40 Ways to Invite Alpha Guests to your course

Getting the word out about your Fall course can be accomplished several different ways. Here are some ways churches across Canada are inviting the nation to Alpha!

Churches in action:
1. PRAY for the people God has put on your heart to invite. Organize an Alpha Prayer Team now who will pray before, during and after the Alpha course. (See Prayer Pointers on Alpha)  We have tried many marketing tools but none have compared to the results of people praying for, then accompanying the ones that God has prepared for them to bring.  Scott Blackburn, Barrie, ON

2. Invite a friend to Alpha, face-to-face invitation (no Facebook doesn’t count!) According to the Alpha Survey of 2010 courses, 83.3% say personal invitation is the best promotional tool.

3. Hand out Alpha business card invitations with course info.
Top Tip: Print the business card sized alpha invitations with “STARTING SOON!” on it and course info. I leave these cards all over the place.  We had one person attend because she found a card blowing around on the muddy ground following a village Canada Day festival. She picked it up and phoned!  Merrilyn Barber, Kingston, ON

4. Create a Facebook event for your Alpha course (ok this counts as somewhat personal).

5. Challenge your previous Alpha grads to invite 1 other person (also known as ‘the referral’ in marketing).

6. Create a culture of invitation at church by preaching and teaching about it.

7. Empower church members to catch the vision with testimonies of Alpha grads shared each Sunday.

8. Provide ready-to-go Alpha postcards with course start date, location and time for church members to pick up and distribute!.

9. Inform and inspire church members about Alpha by showing promo video clips and explaining what Alpha is!

10. Turn your Sunday morning service into a pilot run of Alpha with leaders and church members only, so they know what Alpha is and will feel comfortable inviting their un-churched friends to the fall course.

11. Send an email to individual friends about the next Alpha course and invite them to join you for one night!

12. Tweet (or Facebook wall-post) about it! Mention @AlphaCanada and you might just get re-tweeted. Here are a few suggestions:

The Meaning Of Life Is _______. Fill it in at htl.li/625lJ @alphacanada

Wonder about the Meaning of Life? Alpha provides a safe place to discuss. @alphacanada htl.li/625lJ

RT @ukalphacourse: What does the press say about the #AlphaCourse? http://ow.ly/65iat

Invited to #TheAlphaCourse but don't know what it is? One-minute intro from the UK originators: http://htl.li/5uo15

13. Include Alpha info in your Personal Blog! (is this allowed? Hey it’s your blog!)

14. Use the “Back to School” theme to appeal to parents; they can take the Alpha course as a way of continuing their spiritual education!

15. Target specific groups by bringing Alpha to them! To a Mom & Tots daytime group, to a Fitness Alpha Saturday morning group, to a young professional group at a Pub after work!

16. Balloons! Everyone loves balloons. Blow up bunches of balloons to display outside the church on your Alpha Sunday.

17. Advertise Alpha in your church bulletin and/or newsletter well in advance so people can reserve their Wednesday evenings for Alpha!

18. The Alpha outdoor banner, The Meaning of Life is _____. It’s free if you’re the first 150 churches to register your fall Alpha course.  Guaranteed to make them look.

19. Personal invitation from the Senior Church Pastor/Lead Pastor. If he/she endorses Alpha, people are more likely to join the team and attend the course!

20. Promote Alpha in the other departments and ministries of the church. Invite parents from the Kids Club to take Alpha. Invite water baptism members. Challenge the Youth Group to bring 1 friend to the Alpha course.

21. Host an Alpha Sunday which is totally dedicated to everything Alpha. Mini-breakfast before service, evangelistic sermon, Alpha course explanation, Alpha grad testimonies, small group discussion and sign up for the Alpha course!

22. Promote Alpha on the front page of your church website!

23. Encourage church Home Groups to run Alpha this fall and get familiar with the material. Then launch a new Alpha course in the community - in the local coffee shop, pub, campus, high school...!

24. Run Alpha as part of your Sunday School curriculum for youth, young adults and adults. Then launch a new Alpha course outside of the church on a midweek evening. 

Community advertising: 

25. Alpha posters! Add your church and course info, and post them everywhere legal. Libraries, community centres, laundromats, coffee shops, movie rental depots, etc.

26. City bus tailgates. Yes you can rent out space to promote Alpha!
We have about 5 or 6 churches joining us on a multi-prong ad campaign that includes the tailboards and a couple of radio stations. We are hoping and praying this will raise awareness regarding Alpha in our city, and that our courses will be full of those investigating the questions of life.  Ty McKenzie, Lawson Heights Alliance Church (Saskatoon, SK)

27. TV commercial ads. Pricey yes, but it has been done!

28. Radio station ads. 
Top Tip:  We went to our local Rogers TV station to tell them what Alpha is all about. We talked about the 9-5 job, trials in life, relationships, what we want to do with all of this at end of day etc.  

We invited the public to join our Alpha group and told them everyone is welcome. This went out to all the city of Barrie, Ontario!"  - Doris Beaumont (Barrie, ON)

29. Work with other churches in your area! There is strength in numbers (and finances, and leadership, and…) Click here to read ideas from churches in the Kitchener-Waterloo area!

30. Partner with local shops. They carry your Alpha business-card invite, and your church promotes their coffee shop business card.

31. Host an Alpha booth in your local shopping mall. Why not? The banks do it, cell phone providers and tax return assistance. Get permission from Mall Authorities first.

32. Alpha promo on city billboards.

33. Alpha promo on transit shelters.

Community events: 

34. Door to door blitz. Still effective. Customize the online postcards, print and distribute to every mailbox in your neighbourhood. (Note: We’re NOT a fan of tucking promo in car windshields!)

35. Free Community BBQ with Alpha sign up opportunity
Top Tip:  Every Sept, we have a free Community BBQ. Last time, the youth distributed 4700 flyers and we put up Alpha posters on telephone poles and other strategic spots. We also held a “Lucky Draw” which really appealed to the Asian community (rather than “Door Prizes”).  Nancy and Murray Lahn, Good Shepherd Community Church, Scarborough, ON

36. Host a family-related seminar or course such as The Parenting Teens Course or Parenting Children’s course and invite them to Alpha after the course is over.

37. Combine a Community Service Day with Alpha promo. Rake leaves, mow lawns, weed gardens, remove garbage – no donation accepted. Only 1 Alpha invitation in exchange for service.

38. Build an Alpha float for your Community Parade. Or just build one for fun and prop it up in front of your church. That will get their attention.

39. Partner with Labour Day events – wherever the people are, make sure Alpha is there. Hand out items with your Alpha course promo – gum, water bottles, sunscreen, etc. (Stay away from peanuts though)

40. Promote Alpha on your local Campus. Visit www.campusalpha.ca for more info and ideas!

Get creative! Think outside the box about the ways your church can raise the awareness of Alpha in your community. 

...and don't forget to Register Your Alpha Course so guests can find your course and sign up (or if you click "no to post online" you'll STILL get all the free benefits of registering your courses!)