Alpha Host and Helper Manual (Alpha with Nicky Gumbel) Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church Plymouth, Michigan Winter 2019 *This manual is supplemental to the Alpha Resource Team Guide. Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people. Alpha Host/Helper Manual (AWNG) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 2 An Introduction to Being an Alpha Host or Helper Dear Alpha Hosts and Helpers, Thank you for your willingness to serve as a host or a helper for the next eleven weeks for the Alpha Course. We are very excited to have you as a part of this Alpha team. What a great joy it is to serve alongside each one of you! As an Alpha Host, you have been chosen to lead your group through an exciting adventure to encounter Jesus. While there are many aspects to this task, there are a few basic guidelines that will ensure a rewarding experience for your guests: • Review the upcoming weekly session ahead of time, if possible. The talks are thirty minutes in length and may be viewed by visiting www.alphausa.org. • Please make sure you arrive ½ hour before the start of the session to meet with your session leader. These mandatory pre-session meetings are an opportunity to talk about the session ahead and to pray together. • Hosts and helpers should always feel free to communicate after and between sessions in an effort to ensure their small group is working well. • Pray for your guests on a daily basis. Alpha Sessions At the beginning of the first session, the Alpha Coordinator will review the format, introduce the Session Leader, and set a welcoming a tone for everyone. In the following weeks, the Session Leader will welcome everyone and oversee all of the sessions. Typical Alpha Session Timeline • Arrive ½ hour prior to the start of the session. Please be prompt for the pre-session meeting. • Hosts and helpers to greet their guests as they arrive. • Meals typically run thirty to thirty-five minutes in length. • Session Leader introduces the topic, as well as offers an icebreaker in the form of a joke. • Worship (typically begins in Week 2). • Meal blessing (begins in Week 4). • View Alpha talk. • Begin small group discussion (approximately forty-five minutes). • Dismissal. In the initial weeks, the Session Leader serves as the timekeeper. In subsequent weeks, the Helper tracks the time for their own group. Alpha Host/Helper Manual (AWNG) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 3 Alpha Guidelines for Small Group Discussion • No one should feel pressured to talk. • Show mutual respect for everyone. • There is no such thing as a dumb question. • Only one person talks at a time (please, no side discussions). • Confidentiality matters. Everything that is shared in your small group remains confidential. • End sessions on time. *Father John has kindly requested that no material, Catholic or otherwise, be distributed to your guests during the Alpha course. May God guide and bless you as you accompany guests on this journey! Alpha Host/Helper Manual (AWNG) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 4 The 6 Aims of an Alpha Small Group 1. Discussion • It is vital to give people the opportunity to respond to what they have heard and ask questions. • It can be ruined by ineffective leadership, allowing dominant talk to take place by a guest or the host. • Important to start with simple questions—What do you think? What do you feel? • A good host will always be an encourager, looking at guests and being interested in what they are saying. • For many of our guests, the discussion in the small group will be the opportunity for them to be heard for the first time. 2. To model Bible Study • Encourage guests to acquire a Bible if they do not own one. • Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know the answer, but I will find out.” • Explain the three basic questions that a guest should ask themselves about a passage: a. What does it say? b. What does it mean? c. How does it apply to our lives? • Use the opportunity to bring everyone into the discussion. 3. To learn to pray together • When a host opens in prayer, it should be done sensitively: a. Model first, with a simple prayer such as, “Dear Lord, bless this group this week.” b. To have another person lead in prayer, ask beforehand so as not to embarrass him or her. A simple “Will you ask God to give us wisdom to understand tonight’s talk?” can be used for the ask. Tell the group before starting that you’ve asked X to open in prayer tonight. • Later when closing in prayer, model first, again with a simple prayer. Ask others to join. However, do not use the “Round Robin” approach to prevent anxiety among guests. • Pray from the heart. Alpha Host/Helper Manual (AWNG) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 5 4. To develop lasting relationships within the Body of Christ • “People come to church for many reasons, but they stay there for only one: that they make friends.” • Hosts and helpers should strive to know each person in their group well. a. Learn the guest’s names the first night. b. During each dinner, the host and helper act as hosts and facilitate conversations. c. An ice-breaker can be useful to build trust and knowledge between guests. d. If small groups create friendships, these friendships may be carried over after the Alpha course comes to a close. 5. Learn to minister to one another • Realize that groups in the initial weeks may feel particularly awkward. Over time, however, the Holy Spirit working through you will draw your group closer together. • Minister to the guests with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is by your example that they will minister to each other. 6. To raise up future leaders on Alpha • Alpha serves as a natural leadership pipeline. • Ongoing training creates opportunities to cultivate new leaders. Alpha Host/Helper Manual (AWNG) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 6 Reminders for Hosts Ø Adopt a mission-minded approach to your ministry as a host. Ø Affirm every person and their contribution to the small group, even if you do not agree with their position. Listening with acceptance to each person and what they have to say is the best approach to help a guest feel welcome. Ø Attend the pre-session meetings at the start of each Alpha session. This is an important time for prayer, worship, and connecting with the overall vision and preparation for the session ahead. Please note, attendance at the pre-session meetings is not optional. This meeting is an integral component to your role on Alpha. Ø Pray throughout the week for your guests, as well as the Alpha team. Ø Refrain from pressuring a guest to speak, pray, or directly asking them to participate. Ø Steer clear of slandering any opinion, religious view, or person. Ø Be comfortable with some silence and resist the temptation to answer your own question. Ø Model humility. An effective small group leader will resist giving the “right” answer or a “biblical” answer and may even look foolish at times. However, if the guest’s answers are so far off the mark, it’s acceptable at the close of the evening for the host to summarize the discussion gently and say something like, “This is what I have come to understand. .” Ø Be attentive to the guest who seems to be progressing at the slowest rate and make every effort to make him or her feel safe, cared for, and loved. Ø Resist arguments. No one is won into the Kingdom of God through an argument but rather by love. Ø Refrain from using Christian jargon or references that may be unknown to the guests. Ø Cultivate a safe and comfortable environment, always maintaining confidentiality in the group. Ø Encourage guests to ask questions. Ø Remain spiritually strong. Be attentive to the Holy Spirit and remember that it is His job through you to reveal the love of Jesus to your group. Ø Review the evening with your helper after guests have left. Ø Host will complete the Weekly Feedback form at the end of each session and will forward to the Alpha Coordinator. Ø Remember that a pack of breath mints might save the day! Alpha Host/Helper Manual (AWNG) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 7 Reminders for Helpers The role of the Alpha helper is not an insignificant one. While different from the host, it is no less important. Both hosts and helpers have a role to play in Alpha. Serve with love! Ø Attend the pre-session meetings at the start of each Alpha session. This is an important time for prayer, worship, and connecting with the overall vision and preparation for the session ahead. Please note, attendance at the pre-session meetings is not optional. This meeting is an integral component to your role on Alpha. Ø Pray throughout the week for your guests, as well as the Alpha team. Ø Welcome all guests warmly, showing genuine care and love. Ø Learn the names of each guest, and then call each by their name.