at the City Mission, others came through wider community connections, friends and family. Doug says that running the course has had some positive outcomes for the wider church:
“We’ve seen a real positive response from people who came along, and I’ve also observed increased confidence in our church people addressing questions of faith—it has helped them in their understanding of faith and helped them know the gospel. One of the outcomes is that we’ve invited Lew Meyer from OAC to come and do a training day with us in August for people who are interested in growing their evangelistic outreach.
“The guests who came along said they found it a safe place to address questions of faith, and some said they moved from a skeptical viewpoint to a searching one. Others said they felt more at peace and more loved—and for the believers who attended they said their faith has been strengthened.
“There have been some people who have started coming along to church, and we’ve also had a couple volunteer to start a new life group in response to what they’ve seen as they’ve been involved, and how the experience has developed them in their gifts.”
Doug says it was a team effort as volunteers across the whole church helped provide food for the Alpha sessions, lead groups, and pray. “One of the best things was seeing people’s growing confidence in answering questions of faith, and using their gifts and skills.”
