Alpha Course

Towards the end of last year i attended an Alpha Course at New Life Church, East Grinstead. As a child i had always attended sunday school, then later as a teenager in the scouts. After that, to be honest, my church going days dwindled away. In recent years i have become more and more fascinated by the thought of a greater power and the more i have learnt about this planet earth, the more apparent it has become to me, that this was not just some coincidence in time and space. The conditions required for life to exist as we know it, are so exact and precise, it seems to make more sense that this is by design and not coincidence. Evolution seems on the face of it to be logical, but the more i have learnt the less it seems to make sense. I have also been bewildered that some of the most scientific and academic of this world believe in religion. Science is a long way from explaining everything in our world as we know it. Having tried out some local churches, i was invited to attend New Life Church in East Grinstead. This was a new experience for me as i had only been to traditional churches in traditional church buildings and nothing wrong with that, but it didnt feel welcoming to me. It was after attending New Life Church in east grinstead, that i decided to do the Alpha Course there.
So i went along, a little apprehensive, not quite knowing what to expect, or who i would meet. It was on a wednesday evening and very informal, they gave you a nice meal and something to drink and showed a video. I think the title of the video was something like this "If you met God in the street what would you ask him" and yes some people in the video said funny things like "the lottery numbers" but this question really made me think. Anyhow the course lasted about 10 weeks, some people dropped out, some completed the course. I met some nice people and enjoyed my wednesday evenings out doing Alpha. Things i had learnt at sunday school had never really made sense until i did the Alpha Course and then all of a sudden i understood the significance of Jesus and the Cross. Yes i had as a child just learnt stuff and the bible stories but didnt really know what it was all about.
One evening at the Alpha Course two guys prayed for me, (i had missed one part of the course and had mentioned to these people that i really was hoping to experience something) I have always thought of myself as a christian but never really experienced anything or really understood how people could be se sure that God exists. So let me tell you what happened to me, although i wanted to experience something i didnt really expect to feel anything. Whilst those guys prayed for me i became very still and felt a calm and peace that i have never in my life experienced before. It felt almost like time had stopped, it was the most incredible thing that i have ever experienced. After they had finished praying that must have thought i was very rude as i said a few words and then left the building. When i got back to my car, i was shaking and told myself its because its cold, but the car had warmed up already. It was really the next day before i understood what had happened and since then i have not had a day when i have not thought about that experience.
You may wonder why i have shared this very personal information on my blog ? well i just know that there must be thousands of people just like me, who have the same background as me, but never get the chance to find out what its really all about. These Alpha courses are on all over the place and as far as i know they follow the same format, so if you are the least bit curious, check out the nearest Alpha Course to you. I would love to hear from you if you experience something similar to me. I know that someone will read this blog and give the Alpha Course a try, as they say it could be you. www.niceg.co.uk