First Baptist Church of North Middleboro
The Isaac Backus Memorial Baptist Church
"Worshipping God and proclaiming His Kingdom in the church and to the world..."
 

 
My Story…

In the autumn of 2004, I learned about an exciting opportunity to learn about God.  The program was called “Alpha” and it was held right here at First Baptist Church of North Middleboro.   As a former non-believer and someone who only went to church for a wedding, I found myself at a time in my life where I had to know whether or not God really existed.  I decided to go to Alpha only as a chance to really broaden my horizons so that I would more or less know why or why not I should believe in God.  I really didn’t go expecting to become a believer. 

Little did I know at the time what a profound change that Alpha would have on my life.                

For me, one of the reasons that Alpha worked so well in opening up my heart to Christ was the fact that the narrator of the videos, Rev. Nicky Gumbel, was a former non-believer himself.   Through his ability to relate to me as a non-believer, I noticed a lot of similarities that I shared with him regarding such questions as why the Bible is in fact a creditable historical document.  It was very easy to relate to Nicky, and his sense of humor really took the edge off and made me feel free to explore God a little more.

After watching each video, we would gather into a small discussion group where I noticed that others there had some of the same questions that I had about the Bible.  Since a good amount of the people in the group were already Christians, the fact that they too wanted to know about some of the things that I was wondering about helped to knock down the stereotype that I had always had regarding Christians:   I was under the misconception that it wasn’t proper to openly ask any questions about the Bible if you were indeed a believer. 

I also held onto the belief that all Christians had to be perfect people in order to be Christians. Based on that I thought, the chance of me ever considering myself to be a Christian was pretty far fetched.

The Alpha program promoted a relaxed atmosphere that allows those who attend a comfortable environment to ask questions about faith without feeling awkward. 

Through a series of short videos, some of the most common questions of non-believers and believers alike are addressed.  These include topics such as: “Why does God allow suffering,” and “Why did Jesus die,” among many others that people often contemplate but never seem to have the opportunity to ask anyone about.  At an Alpha meeting, the discussion groups allow you to consider these topics with others who share your interest but may not have had the chance before to talk openly about them before.  No one is pressured to speak either.

For me, Alpha was a chance to discover the joy of getting to know Jesus Christ at my own pace without any pressure whatsoever.  At every weekly meeting, I learned that I wasn’t alone in questioning some of the things I wanted to know about Jesus. 

Before Alpha, I had a very narrow view of God.  I wasn’t even sure if He existed.  I really had no idea why Jesus had died the way that he did.  As a matter of fact, I had never even opened the Bible. 

It was during one of the Alpha videos when I realized that I was ready to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I didn’t say anything to anyone about it at the time, and I was never made to feel that I HAD to accept Jesus either. 

So if you or anyone that you know is anything like I was, I would encourage you to consider the Alpha program.  It may be the most low key way to offer insight about God that I can think of.

Brian Soldevilla

First Baptist Church of North Middleboro
111 Plymouth Street
Middleboro, MA  02346
(508) 947-5382
office@fbcnm.org

Revised 25 Mar 2008
PM