Bayith Home  |  Bayith BTR Articles  |  How To Support Bayith Ministries


The Hebrew word 'Bayith' can be translated in several ways but usually means 'house' or 'foundation'. Our ministry aims to be a welcoming house that helps to provide believers with foundational material to bless and encourage you.

©  Dusty Peterson & Elizabeth McDonald
Bayith Ministries
www.bayith.org  email: bayith@blueyonder.co.uk 
 

 
 

Alpha - the unofficial guide: Overview

For information about the World volume of the Unofficial Guide, please click here
For information about the Church volume of the Unofficial Guide, please click here

 

Alpha - the unofficial guide
OVERVIEW
A Whole New Study on the Alpha Course

 

PLEASE NOTE:
We began this project by writing a fairly large document simply called Alpha - the Unofficial Guide. To make it more manageable for readers, we split it down into two volumes called WORLD and CHURCH respectively.  During this process we realised that some folks will only need a précis of the material we had gathered, thus we created a third volume called OVERVIEW.
 

The OVERVIEW volume is essentially a summary of two larger books, although it also includes some advanced material which does not appear in the others.  (Further reasons for creating the OVERVIEW volume are listed in its Preface.)

Description from the Publisher:
Massively revised and improved since its initial release in 2001, the latest edition of OVERVIEW contains hundreds of refinements and extras - including profound additional insights and numerous updates. This graceful but powerful volume is now considered to be the ultimate assessment of the Alpha Course!

Alpha is taking over the world!

  • The Course is a favourite way to introduce the unsaved to the Christian church, and millions have already participated.

  • It has enjoyed explosive growth and is being used in over 150 countries and 35 languages.

  • It has proved straightforward to run and has precipitated a large number of testimonies.

For these reasons most groups conduct the Course largely 'as is' - without fully considering whether any aspects might be problematic. But many of the subjects covered by Alpha have eternal significance, and God calls us to be extremely diligent to make sure that everything we teach about His Kingdom is accurate (1 Timothy 4:13-16; James 3:1). We are dealing with men's souls, hence the Bible commands us to test "all things" regardless of their source (1 Thess. 5:21; Gal. 1:8), and even the apostle Paul encouraged his hearers to check what he said (1 Corinthians 10:15b; Acts 17:11).

In view of the awesome responsibility that we Christians have toward those we educate in the Lord, the author (along with a brother) has undertaken a prayerful, sincere, and very thorough review of the current Alpha Course. The findings are truly remarkable. Discover:

  • HTB's fascinating position regarding pagan religions and cults

  • The full breadth and depth of Alpha's relationship with Rome

  • The astonishing choice of official conversion testimonies

  • Nicky Gumbel's interesting stance on unity and truth

  • HTB's views on Scripture, Church history and the last days

  • The ingenious techniques used to get Alpha's message across

  • The surprising areas missed out of the Course material

  • The degree of Word-faith influence on Alpha's teachings

  • The incredible range of manifestations being reported

  • And more!

Packed with stunning extracts from Alpha resources, plus eye-opening quotes from attendees, this invaluable book also explains how the belief-system underpinning the Course holds together, and how it relates to Scripture.

Given the huge impact that Alpha is having on the Church, it is vital for all believers to grasp the nature of this extraordinary Course. If you are seeking a gracious and uncompromisingly biblical treatment of the subject then you need look no further. This gentle yet honest book is also a 'must' if you know anyone who is confused about issues like interfaith, ecumenism, social gospels, the 'prosperity' doctrine, 'TB' experiences - or how all these matters interlink.

The complete results of six man-years of research are available in a twin-volume Guide. The 160-Overview volume comprises a carefully-written distillation of this work (plus a new appendix with advanced material) and serves various purposes. It supplies a concise summary for those folk who need to access the principle points in a hurry, and it allows people to see if they, or any friends, would benefit from the main Guide. (Note that the Overview now documents each of its many Alpha-related quotes, and is substantially more comprehensive than anything else on the market.)

 

"A wonderful book ... very clear and balanced" (Jewel Grewe)

"Excellent ... discerning ... so good and so informative ... Offers the best and most extensive coverage" (Jerry Huffman)

"It will provide much needed help" (Stewart Dool)

"An excellent analysis" (Cephas Ministries)          "A great book ... A delight"  (R.S., pastor)

"I just can't praise this book enough" (A.W., evangelist)

 
   
   
   
How to order
alpha - the unofficial guide OVERVIEW is available direct from St Matthew Publishing Ltd (SMP) and can be ordered by phone (+44 1480 399098), email or letter (SMP Ltd., 1 Barnfield, Common Lane, Hemingford Abbots, Cambridgeshire, PE28 9AX, UK). The retail price is just £5.00 + £1.00 p+p. No money need be posted with your order; the publisher will send an invoice along with the book(s). Please be sure to send your name, address and telephone number with each order.
 
You can also obtain the OVERVIEW from the following outlets:
   
Official Distributors:

Canada:

Christ The Way: 43120 Eastwood Square, Kitchener, ON N2H 6S9, Canada.  Tel: +1 519 576 2600, Fax: +1 519 743 7441, www.Christtheway.ca, Email: info@Christtheway.ca

Australia

CWM (Australia): P.O.Box 353, Loch Sport, Victoria 3851, Australia. Tel: +61 3 5146 0280, Fax: +61 3 5146 0270, www.christian-witness.org, Email: epubs@christian-witness.org

Outlets / Advisors:

Americas

Discernment Ministries: P.O.Box 2535, West Layfayette, IN 47996, USA. Tel: +1 (765) 583 4799, www.discernment-ministries.org, Email: discernment@earthlink.net

Understand The Times: P.O.Box 27239, Santa Ana, CA, 92799, USA. Tel: +1 800 689 1888. Also P.O.Box 1160, Eston, Saskatchewan, Canada, SOl 1AO. Tel: 306 962 3672. www.understandthetimes.org, Email: roakland@aol.com. *Please note that Understand The Times gives fully-online purchasing options.*

Media Spotlight: P.O.Box 290, Redmond, WA 98073-0290, USA. www.swordpublishers.com, Email: ContactUs@MediaSpotlight.Org. *Please note that Sword Publishers gives fully-online purchasing options.*

Australasia

Margaret Godwin: P.O.Box 112, Trafalgar, Victoria 3824, Australia. Tel/Fax: +61 3 5633 2300, Email: marg@moriel.org or moriel@vic.australis.com.au

CWM (New Zealand): P.O.Box 15, 159 Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand. Tel: +64 9 528 4061, Fax: +64 9 528 4663, Email: frances@christian-witness.org

Europe

B. McCall Barbour: 28 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1ES, UK. Tel/Fax: +44 131 225 4816

Old House of Foye: 31-35 Fore Street, Fowey, Cornwall, PL23 1AH, UK. Tel/Fax: +44 1726 833712, www.btinternet.com/~foweychurch/church.html, Email: OldHouse@Foye.co.uk

Mustard Seed Bookshop: 2 Main Road, Gedling, Nottingham, NG4 3HP, UK. Tel: +44 115 987 9819

The Christian Bookshop: Sevenoaks Road, Pratts Bottom, Orpington, Kent, BR6 7SQ, UK. Tel: +44 1689 854117

NPN: P.O.Box 224, Swindon, SN6 7LG, UK. Tel: +44 7000 073373, Fax: +44 1793 861783, www.ChristianVideos.co.uk

Take Heed Ministries: P.O.Box 13, Ballynahinch, Co. Down, BT24 8AL, UK. Tel/Fax: +44 28 9756 5511, www.takeheed.net, Email: takeheed@aol.com

Ole Michaelson: Norrebjerget: 7100 Vejle, Denmark. Tel: +45 7572 3250, Email: olemic@post.10.tele.dk

Martin Kelly: P.O.Box 33, Donegaltown, Donegal, Eire

Amazon UK: www.amazon.co.uk

Africa

Elijah Ministries: P.O.Box 55468, Northlands 2116, Johannesburg, South Africa. Tel: +27 11 783 5082, Fax: +27 11 783 5079. www.elijah.co.za

Discernment Ministries: Helen Gevers, Suite 368, Private Bag X043, Benoni 1500, South Africa. Tel: (011) 425 2938.  www.discernment-ministries.org, Email: hgevers@absamail.co.za

Asia

Rev. Anthony Simon: P.O.Box 31699, Jerusalem, Israel 91316. www.voice-wilderness.com, Email: antony@inter.net.il

Diakrisis Book Services: c/o Suresh Surendran, 19 Rajasinghe Road, Wellawatte, Colombo 00600, Sri Lanka. Tel: +94 1 503519, Email: benetsurendran@netzero.net

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Webstats4U - Free web site statistics