Riding on the success of last year’s Alpha Initiative, Alpha Ministries Canada is launching "Invitation to the Nation 2004," a renewed advertising campaign that aims to raise Alpha’s profile and increase awareness of the program.

"Invitation to the Nation 2003" ran 345 billboard ads and 430 transit shelter signs, while in local areas 23,000 lawn signs were erected, and more than 1,000 church banners hung across the country.

As a result of last year’s initiative, courses across Canada grew by approximately 28 per cent, and more than 100,000 people got involved, says Susan Cockburn, director of field ministries for Alpha Canada.

"People today are spiritually hungry," says Cockburn. "Alpha offers a very non-threatening environment where people can come to see what Christianity is all about.

People don’t want to be told what to believe. Alpha courses provide an opportunity for them to hear information and talk about it, and the Holy Spirit works in people’s hearts."

Designed to present the message of Christianity in as non-threatening a manner as possible, the 10-week courses are relaxed and interactive, and usually include a dinner with each session.

Somehow, this simple formula seems to work-numbers are at an all-time high. According to Cockburn, this is largely due to the dramatic increase of public awareness resulting from 2003’s advertising campaign.

Awareness up
Awareness is up to 18 per cent-meaning an estimated 6,500,000 Canadians know about Alpha.

"People in marketing would say that the more familiar you are with the name, the less you’ll feel threatened by it," adds Cockburn. Last year’s billboards, lawn signs, posters, and media coverage ensured that Alpha wasn’t confined to Christian circles, but was an opportunity open to everyone.

This year, funky "car klingers" and Alpha balloons are the only addition to the advertising campaign, so churches will be able to reuse last year’s signs, keeping the cost to a minimum.