Alpha

Alpha began at Holy Trinity Brompton in London in 1977. In 1990 Nicky Gumbel reshaped it into something aimed at people outside the church: a meal, a talk, and a conversation in which any question is allowed.

The format has since travelled through Catholic parishes, Orthodox and Protestant churches, prisons and universities in more than 175 countries. Alpha is given away rather than sold — the talks, the tools and the training are free, and any church can run it.

In Poland it is run by Stowarzyszenie Alpha Polska, with a national office in Kraków, Polish materials, training for Alpha teams and a separate track written for Catholic parishes.

• Started
  1977, at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) church in London
• Turning point
  1990, when Nicky Gumbel reshaped it as a course for people exploring faith from outside the church
• Based in
  HTB, Brompton Road, London SW7 1JA
• Behind it
  Alpha International, a registered charity in England and Wales (1086179) and in Scotland (SC042906)
• Reach
  Over 37 million people, in more than 175 countries, in over 100 languages, by their own reporting
• Cost
  Free. In their words: anyone can run Alpha, anywhere, for free — talks, tools and training included
• Churches
  Used across Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Pentecostal churches alike
• Polish
  Yes — Stowarzyszenie Alpha Polska, national office at ul. Juliusza Lea 55, 30-052 Kraków, tel. +48 780 177 740, site polska.alpha.org. Polish materials, team training and a dedicated Catholic track
• Current leadership
  Not named on their public pages. Nicky Gumbel is credited there as the person who developed the course into its present form
• What we checked
  The reach figures, the charity numbers and the free-to-run policy come from alpha.org. The Polish office, address and phone number come from the Polish Alpha site

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