The Alpha Course is a basic course aimed at presenting the core elements of our faith to those who are seeking to know and to discover more. It is specifically designed to help persons seeking answers in their life to do so in a Christian setting. This course is different from other traditional Christian courses since guests are not only there to listen but they are also invited to explore, to ask and to discuss in an informal environment. The course, which has been running in Malta for nearly 15 years, has broken new grounds in the area of evangelisation.
Whoever is familiar with the course will confirm that Alpha is informal, innovative and even fun. The normal teacher-student environment is replaced with a host-guest approach with a warm meal being served and plenty of room for discussion. During the ten weekly sessions, participants are not simply fed with information but they are given the chance to explore the beauty and relevance of Christianity in what has been described as a cafe-style environment. Over 19 million people around the world have taken an Alpha course. From five courses in 1992, Alpha courses now number over 60,000 and run in 169 countries with Alpha resources having been translated into 112 languages, including Maltese.
The Alpha Course is the main outreach of the City on a Hill Community, a small community of lay persons who came together to run the course for others after having benefitted from it themselves. As the Community continues to grow in love for Christ, it continues to reach out to persons who are searching for the true meaning of life through the organisation of the Alpha Course and other related outreaches. The community meets and runs the Alpha Course at the MSSP Oratory