"Mind the gap" : En studie av tidigare Alpha-deltagares relation till tro och församling

Sammanfattning: The study examines how former Alpha course participants reason about faith and church today by comparing participants who chose to become members of a local Uniting Church in Sweden with those who chose not to become members, after the completion of the Alpha course. It is the intention that this study will add to the dialogue, and challenge the notion of, using the Alpha course as a method of evangelism in the local church setting.  The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between the Alpha course and the local congregation in Uniting Church of Sweden in a particular context. The aim of the study is to investigate former Alpha course participants' own perceptions of the Alpha course's significance for them. Qualitative interviews were used as a method to obtain empirical material for the study, based on the following research question: How do former Alpha participants reason about faith and the local congregation today? The result of the study shows that there are three common themes that emerged when the former Alpha course participants reason about faith and church: community, faith and time. The clearest difference between participant who chose to become members of a local Uniting Church in Sweden with those who chose not to become members in a local church, is faith in Jesus.