About Start!

Start! by Robin Gamble is a six session basic introduction to the Christian faith. The sessions use a mix of video input, time to chat, simple discussion activities and space for reflection, in a style which is down-to-earth, enjoyable and honest.

It is for use in small groups. It is designed to help people:- think through where they are going in their lives; learn to ask questions about the Christian faith; discover the good news of Jesus; consider how they want to respond to it – and to him.

The sessions assume no previous knowledge of anything Christian and the course is sometimes used pre-Alpha.

Strengths:

Accessible, practical, user-friendly and avoids ‘churchy’ language.

Weaknesses:

The course is very basic and could seem patronising to a more sophisticated group.

COMMENTS

Liz Simpson – West Buckingham benefice I've used Start with a confirmation class of teens and adults. None of them had much Christian knowledge, & the one who had was able to share what she'd experienced with the others. I added bits about prayer, bible, church etc on at the end. They really enjoyed the video & booklets and the questions were good for getting them started. BUT - the next possible confirmation group I have are bright teenagers and I'm not intending to use it with them because I think it's too basic and might come over as patronising. It's really best for adults, too, although it worked fine with mixed ages. John Westall - Reading A good simple, straightforward, 'pre-Alpha'course.  It's very user friendly. A number of people in our church, who have no previous experience of facilitating a Christians basics course ran very successful START courses. START can be used with individuals in their homes and with bigger groups in a church setting. David Scurr (curate)  - St. Mary’s Church Thatcham I chose Start because it’s simpler than Alpha and is more suitable for people who have no previous understanding of the Christian faith. It is also very interactive and preparation time is kept to a minimum. It is also a shorter course than Alpha (6 weeks) and each session is only an hour long. Who do you think it is best used with? I tend to use it for people who want to be baptised or confirmed and people who are getting married. We also use it for anyone just enquiring about the Christian faith. What difference has it made to the wider life of your church? Start has become an integral part of our outreach and evangelism. We use start as a building block for Emmaus. Start has proven successful in bringing a number of people to faith as well as helping our own congregation brush up on the basics of the Christian faith.    How have you managed to find people each time - how does Start fit with your wider evangelism strategy? As co-ordinator for evangelism, it is my job to follow up any leads that get passed over to me by our parish administrator or the rest of the team. These are mainly from people who require Adult baptism or who are getting married. People who wish to be confirmed are also required to take the course. So far, over twenty people have been baptised and confirmed through Start, adding significantly to the life of our church. As mentioned before, we use Start in conjunction with Emmaus as part of our evangelism strategy. Phil Baul – High Wycombe We are START! in conjunction with baptism, requesting all those seeking baptism for children or themselves will participate in this course. It starts futher back than I feel Alpha does, and in that sense could possibly be used as a preparation for a course of instruction, that would help those attending further along the dicipleship road.  We have only just started using this course but have found that it does stimulate discussion and questions. Suzanne Knight - Chaplain to the CiR Women's Centre in Reading I used the START course at the CiR Women's Centre in Reading about 18 months ago and it was hugely successful.  Two of the women came to faith in God and for many others, their faith was renewed.  Some returned to church after many years and one went on to be confirmed last year.  We also held our first ever Baptism in the Centre, this was the child of a mother who attended the course.  The women who come to the Centre are from varying backgrounds.  Some are elderly, some have learning disabilities and most of them are vulnerable having particularly difficult lives.  The course needed to be adapted to suit but in the main we stuck to the material and had some lively and moving discussions.  We have been thinking about re-running the course this year, maybe in the autumn.  Those who did the course still talk about what they learnt and we frequently re visit the journey stage of the course to see how people are moving on.  Ed Hobbs - Newbury Why did you choose START - was it the material, the people you were seeking to reach or what? A mixture of a number of things really... partly the length... it's only six weeks partly the starting point, which is much further back than Alpha... What's life about? Is there a God? Before we get to Jesus? partly the material, which works well in a small group... two short video clips, some exercises, some bible study, a meditation. What were your reflections on the material and how did the group respond to it? The material basically went down well with the group... they enjoyed the tasks, they weren't just being talked at, or being expected to answer, there were things to do. If felt very unpressured and relaxed... especially over coffee and cakes! My own reflections on the material were that there were bits of it I ignored, some felt patronising (but that might depend on your group), others were not as clear theologically as I would have liked them to be. But it gave a good framework to branch out from! What difference did it make? We, as a church value having more than one different course to offer people. Some find Alpha too large, especially when we combined with other churches in the town, so it is good to have another option. Who do you think START is best aimed at and would you use it again? Yes, we are doing it again!  It's great for those who find Alpha too big, too long, too intellectual, too threatening, or that it makes too many assumptions. It worked very well in a small group, in someone's home.  It's great for a real range of ages (I'm going to use it as confirmation class material with some teens), and intellectual abilities.