Most courses run in the evening, but there are highly effective courses running in the morning and at lunchtime. The exact format and timings will vary depending on the venue and time of day, but as a guide a typical evening would run as follows:

6.30pm Preparation Meeting

The leaders and helpers meet to pray and prepare whilst the task force set up the venue. It is helpful to run through the evening, looking at the talk subject and useful questions for the small groups. It’s also a time to deal with any administration, such as the weekend away and celebration supper.

7pm Supper

The guests begin to arrive and supper is served.
Eating together is an essential part of the course as it gives people the chance to get to know each other in a relaxed way.

Sitting in the same small groups each week allows friendships to grow over the course – this is a great time to get to know the guests and to talk about their hobbies and the things they are interested in.

7.40pm Welcome

Welcome everyone, give out notices such as about the weekend or supper party, and advertise books from the reading list (try to avoid church notices that aren’t relevant to all the guests). Tell the all-important joke!

7.45pm Worship
As the course is a practical introduction to the Christian faith, each evening begins with a short time of worship.

See Worship on Alpha for more details.

8pm Talk
See The Talks for more information.

8.45pm Small Group Discussion
Coffee is served and people split into pre-arranged small groups, which they stay in for the duration of the course, to discuss the talk. The small groups consist of around eight guests, with one or two leaders and two helpers. Suggested topics for discussion are included in The Alpha Course Leaders’ Training Manual (available from the Alpha Australia Shop).
For more details on the role of the small group leaders and helpers, please see Training the Team.

9.45pm End
It is tempting to run over time if the discussion is going well, but this is generally a bad idea.
If the evening ends in the middle of a lively debate, the group tends to feel motivated to return next week.
Conversely, if the group ends late, it becomes a reason to drop out after a long day at work.