100 Years of Alpha
Join us for our Centennial Celebration May 15-17, 2025.
Let the Celebration Begin…In Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah calls for a time of celebration. He urges the people to come together and enjoy food and fellowship; to share with one another, and to rejoice in all that the Lord has done. He emphasizes that this is not a time for grieving but for celebrating, powerfully declaring, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Just as the people of Jerusalem needed their time of celebration, we also need times of celebration. This is why we eagerly anticipate the various holidays we celebrate throughout the year, as they provide essential times of rest, reflection, and joy.
Proverbs 17:22 tells us, “A cheerful heart does good like medicine,” and Proverbs 14:30 states, “A heart at peace gives life to the body.” Rest, thanksgiving, rejoicing, and celebrating are crucial for both individual health and church health. I firmly believe in the significance and power of the local church, and I pray that every Alpha church will be a healthy, strong, united, and joy-filled home, overflowing with the Lord’s presence. I also pray that the Alpha Conference will continue to plant such healthy churches across our region. If we are to be this type of healthy church, we need regular times of celebration. When we gather together next year, it will be our 100th Conference Session. This will be a time of remembering and celebrating one hundred years of life-changing ministry and of God’s great faithfulness. I believe this momentous event is worthy of more than one day of celebration.
So, I declare: let the celebration begin today and continue until we meet again next year. Let this be a time of remembering, proclaiming, and celebrating the hard-working, faithful saints who have gone before us, as well as the goodness and faithfulness of our powerful God. I pray that as we celebrate and remember all the Lord has done, we will be refreshed, encouraged, and strengthened. May the Lord use this time to bring health to us and build our faith, so that we can move into the future overflowing with hope, knowing that the Lord is not yet done with the Alpha Conference. – Bishop Jason Beiler