Answers to Frequently asked Questions

Where can I find my local Alpha course?

Please note that "AlphaLocal" is not the official repository of available Alpha courses. To find a course near you, please visit the UK alpha website and follow the "Find a course" link. (Or use the button at the top right of this page)

What is the "AlphaLocal" website

AlphaLocal is a "portal" website. In other words, it brings together the information from many other websites and provides a single point of access. Think of it a like a shopping centre - lots of shops all under one roof.

AlphaLocal is like the shopping centre. It provides an environment where regional and local Alpha teams can lay out their "wares", publish information about themselves and their activities, and share information amongst their Alpha team.

AlphaLocal makes it very easy for teams to do this, regardless of how much or how little experience they have of the web. That's because it takes care of all the "web" side of things - i.e the "look" of your pages, the Alpha branding, and so on. In fact all you need to be able to do to create your team website at AlphaLocal is be able to type your information into our simple text editor.

I have an Alpha Team, but how do I publish our information at AlphaLocal?

Easypeasy! First step is to sign-up for an account by clicking on the "Register" link in the main menu bar. During this simple process you'll need to think of an ID for your team, and once you've completed it your team will have its own space in our database.

From that point on all you need to do is log in securely by following the "login" link; which will take you to your Admin Console. The Admin Console is mission control for your website - here you can add and remove articles and items of information (we call them "snippets").

We do most of the hard work for you - for example, when you add news items and forthcoming events, they are listed in order for visitors to your site. And when they've gone out of date, we remove them automatically! That makes it easy to keep your site alive with fresh information.

What does it cost to set up my pages at AlphaLocal?

Nothing, Nada, Zilch! Currently it costs nothing to set up and host your site here, as one of the key aims is to make it simple and cost effective to publish information about local Alpha teams - something that most churches do not have much budget for.

Running your own website and domain name could be costly. For a hosted service, such as ChurchInsight, you'll pay between £50 and £1000 (yes one thouand!) per MONTH! Even a home made website will cost in the region of £100 - £200 a year, and using AlphaLocal saves you that expense. In time AlphaLocal may introduce a system of donations to help cover the genuine costs of running the site, server and bandwidth; but the long-term objective is there should be no obligatory charges for creating an account/site.

What are the benefits of using Alpha Local?

The many benefits include:

• It's free
• It's simple to use
• The hard work is done for you - all you need to do is write your "copy"
• It's listed in google, so search engine users will be able to find you easily
• You get easy access to the graphics collection we're building
• You can link your team to its parent/child teams
• It's the fastest way to communicate what your Alpha team is up to

What's the Internet Address (URL) of my team's site?

By default all teams/groups will have an internet address of http://www.alphalocal.org.uk/home/localalpha/group/?group=[your group name]
simply replace [your group name] with your group ID (that's the name you log in with).

You may notice that some groups have a shortcut address, such as http://cambridgeshire.alphalocal.org.uk

Not only are these addresses easier to remember and bookmark, but they are also beneficial to search engines, and will boost your site's search engine position.

If you'd like this type of address for your site, you need to contact the webmaster separately to request it - unfortunately it is not possible to automate the setup of these addresses. But all you need to do is ask, and we can have one set up in a few hours. You short address would be of the form YOURTEAMID.alphalocal.org.uk

Can I see a demonstration of AlphaLocal?

Yes. We've created a demonstration site so you can see how Alpha Local can be used to communicate about your Alpha team, Alpha course and related activities. You can see how it's possible to build a simple but attractive website - and remember, it's all done from your internet browser - no software to load or programs to learn.

View the demonstration site at demo.alphalocal.org.uk

I'm not sure the standard 'snippet types' meet my needs - what can I do?

All team sites automatically get the standard snippets (about us, contacts, news etc.) However, you are in full control over whether these are published or not. If you have a special case for requiring a different snippet type, then contact the webmaster. The Alphalocal system has been designed to be expandable and support other snippets on a case by case basis. This might occur, for example, if you bring your content over from another webiste, where it contained more information and was structured differently.

We encourage users to try and stick to the standard setup if possible, but can cater for special requirements.

The text is a bit small on this site - can I change it?

Yes. This site has been designed with accessibility in mind. We appreciate the default text is quite small, but you can use the text-size settings of your browser (in Internet Explorer this is the View » Text-Size menu) to view this site with different text sizes.

Tips on Prayer Ministry in the Alpha context

[supplied by Trevor Golding]

Ask open-ended questions.

• e.g. Would you like me to pray with you or would you like to wait, or just be quiets etc.
• Give them an 'escape route'.

Ask "What would like me to pray for?"

• Be aware that they may want to make/pray a prayer of commitment - if so it's good to get them to say the prayer themselves with you leading or listening.
• Pray for them afterwards and ask for God's Holy Spirit to fill them.
• Pray for what they ask - then, if it is appropriate, ask if there is anything else they would like you to pray for.
• Keep your eyes open and watch as you pray for them.
• Ask if they mind if you 'lay hand on them' as you pray.
• Encourage them to open their hand as a sign of receiving

Keep your prayers short and specific.

Be open to what God may say to you for them.

• It may be an impression, picture or word that comes to you.
• Anything that you say should be encouraging and up-building
• Always affirm them - do not condemn.

God does the work - we just co-operate

• God wants to work through us
• We don't do the filling/healing - It is God who does the work
• We need to just be obedient
• If you find it difficult ask for help.
• Prayer ministry is not just for guests - If you would like someone to pray with you please ask.

Remember

• Men to pray with men and women with women.
• If not possible pray in pairs.
• Be careful where you put your hands!
• Confidentiality is essential.

Helpful Scriptures

• Repentance Psalm 51
• Fear Psalm 91
• Anxiety Philippians 4: 6-7
• Guidance Psalm 37: 5
• Temptation 1 Corinthians 10: 13