Alpha South Africa Annual Review 2016

Stories 

FROM SOUTH AFRICA 

Alpha South Africa 

Annual Review 2016

STORIES from South Africa 


WHY? 

(DO WE EXIST) 

To play our part in the reevangelism 

of the Nations, the 

revitalisation of the Church, and 

the transformation of Society 

WHAT? 

(DIFFERENCE DO WE LONG TO MAKE) 

To break the chains of poverty 

and injustice by offering each 

person in South Africa an 

encounter with Jesus on Alpha 

through the local church 

HOW? 

(ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS) 

We innovate and sharpen tools 

for serving and equipping the 

local church in its mission of 

kingdom expansion and living out 

God’s distinct call on the Church 

of South Africa 

ALPHA’s IMPACT 

The Barna Group recently conducted a global impact 

study for Alpha, exploring the effectiveness and 

impact of Alpha in the lives of those who attend Alpha 

and run its courses. 200 churches were surveyed 

across a variety of denominations and 11 countries 

worldwide, made up of church leaders, hosts and 

helpers, guests and course administrators, between 

February and August 2016. 

GOD AT THE MARGINS 

by Jeremy Jobling, Alpha South Africa National Director 

God is very present on the margins of society and as the Church bravely steps into the 

places of deepest brokenness we encounter Jesus in profound ways. As we serve the 

local church in every aspect of life in South Africa, our team has experienced the truth of 

this through the many stories of transformation we hear on the streets, in the prisons, the 

schools, universities and every place where the Church is called to go. We hope that you, 

like us, are changed as you read some of the stories of transformed lives and communities 

told in this booklet. 

Thank you to the countless churches across this nation who are bringing ‘Good News to 

the poor’ through Alpha. Thank you to the many staff members and volunteers on our 

team who commit themselves to play a part in this vision. Thank you to those who give 

generously of their resources to enable Alpha’s growth across SA. Each one of you is part 

of Team Alpha! 

We are excited about all that God has in store for 2017! 

with thankfulness from the whole team 

95% 

of guests felt Alpha 

positively impacted 

their lives 

79% 

of guests would 

recommend Alpha to 

their friends 

81% 

of guests felt the love of 

Jesus 

58% 

of guests encountered the 

Holy Spirit 

54% 

of guests experienced 

personal transformation 

90% 

of guests said they had a 

more intimate relationship 

with Jesus after Alpha 

93% 

of churches would 

recommend Alpha to 

another church 

95% 

of churches state that 

Alpha is an effective tool 

for evangelism 

2 

With gratitude to the annual review creative team: Linda Martindale, Margie Jansen & Wayne Eaves 

Design and layout by wedotcreate.com 

3

UK 

9,500 

churches ran 

Alpha 

USA 

517,000 

people did Alpha 

including over 

70,000 youth 

COLOMBIA 

177% 

growth in Alpha in 

a Catholic context: 

4,750 participants 

ALPHA’S GLOBAL 

FOOTPRINT: 2015 

FRANCE 

240 

schools ran 


LATIN AMERICA 

62% 

growth in Alpha Youth 

across Mexico, Colombia, 

Argentina and Brazil: 17,182 

participants 

AFRICA 

42% 

growth in Alpha 

participants 

SYRIA 

ALEPPO 

Throughout the war, 

Alpha ran in Syria’s 

capital 

KENYA 

10,000 

youth did Alpha through 

a partnership with 

Compassion International 

ZAMBIA 

58 

ran Alpha in every 

prison in the country 

INDIA 

700,000 

participants 

38,000 

leaders 

trained 

MALAYSIA 

40,000 

people did 


AUSTRALIA 

39% 

growth in youth and 

university student 

Alpha participants: 

13,563 

people 

KEY 

Office (57) 

Hub (6) 

HQ 

4 

5



JUST IN TIME 

Jacky Hendry seemed to have it all together... a fun-loving 

personality, happy marriage, beautiful children. Yet deep 

down something was bothering her, she was in serious debt 

and could not shake this sinking feeling. 

home to God’. 

Attending Alpha really opened her 

eyes to who Jesus was and is. Jacky 

tells how she and Bruce, her husband, 

were amazed by the patience that the 

Alpha facilitators showed them, how 

no question was out of bounds. The 

gentleness and kindness led them to 

see that following Jesus was not about 

keeping rules, that they were endlessly 

loved, and that grace and love were 

present at the cross. 

Alpha. The family’s journey with Christ 

really began through reading the Alpha 

introduction booklet, prior to this neither 

Jacky nor Bruce had read the Bible. She 

credits the booklet with giving her a 

good platform, and Alpha for giving her 

a hunger for Christ. 

Even after having gone through Alpha 

six times, Jacky talks about how she 

still learns something every time. The 

opportunities and doors that Jesus has 

opened for the Hendrys since coming to 

faith have both completely overwhelmed 

and surprised the family. ● 

After a number of weeks of feeling 

deeply depressed she decided to 

end her life. She intended to go out to 

Knysna Heads and drive her vehicle over 

the edge and into the ocean. God had 

other plans for her. 

Jacky recalls somehow finding her vehicle 

stopped by the side of the road at the 

Knysna Heads when her cellphone rang. 

It was the mother of a friend, phoning to 

invite Jacky and her husband to Alpha 

at her local church. This interruption 

disrupted her thoughts and she decided 

not to follow through on her plan. 

Alpha was to be the beginning of Jacky 

and her family’s journey with Jesus. 

Starting the Alpha course with great 

suspicion and ending up with a life altered, 

a family changed and renewed purpose. 

Jacky recalls how, during her childhood, 

she and her mother had moved around a 

great deal, never having much money and 

needing assistance from the Salvation 

Army, amongst others. She developed a 

great suspicion of religious types during 

those difficult years, believing it was all 

the same thing as they all just ‘phoned 

...the gentleness and 

kindness led them to 

see that following Jesus 

was not about keeping 

rules, that they were 

endlessly loved, and 

that grace and love were 

present at the cross. 

The Holy Spirit weekend was an 

experience that invited Jacky deeper 

into her journey with Jesus. Over this 

time they began attending the Knysna 

Vineyard church with Pastor James Van 

Heerden. After coming to Christ the 

family have helped run five Alphas and 

recently Bruce started running Youth 

6 

7



TURNAROUND TIME 

NEW HOPE 

Vusi Manganyi grew up in one of the South Africa’s toughest 

neighbourhoods, where many young men turn to crime due 

to a combination of peer pressure, a high school-dropout 

rate and poverty. By the age of 22, he was taking drugs 

regularly, and was involved in car theft and hijacking. 

At the age of 26 he was arrested for a 

number of crimes. After 15 months in 

awaiting trial cells he was sentenced 

to 12 years in prison at the notorious 

Johannesburg Central Prison. 

Inside Johannesburg Central Prison they 

have a very active Alpha program, and 

Vusi found himself drawn to this. From the 

time of his first meeting, he was hooked, 

finding himself completely blown away by 

the love of God and the open honesty of 

the Alpha team working in the prison. 

Vusi says he was never really a church 

goer as a young man, so had little to no 

knowledge of the Bible. His mother was 

always a strong follower of Christ though, 

and did her best to instil those values into 

Vusi and his siblings. 

The Alpha team helped Vusi answer 

the questions about his life that he had 

struggled with over years, and gave 

him hope and answers. The personal 

interactions with the team leaders and 

group co-ordinators, as well as a good 

grounding in the word of God from the 

Alpha introductory booklet, helped him 

understand. Even prior to the Alpha 

course ending, Vusi had begun preaching 

regularly in the prison and was seeing his 

life turn around. 

He accepted Christ just before the Holy 

Spirit encounter time and after this he 

noticed how his life began to change 

even more. Preaching regularly in the 

The Alpha team helped 

Vusi answer the 

questions about his life 

that he had struggled 

with over years, and gave 

him hope and answers. 

church and helping to run and coordinate 

Alpha inside the prison, Vusi saw his 

prison sentence halved, and six years 

later he was a free man. 

Free and determined to follow God, Vusi 

found a job and over the next few years, 

met a woman who is now his wife, and was 

able to purchase a vehicle. As he says: 

“I have a ring on my finger, a beautiful 

wife, a job and a car, the Lord has been 

so good to me”. Taking the course of his 

life into consideration it is little surprise 

that Jeremiah 29:11 has become his life 

verse: “For I know the plans I have for 

you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper 

you and not to harm you, plans to give 

you hope and a future (NIV).” ● 

Rina’s life was changed by a kindly friend 

who invited her to church and here she 

began to discover Jesus and community. 

Her friend signed her up for Alpha, and 

Rina’s life took an unexpected turn. Alpha 

created spaces for her to ask the hard 

questions about her life as it was now; 

space to challenge and wrestle with what 

she was going through. 

The Alpha team at her local church, 

especially the team leaders, made 

her feel incredibly comfortable and 

welcome. “No topic was out of bounds,” 

she says, and she was always made 

to feel important and that she had an 

opinion that was worth engaging. The 

group quickly became like close friends 

and family to her. Even over the course 

of the Alpha Holy Spirit weekend, when 

11 years ago Rina was involved in a terrible car accident 

and the doctors gave her no hope of a full recovery. The 

accident left her in a wheelchair. Initially the doctors 

did not believe that she would survive. Daily life was a 

struggle, and she suffered great brokenness in terms of 

her loss of quality of life as well as what it meant for her 

future. “It became difficult to deal with even the smallest 

changes,” she says. 

Through Alpha, Rina 

found Jesus and an 

eternal love; a love that 

offers liberation from 

the past and hope for 

the future. 

the premises did not have wheelchair 

access and she felt extremely vulnerable 

and anxious, her group and the leaders 

made her feel like everything was going 

to be alright. 

By the end of Alpha, Rina felt as though 

she found healing, in some ways both for 

her soul as well as for her body. She had 

found acceptance among other people 

and a love that went beyond what she 

expected. Through Alpha, Rina found 

Jesus and an eternal love; a love that 

offers liberation from the past and hope 

for the future. 

With Alpha the training of group leaders 

and co-ordinators is vitally important. 

They are the glue that keeps the groups 

together, gives space for questions 

and differences of opinions, and holds 

the space well when things get tough. 

We are so grateful to God for all those 

who volunteer with Alpha and to God 

for people like Rina, who join us on this 

journey of faith, overcome fears and walk 

into a new day with Jesus. ● 

8 

9



AGAINST ALL ODDS 

At the age of nine, Martin Mandu and some of his friends 

were caught shoplifting and selling the stolen goods at 

school. It was the start of a journey with crime that reflected 

the odds stacked against him from day one. 

The home into which Martin was 

born was a dysfunctional one, with 

his mother running a tavern from the 

family residence and his father in jail. 

Over the next few years this shoplifting 

escalated to housebreaking and 

mugging. Martin speaks about how he 

grew up around violence and saw that 

it was only the local gangsters rising 

above their circumstances, that kind of 

lifestyle being his only way out. A series 

of events unfolded that culminated 

in Martin being under suspicion for a 

number of crimes, ranging from alleged 

rape to theft of railway tracks. 

A number of court cases led to 

Martin being sentenced to six years 

in Leeuwkop prison. It was here that 

Martin’s life would take a dramatic 

turn. Having only ever attended church 

three or four times in his life, usually in 

the hopes of meeting women, he says, 

he found himself invited to Alpha in 

the prison where he was serving his 

time. After resisting at first, he found 

out that meals were served at every 

meeting, and he decided to go along. 

He describes how up until this point his 

life had felt devoid of love and he had 

given up on the idea of love. 

Alpha shocked him. Inside that prison, 

Martin says he discovered the love of 

God, and through the person of Jesus, 

he felt and experienced real love for 

the first time in his life. The Alpha 

booklet was his first introduction to the 

Word of God. Prior to this, he had never 

read the Bible, or owned one, but he 

says that the introductory booklet gave 

him a foundation for the future and 

opportunities to ask questions and feel 

free. For the remainder of his sentence 

Martin assisted with the running of 

Alpha in the prison, and he even began 

to preach regularly to other inmates 

and at the prison chapel. 

Upon his release Martin connected 

with a local pastor who recognised the 

passion and desire for God. He now 

runs his own business, regularly gets 

to travel and share his testimony, and 

is in the process of setting up his own 

ministry for other young men who have 

grown up in difficult circumstances. 

Inside that prison, Martin 

says he discovered the 

love of God, and through 

the person of Jesus, he felt 

and experienced real love 

for the first time in his life. 

An invitation for a free meal ended up 

being an experience that has altered his 

life forever. Going to the difficult places 

and answering Jesus’ call to visit those 

in prison, Martin now lives a new life. 

As he reminds people constantly, from 

those who are forgiven much, much is 

required (Luke 12:48). ● 

Tell us a little bit about your 

background and life? 

I come from Durban, but grew up in Greytown. 

I was the third of five children and we all grew 

up with my mom alone as my dad passed away 

when I was six years old. She raised us under 

God’s hand. Growing up was difficult because 

sometimes she didn’t even know what she 

would give us to eat, and would tell us to pray. 

Sometimes she would leave the house to go 

in search of food for us. My mom is still alive 

today and such a blessing. I have three sons 

and a granddaughter. 

What made you come to Alpha? 

One of my sons joined an Alpha first and 

then when I saw it advertised I thought, “Why 

not give it a try?” I did not know what it was 

about, but had heard that I could ask whatever 

questions I wanted to. Many times I had asked 

God questions, but felt guilty about it. But 

when invited to Alpha, I thought I would try. 

What was your life like before 

Alpha? 

We grew up in a Christian home with Christian 

values, but at around the age of 19 I became 

severely ill and no doctors could find out 

what the problem was. I was in second year 

of college, trying to write my final exams. I 

could not walk without crutches and could 

only move my head and one arm. I went for a 

back operation, which was not a success and I 

ended up having to use crutches permanently. 

I was desperate and started looking for hope 

in other places. This led me to train to become 

It is all clear now 

LINDA MAGUBANE 

a sangoma, a journey I do not wish for anyone. 

My back healed and I walked without a stick. 

This made me believe that I was doing the 

right thing and that being a sangoma was 

my calling. After some time I realised I was 

possessed and wasn’t controlling my own 

actions. I felt like a robot. 

What changed for you? 

I started praying again, telling God that I didn’t 

want to be doing this anymore. I had been 

doing it for eight years by then. I told God that 

if He had given me a gift, was there another 

way to use it? God was working in His own 

ways. My family were also praying for me at 

the time. They took all my things that involved 

my life as a sangoma and burned them. They 

came to where I was and prayed for me, and 

burned the rest of my sangoma things. I felt 

lighter after that and felt more able to socialise 

with people again. In 2014 I met a friend who 

I had gone to college with, and she invited me 

to her church. When I was there I accepted 

Jesus into my life, but was struggling and the 

church was far from my home. Then someone 

from the Sharks Board invited me to the Grace 

Family Church and I started going there. 

What was your experience of 

Alpha? 

Before Alpha, when I tried to pray, I could feel 

that there were forces against me and I felt 

like I couldn’t communicate with God. When 

I arrived at Alpha, a lot of things changed. 

Although I was not always aware of the change 

at first, I could feel something slowly shifting. 

There are things that I thought I knew, growing 

up in a Christian home. For example, I thought 

I knew what the Holy Spirit was but being on 

Alpha showed me that I actually didn’t know. 

After the weekend away, I experienced peace 

like I’ve never felt before; I really can’t explain 

what it felt like. It was as if God removed 

something. I now know that in every situation, 

God is there. Everything may not be smooth 

sailing, but I know that God is with me and He 

cares about me. 

What impact did Paradigm Shift 

have on your life? 

I already knew how to sew because my mother 

taught me when I was six years old. I wanted to 

make something out of my talent, and also had 

to find ways of making a living as I had to retire 

at the age of 30 due to ill health. Paradigm 

Shift helped me with basic business skills, 

as well as how to handle customers. Even 

though my business has not changed much 

yet, (due to my ill health) how I view my work 

has changed a lot because of what I learned. 

I went to Paradigm Shift before I did Alpha, 

and I wish it had been the other way around, 

because I did it when I was still very cluttered 

and unsettled. Now that I have done Alpha, 

everything is clear. 

What advice do you have for 

others? 

I want to encourage people to do Alpha. Just 

do it. If you have doubts, don’t let them hold 

you back because you have nothing to lose but 

everything to gain. 

10 

The Paradigm Shift Program is a tool that connects business men and women within 

the church to micro-entrepreneurs in poor communities. shiftingparadigms.org 11



FORGIVEN 

On August 3rd, 2008, Keith Upton was cycling with a 

group of friends in single file early in the morning. A 

driver travelling at high speed ploughed into the group. 

Keith was severely injured in the accident. 

Keith could not sleep on any side of his 

shoulders for eight months after the 

accident and had a terrible headache for 

months. The driver, despite his vehicle 

being almost a write-off, did not stop to 

attend to the injured. He drove off down 

the road with flat tyres, buckled wheels, 

broken glass and badly damaged 

bodywork. He handed himself over to 

the police three days after the accident. 

Keith asked many questions afterwards 

as he struggled to come to terms with 

the incident emotionally, and anger was 

eating away at him. Why did the culprit 

drive off with no contact afterwards and 

no apologies? 

Some six years later, as a member of the 

Grace Family Church, Keith signed up 

for an Alpha course. He was assigned 

to a group to discuss each week’s video 

session. After the first week a friend 

moved to another group and simply told 

Keith they had moved him too. Imagine 

Keith’s surprise when sitting opposite 

him in the new group was the hit-andrun-driver. 

He did not recognise Keith, 

but the cyclist immediately knew it was 

him. He did not say anything during the 

session but waited until afterwards and 

spoke to the group leader, who set up a 

meeting for the driver and him to meet 

at the church outside of Alpha. They did 

so the following week, with the group 

leader present. The accident had played 

over and over in his mind a thousand 

times, and Keith discovered it had been 

the same for the driver too. 

“I looked straight at the driver and told 

him I forgive him. I had not gone to the 

meeting with that intent. The look on his 

face when he heard this was a mixture 

of surprise and relief. It was shortly after 

this that he apologised to me. Perhaps 

that was what I had been waiting for the 

past six years. We ended the meeting 

with a hug and went on our way.” 

Keith believes God was at work in 

bringing the offender and victim face 

to face. At the time of the accident, the 

driver followed a different religion, and 

became a Christian four years later. He 

lived in a different area, but decided 

to join the Grace Family Church in 

Umhlanga and sign up for that specific 

Alpha course. Keith was only assigned to 

the group of which the driver was a part, 

a week later. 

Keith believes God was 

at work in bringing the 

offender and victim face 

to face. 

“The driver came to me a week after our 

conversation in which I forgave him and 

said that because I had forgiven him, he 

was now able to forgive others who had 

wronged him in the past, something he 

was never able to do,” Keith said. 

Through that courageous conversation 

and Alpha he was changed and freed 

from the chains of the past. His anger 

had gone and he is no longer a victim he 

says. “I can no longer pursue my love of 

road cycling and racing, but that is ok as 

my mind is at peace. God is with me. I am 

a much happier person,” Keith said. ● 

That was the best decision ever! I 

enjoyed the course from the first day 

and when I heard about the Holy Spirit 

weekend I knew I was going to attend. 

The weekend came and when the 

Alpha team prayed for guests, I was 

just so hungry to be filled with the Holy 

Spirit and when I was, I broke into tears 

for what felt like forever. After the tears 

came a significant period of calm and 

peace. On that day, after almost my 

A NEW PEACE 

AYANDA KULA 

I am from Orlando West, Soweto. I have been a Christian 

for as long as I can remember, but as a teenager I suffered 

from depression, eventually being diagnosed with major 

depression in 2011. During that time I felt that the church 

might not be my home for much longer ... and then I 

heard about the Alpha course and decided to try it. 

whole life as a Christian, I had my very 

first personal experience of the Holy 

Spirit, which has changed me. 

My life still has many challenges, but 

since that weekend away I have a 

renewed faith. I know that I am a work 

in progress and I truly understand that 

greater is He who is in me than he that 

is in the world. I know without a shadow 

of doubt that my Redeemer lives. ● 

12 

13



No longer a stranger 

Originally from Mozambique, Layce Leviano had not been in 

Nelspruit, South Africa long when a man called Junior invited 

him to Alpha at his church. “I knew no-one and I couldn’t 

speak a word of English, so was a little bit lost,” he explains, 

“but was glad to go, and met people bit by bit.” 

His plan to go to White River and stay 

with cousins when he first arrived did 

not work out; something Layce now 

believes was part of God’s plan to 

change his life as he needed to meet 

the people to whom he was introduced: 

“I think it was all part of God’s plan as he 

was calling me.” 

“I also met Michelle from the Methodist 

Church and she introduced me to more 

people,” says Layce, who started to feel 

more at home as he joined a small group. 

He shared his story about his life in 

Mozambique and the hard parts about his 

family with the group. “They prayed for 

me and it meant so much to me and made 

me feel welcome,” he says. “We prayed 

for my complicated relationship with my 

father, who I have not spoken with in four 

years, and we are waiting to see what is 

going to happen as God answers.” 

Layce was 23 years old when he got his 

first Bible and it has become a treasured 

possession. “I even sleep with my Bible 

as I fall asleep reading it,” he laughs, “and 

I now know God and feel safe.” He has 

also downloaded an English version on 

his phone and it is helping him improve 

his English at the same time. “I can say 

that the Bible, Alpha, Jesus Christ, God – 

have changed my life and now I’m looking 

forward to helping people, to change 

their lives, as mine was changed.” 

I now know God 

and feel safe. 

He has made many new friends since 

being in South Africa and has a desire 

to see them all find the peace and love 

of God the way he has. “Sometimes they 

will come to church with me, but most 

don’t have Jesus Christ in their heart,” 

he says, “but I would like to help them all 

get closer to the church so they can have 

the opportunity to meet Jesus too.” He 

believes strongly that things are changing 

though. “I participated in Youth Alpha this 

year and invited everyone I could to join 

in, and I think I made a difference because 

some said yes, they are happy, they are 

now coming to church and I can see their 

lives are going to change.” ● 

FILLING THE VOID 

VANESSA NAIDOO 

I was a ‘closet Christian’ for the 20 years of my marriage 

to a Hindu, following the Hindu traditions and rituals. I did 

this as I thought it best at the time and I did not want my 

children growing up without any belief-system. I always 

felt a void and I knew that there was something missing 

in my life. I attended church on Christmas Eve each year 

in the hopes of finding it. 

I then moved to another area and started 

looking for a church nearby. My cousin 

and his wife belonged to St. Martin’s, 

Durban, and I was curious and visited 

the church. A friend returned from a 

Holy Spirit weekend in February 2015 

and was so excited about his encounter 

with God. I was inspired by his passion 

for Christ and all that had transpired at 

the weekend. 

In August 2015, I attended my first 

Alpha and Holy Spirit weekend and I was 

radically transformed. I already knew 

that God loved me, because He lifted me 

from bottomless pits over and over again, 

but what I did not know was the enormity 

of His love. I laid all of me before Him. I 

accepted Jesus as my personal Lord 

and Saviour and he showed me healing 

and restoration that I never thought 

was possible. I cried uncontrollably, not 

I already knew that God 

loved me, because he lifted 

me from bottomless pits 

over and over again, but 

what I did not know was 

the enormity of His love. 

knowing or understanding why. I was not 

beaten, I did not hurt myself, so why all 

the tears? Little did I know that He was 

wiping my slate clean. 

I was always afraid to pray out loud and 

now I have become more comfortable 

doing so. I find myself praying in the 

shower, sitting on the bench, while 

driving, it is crazy! For the first time I 

go to bed not feeling anxious about 

tomorrow. Hallelujah, all praise to our 

God. He loves me! I still get goose bumps 

when I revisit that moment. 

I am happy, I feel lighter in my spirit 

and can worship and read my Bible 

without the fear of being condemned or 

feeling guilty or even of my Bible being 

hidden. I still face challenges on a daily 

basis, however I have the confident 

assurance that God is with me and He 

will bring me through, and even more so 

because I am part of a loving and warm 

spiritual family to whom I can turn to at 

all times in my time of need. I feel loved, 

supported and cherished by them. They 

pray for me and with me – a symbol of 

God’s amazing grace. ● 

14 

15



We found the sessions 

deep, relevant and 

engaging, and something 

that would help all 

couples getting ready for 

marriage. 

Both Dave and Karlien found this to be so 

helpful and vital to their vibrant marriage. 

“The amount of information provided 

along with the interactive nature of the 

video sessions helped us so much both 

pre- and post-marriage,” says Dave. 

MAKING THINGS NEW 

Devon Janse van Rensburg had one request when he and 

his girlfriend were approached to attend an Alpha course 

at the Grapevine Christian Fellowship in Kenridge. 

DAVE HOBBS 

After the proposal, Dave Hobbs and his then fiancé Karlien, 

sought pre-marriage counselling at their church. A couple 

agreed to help them work through a course, but they 

felt it did not meet their need for deeper discussion and 

process. At the end of the course, the couple asked Dave 

and Karlien if they would like to do another one, which 

may be more suited to their needs. This one was the Alpha 

pre-marriage course. 

He recalls one session in particular where 

he and his fiancé had a big argument just 

before arriving at their host’s house for 

the next session. As they sat down the 

video required that they do an exercise 

telling the other person five things about 

their partner that they absolutely love. 

Their hosts left them to do this session 

by themselves. 

The walls came down and the argument 

suddenly seemed pointless. They sat and 

laughed and cried, and worked through 

the argument and the exercise. Dave 

explains how it helped shape them and 

the overall nature of the course helped 

them to be prepared for the jump into 

marriage: “We found the sessions deep, 

relevant and engaging, and something 

that would help all couples getting ready 

for marriage.” ● 

“I just don’t want to be a Bible-pusher or 

a Bible-puncher.” 

Remarkably, his life has become a living 

testimony of Ephesians 3:20 which states 

that Christ is able to do immeasurably 

more than all one asks for or imagines. 

My girlfriend was changed 

by her encounter and I 

saw something in her that 

I wanted too. 

“My life before Alpha, I thought was 

okay. I was an ordinary guy doing worldly 

things, which I thought was normal, I 

didn’t do any serious things! I never 

smoked, drank or committed any crimes,” 

says Devon. 

“My girlfriend and I were invited to Alpha, 

and she asked me if we were going to 

give it a try, and I still remember telling 

her, ‘I don’t want to be a Bible-basher...’ 

but we went and gave it a go.” 

“I found the whole atmosphere very 

relaxed and comfortable. The Holy Spirit 

weekend away was where it all started: I 

didn’t know what to feel, but my girlfriend 

was touched! The weekend to me was 

a good vibe, and I got on well with the 

people, but my girlfriend was changed 

by her encounter and I saw something in 

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her that I wanted too. 

“From then on my journey began, 

wanting to know God and his son Jesus! 

As I started to spend time with Jesus, 

there were areas in my life that God 

was revealing to me to deal with and 

sort out! One of them was my girlfriend, 

who became my wife, because we had 

an affair while she was married and it is 

something I am not proud of.” 

“I had to go to her ex-husband and ask 

him for forgiveness for breaking up 

his family. We were married for a short 

while and my wife died due to a terminal 

illness. The beauty was that her exhusband 

and I could hug each other 

and cry together at the funeral. God was 

restoring relationships.” 

“If I look back on my life now, there is 

no doubt that there is a God and I can 

feel Him changing me from the inside, 

from the person I was before I did Alpha 

to now. My journey still continues, and 

all I want is to find my identity in Christ, 

making it all about Him and not me.” ● 

As a church we have seen 

prejudices and barriers 

broken down by Alpha, 

through the opportunity 

to have open, honest 

dialogue and the sharing 

of meals. 

CROSSING THE DIVIDES 

Khanyisa Community Church is located between two 

police stations and two communities – Manenberg and 

Gugulethu, both affected by overwhelming social ills. 

Yet in the midst of this the Kingdom of God is at work, 

breaking down barriers and drawing people in love 

towards Jesus. Siviwe Minyi is the leader of Khanyisa 

and has a heart to see communities changed by the 

loving presence of the local church. 

Siviwe has always believed that God 

is calling them to build a church that is 

representative of both communities. 

The church had attempted, for a number 

of years, to create a space where both 

Xhosa and Afrikaans people were able to 

meet, make friends, and discover Jesus, 

crossing the man-made divides. “We 

have always envisaged a place where 

people of different race groups and 

languages worship together,” he says. 

As a leadership they chose to use Alpha 

as a tool to attempt to create community. 

One of the people in the church brought 

Siviwe a list of three pages of people that 

she had invited to the first evening. He 

admits to a certain amount of scepticism. 

Despite all the door-to-door activity 

and the individual congregants taking 

responsibility, he was not sure that 

anything would happen. However, on 

that first night he was in for a big surprise. 

Eighty people arrived, mainly from 

Manenberg, and the leadership then 

needed to find an interpreter. Khanyisa 

has always had a Xhosa/English 

translator, but that evening they needed 

a third in Afrikaans. So began a beautiful 

journey of God drawing two communities 

together, forming friendships and 

breaking down barriers. 

As a church they have seen prejudices 

and barriers broken down by Alpha, 

through the opportunity to have open, 

honest dialogue and the sharing of 

meals. Hospitality and love are the 

hallmarks of Alpha in this church. Alpha 

has helped create open spaces to the 

extent that the church has a lunch time 

kitchen where members of the various 

Alpha groups meet to have fellowship 

together. The life of the church during its 

Sunday meetings has also changed with 

regular translations into Afrikaans taking 

place and the church learning more 

Afrikaans worship songs. 

Siviwe tells how Alpha tested and 

increased his faith, and helped bridge 

a divide that he had been asking God 

to help him with for a while. The church 

continues to run Alpha and is continuing 

to see God bridging the divide between 

Gugulethu and Manenberg. ● 

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19



How God Found me … 

Or shall I say, how I found God in the 

middle of the ocean 

DANE HERMAN 

Picture this scenario for a moment: it’s a 

sunny but very windy Saturday morning 

in East London, January 2007. A group 

of tri-athletes are out swimming in the 

ocean, which on this particular day was 

very, very boisterous. The east wind is 

churning the ocean up with huge swells 

and chop. The tri-athletes are all getting 

ready for their date with destiny in 

April, which is also known as Ironman. 

I am not referring to the movie, but 

to the triathlon which comprises of a 

3.8 km swim in the sea, 180 km cycle 

and 42.2 km run. 

I have a saying that I use sometimes, 

“You don’t know what you don’t know!” 

I happened to be in the middle of 

that ocean on that sunny but windy 

Saturday morning. I was preparing 

myself for my first Ironman. This is my 

story as to how I met a king I didn’t 

know, while swimming. 

The huge swells had no mercy that 

morning. I was approximately 300 

metres off shore fighting huge waves, 

just trying to survive this session. Wave 

after wave pummelled me, I tried to 

remember what my coach said, “Stay 

streamlined, duck under the waves.” 

But when you are being swamped 

by giant swells you start to feel very 

small in a massive ocean. Suddenly 

fear gripped me; I thought I was going 

to drown. I stopped swimming for 

a moment and did something I very 

seldom did … I prayed. 

It was more like me bargaining with 

the Lord, where I asked Him to help 

me with my training and the race. I 

promised Him that if He kept His end 

of the bargain, then I would give my 

life to Him. Hence my quote at the 

beginning. I didn’t know that you don’t 

bargain with God. Immediately after 

my prayer, the peace that surpasses 

all understanding overcame me right 

there in the middle of the ocean. The 

waves were still as ferocious as ever, 

but I had peace that I couldn’t explain. 

I swam through that ocean for more 

than an hour, without the waves ever 

bothering me again. 

We went to Johannesburg a few 

weeks later to look at a car that I was 

interested in buying. Our friends in 

Johannesburg told us about St Alban’s 

Anglican Church in East London that 

they used to attend. We went to visit 

St Alban’s when we returned and I saw 

a notice about Alpha on the church 

notice board. I had no idea what Alpha 

was about, but told my wife that it 

seemed like a nice Bible study course. 

I also had no idea that the Lord was 

setting me up! 

April came around and I completed 

my first Ironman triathlon and was on 

top of the world. The feeling when I 

crossed the finish line was incredible. 

I had just completed the toughest oneday 

race in the world. As I sit writing 

now, I can only imagine that entering 

heaven will be a million times better. 

The race announcer at Ironman said, 

“Dane Herman, you are an Ironman.” 

Jesus will say, “Well done my good and 

faithful servant, enter in.” 

We started Alpha and diligently 

attended the sessions every week. 

The love, acceptance and unity which 

we experienced are what attracted us 

back, week after week. At the end of 

The love, acceptance 

and unity which we 

experienced are what 

attracted us back, week 

after week. 

the course we accepted Jesus as our 

Lord and saviour. That was the greatest 

moment in my life. 

The following year January, my wife was 

diagnosed with breast cancer. Looking 

back now, we can see how the Lord 

worked his plan in our lives. My wife 

survived the cancer after undergoing an 

operation, chemotherapy and radiation 

treatment. Jehovah Rapha had her in 

the palm of His hand, and we were both 

falling more in love with the Lord. 

I read a book called, When Heaven 

Invades Earth, by Bill Johnson and 

was in awe of how the Lord used 

them to heal people etc. I am a former 

firefighter, I have rescued thousands 

of people and wanted more of this 

supernatural power of God that 

could work through me. We became 

very interested in the supernatural 

ministry. We prayed for sick people 

and we saw the Lord heal them 

instantly. I believed everything that 

the Lord said. He is not a man that can 

lie. I once contracted tick bite fever. 

That same evening I worshipped the 

Lord and when I stopped speaking 

I discovered that I was completely 

healed. 

God is so good, and it is our desire 

to tell people about His love for them 

and how God sees them. My wife and 

I have both studied theology and 

completed our diplomas in ministry. 

We have also attended the School of 

Supernatural Life. We have both been 

called into ministry, and currently 

assist ministers and ministries. We 

would both highly recommend Alpha 

to any person wanting to form a 

relationship with the Lord. ● 

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21



Freedom 

WILLIAM LANGA 

LIFE-CHANGING ANSWERS 

My name is William Langa. I am 44 years old. In 2001 I 

was arrested for car theft and being in possession of an 

unlicensed firearm. Before being arrested, the police shot 

me 16 times. The 16 bullets pierced my body in various places 

and I believe that it is only by God’s grace that I survived. 

After I recovered I was sent to Johannesburg Prison where I 

was eventually, in 2004, sentenced to 25 years in prison. 

In 2002, while awaiting trial, I did Alpha 

for the first time. It was here that I first 

discovered the Word of God. Before that 

I was not interested at all in anything to 

do with Christianity. What really struck 

me on Alpha was the relaxed way that 

the Word was presented. Nicky Gumbel 

and all the people in the audience were 

just so relaxed. It made me really want 

to listen, and even though I was behind 

bars, it made me feel free. 

I was born again on Alpha. I even 

studied theology while I was in prison. 

I started coordinating Alpha from 

inside the prison and became the main 

coordinator for all courses in the prison, 

which gave me a sense of purpose and 

something to do. Today I am a free man. 

I have been out of prison for two weeks 

and I thank God for being my provider 

and for giving me support through my 

Christian family. ● 

Michelle Wade was born and raised into a family that 

showed her a great deal of love and compassion. She 

remembers wanting to be like them. As she entered her 

teenage years things began to change though. By the age 

of 18 she had begun to experiment with drugs and found 

herself in an abusive relationship. A friend told her that she 

should look at becoming an exotic dancer. 

She thought it would be a lot of fun and 

she felt that she would finally be able 

to set some money aside to study, as 

she had never done this because of the 

route that her life took after school. It 

had always been a life goal. 

The nature and daily struggle of the 

relationship Michelle was in was incredibly 

hard on her physically and emotionally, 

and she was searching for something 

but felt like life was offering her nothing, 

and was fast losing hope. In the midst of 

this Michelle realised that she deserved 

better, she needed more and deep down 

inside she knew she needed God. 

Through a series of events she ended up 

at an Alpha meeting. She knew that she 

needed to find herself, and only through 

God would she be able to do that. It 

was here that her life really changed. 

Michelle found acceptance, peace and 

love in the meetings. Questions around 

her life, what she had experienced, 

and where her life was currently, were 

all readily accepted and she felt as if 

no conversation was out of bounds. 

“The freedom Alpha offered me was 

completely unexpected,” she says. 

As the programme moved forward she 

found herself experiencing a release 

from the ongoing stress and pressures 

that she experienced. In Christ she had 

found freedom. She loved the Alpha 

groups as it was people coming together, 

all ‘lost’, all in need, asking questions, 

and sometimes not getting the answers 

they wanted, and sometimes getting 

no answer at all. Here there was the 

freedom to explore. Alpha became a 

safe space, a space where there was 

no judgement, a place where the pain 

and struggle of the various journeys was 

shared, where people were able to help 

one another and find the ultimate help in 

Jesus Christ. 

She knew that she needed 

to find herself, and only 

through God would she be 

able to do that. 

Michelle credits Alpha with making her a 

much stronger person, one not afraid to 

speak of her past and not held back by 

it, and in that way it has helped her heal, 

and to realise that in this world there 

really are people that care. ● 

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23



ALPHA NEWS 

from the staff 

I am constantly in awe of the way that God changes lives through Alpha. It is 

an honour and privilege to be part of serving the local church of South Africa 

through Alpha. I witness God’s work in churches, communities and individual 

lives around Gauteng and within our beautifully diverse country as a whole. 

People seem so much more open to the message of hope in Jesus as we 

share the Gospel of Jesus through Alpha in a non-threatening way. This is 

the reason that we are so thankful for you! Alpha can’t achieve what we 

have done by ourselves. It is within the greater Alpha team, which includes 

you, that multiplication happens and thousands of lives are transformed 

each year as we see the loving hands of Jesus at work in places like prisons, 

schools, townships, suburbs, in churches and on street corners. 

TARYNNE WILLIS, GAUTENG 

Since I have been involved in Alpha, I have seen God working miracles 

in people’s lives. From a marriage that was on the verge of ending and 

then God miraculously healing and restoring it on the Alpha Holy Spirit 

weekend away, to a young self-proclaimed atheist who gives his life to God 

and is baptised in the witness of his friends. While Alpha is a resource to 

serve the church, it’s also an opportunity for others to invite friends, family 

and colleagues to a space where they can discover God and begin their 

greatest adventure. 

SAM UYS, KWAZULU-NATAL 

Alpha Film Series 

Thousands of church leaders witnessed 

the launch of the new Alpha Film 

Series on 14 April in Cape Town, 

Durban, Johannesburg and many other 

cities around the world. This is Alpha as 

you’ve never experienced it before! The 

series was filmed in ten different 

countries across the globe. Repackaged 

for today’s audience, the Alpha Film 

Series is emotive, engaging and epic 

in scale and scope. Nicky Gumbel and 

two new presenters, Toby Flint and 

Gemma Hunt, will be walking us through 

the regular Alpha material in a way that 

everyone can relate to. 

The Alpha Film Series covers all the 

traditional content that previous Alpha 

materials have. There are sixteen 

episodes of fifteen sessions (30 

minutes each) and one introduction to 

the Alpha day/weekend (10 minutes), 

as well as two training videos (30 

minutes each), all freely downloadable 

at alphasouthafrica.org. 

The episodes feature inspiring stories 

and interviews from all around the 

world, as well as visual illustrations and 

motion graphics. 

Siviwe Minyi, pastor at Khanyisa 

Community Church in Gugulethu, 

says Alpha has built bridges between 

cultures and language groups. He 

has seen Alpha change lives and is 

convinced the new Alpha Film Series 

will continue to do so. What excites 

Siviwe about the Alpha Film Series is 

the combination of black and white 

presenters. “It is dynamic and it will cut 

across and appeal to different cultures.” 

He has witnessed how Alpha has been 

a catalyst of reconciliation in Manenberg 

and Gugulethu. 

Luba Mayekiso, a regional advisory 

board member of Alpha, strongly 

commended the Alpha Film Series and 

expressed the belief that it will touch 

South Africans deeply. He said that 

South Africans aged 20 to 40 speak a 

common universal language; they dress 

the same, use the same slang and listen 

to the same music. “You see that when 

you go to any of the urban places where 

young people gather.” 

“This is cool,” said Luba about the 

Alpha Film Series. “This is something 

my 21-year old daughter would be very 

interested to watch.” 

The 500 campaign 

His Church Pinetown launched a 

campaign where they aimed to invite 

500 guests to their Alpha that started in 

July this past year. Church members 

wrote the names of those they were 

going to invite on a piece of paper 

which then was placed on an Alpha 

question mark at the back of the 

church. The church then prayed over 

the names, that people would respond 

to the invitation. The names were then 

coloured in red as people responded 

with a YES to the invitation. Just one 

day after the campaign launched there 

were 300 names on the question marks! 

Over one hundred people attended the 

following Alpha. 

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I think it’s brilliant. Alpha assists us 

in our evangelism. We have a lot 

of people who are not repentant, 

yet there are more taverns in our 

area than churches. Alpha is an 

excellent tool! 

NKULULEKO MKHIZE, CHURCH LEADER 

PRAISE FOR ALPHA 

I think it’s amazing how Alpha can 

capture young people. There are 

so many young people who have 

questions about life and what they 

should believe in, especially with so 

many beliefs out there. The best part 

is not even having your questions 

answered but you get to meet 

people that you make such great 

friends with and after Alpha you 

meet up with those people. Alpha 

doesn’t stop, it just carries on. 

DYLAN GOUWS, ALPHA VOLUNTEER 

Alpha is a gateway of understanding 

God and bringing 

people into the church. It works! 

I experience spiritual growth every 

single time I do Alpha. 

KERZIA DE VRIES, ALPHA VOLUNTEER 

What I value 

about Alpha 

Alpha has been the best form of 

outreach for all the churches that 

I’ve been in since about 1993, when 

Nicky Gumbel came out and taught 

us how to use it at St Martin’s in 

Jo’burg. And it’s amazingly flexible. 

You can do it in a large gathering at 

a church. You can do it in a church 

on Sunday Morning. You can do it 

Sunday night in an informal café 

church. You can use it in homes 

and small groups. You can take it 

into prisons, into the workplace. The 

re-filming in a variety of formats 

and the modernising of content is 

making it more accessible to young 

people. I think it’s great because 

it equips a laity and teaches them 

that ministry doesn’t have to only 

belong to the clergy. What I really 

enjoy about it is that it doesn’t want 

all the answers. It provides a space 

for people who are questing and 

questioning, to learn about the faith 

in a non-threatening environment 

without having the Bible knocked 

over their head all the time. 

Alpha is an inexhaustible 

resource for renewing and 

teaching the faith. And it’s 

not superficial. It has a 

depth – it’s a simple bitesized 

format and yet it’s 

incredibly deep. 

Where Alpha has been incredibly 

good for us is to get people who are 

new to the church, already Christian 

perhaps, or people who are feeling 

a bit lifeless and not involved, to 

catch a new vision of what it means 

to be a Christian in an Alpha course. 

MARK SPYKER 


Prisons 

The Department of Correctional 

Services released their report on 

course attendance in SA prisons for the 

2015/2016 year. 

6,807 

men and women have attended 

Alpha in a South African prison in 

the past year and 

152 

volunteers made this possible. 

In Gauteng alone 

3609 

men and women 

attended Alpha with 

55 

volunteers making this possible. 

In the last three years 

15,524 

men and women have done 

Alpha in SA prisons. 

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27



NATIONAL BOARD 

ALPHA SOUTH AFRICA 

how CAN I 

Support Alpha? 

KZN ADVISORY BOARD 

Chris Wells: Chair 

Wayne Taylor 

Norman Brauteseth 

Geoff Everingham: Chair & NPO Director 

KZN ALPHA OFFICE 

Sam Uys: Regional Director 

Neil Macdonald: NPO Director 

Michael Louis: NPO Director 

Tricia Neill: Global President, Alpha 

International 

Nelinha van der Walt: Africa Director, 

Alpha International 

Jeremy Jobling: National Director 

Gary Rivas 

Mahlatse Mashua 

Mbulelo Bikwani 

Peter Hodson 

GAUTENG ADVISORY BOARD 

Segametsi Serote: Chair 

Xola Nzo 

Langa Mbonambi 

GAUTENG ALPHA OFFICE 

Tarynne Willis: Regional Director 

Louise Botha: Regional Coordinator 

Josephine Mhlongo: 

Development 

Co-ordinator 

WESTERN CAPE ADVISORY 

BOARD 

Anthony Haggie: Chair 

Barry Isaacs 

Llewellyn MacMaster 

Luba Mayekiso 

WESTERN CAPE ALPHA OFFICE 

Bulelwa Mdingi: Regional 

Director 

Deborah Newman: Regional 

Co-ordinator 

Jaun Truter: Prisons Co-ordinator 

Kyle Driver: Youth Co-ordinator 

National 

Alpha Office 

Jeremy Jobling: National Director 

Janet Chadwick: Office Manager 

EASTERN CAPE 

Tracey Crommelin (Port 

Elizabeth) 

Colin Gabriel (East London) 

MPUMALANGA 

Michelle Ingram (Nelspruit) 

Your support makes an impact in 

transforming lives in our nation. 

1. Ad hoc donation 

2. Monthly debit order 

3. Bequest in your will 

GIVE VOLUNTEER PRAY 

Alpha South Africa 

Bank Name: First National Bank 

Account Number: 6200 3457 539 

Branch Code: 201709 

Reference: Initial and surname (if a 

tax certificate is required) 

TAX-DEDUCTIBLE RECEIPT 

An income tax-deductible receipt 

will be issued by Alpha South Africa 

upon request. 

Volunteers are at the heart of 

Alpha’s success since sessions are 

volunteer-run. 

To volunteer with Alpha please 

contact your local Alpha Office. 

Prayer is central to Alpha. Pray 

that God will continue to use Alpha 

to introduce people to a living 

relationship with Jesus. 

Pete Greig, founder of the 24-7 

Prayer movement, likens Alpha 

without prayer to an exciting gift 

with no batteries included. He says, 

“Alpha is exciting - it’s amazing, 

life changing but only when it’s 

powered by prayer.” 

Please join us in praying that many 

women and men, young and old, 

will come to know Jesus across 

South Africa. 

ALPHA SOUTH AFRICA IS A REGISTERED CHARITY 

Reg. No. 2000/029765/08 The Alpha Course South Africa Section 21 Co.Inc Reg. No. 040-023-NPO 

The registered office is at 127 Cecil Road, Salt River 7925 

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29



FINANCIALS 

CONNECT WITH US 

HOW ALPHA INVESTED 

Vision and Training Events 55% 

Alpha Coaches 20% 

Support Alphas 15% 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlphaSA 

Twitter: @AlphaCourseSA 

Find us on YouTube: Alpha South Africa 

www.alphasouthafrica.org 

Alpha in Africa 10% 

2016 Expenditure R 4 042 138,00 

2017 Budget R 4 615 410,00 

NATIONAL OFFICE 

Janet Chadwick 

e: janet.chadwick@alphasa.co.za 

HOW YOU GAVE 

t: +27 (0)21 276 2077 

Individual 49% 

WESTERN CAPE 

Deborah Newman 

KWA-ZULU NATAL 

Sam Uys 

PORT ELIZABETH 

Tracey Crommelin 

Church 4% 

e: deborah.newman@alphasa.co.za 

t: +27 (0)21 276 2077 

e: sam.uys@alphasa.co.za 

t: +27 (0)31 575 9300 

e: portelizabeth@alphasa.co.za 

t: +27 (0)81 490 4663 

Corporate 47% 

GAUTENG 

NELSPRUIT 

EAST LONDON 

Louise Botha 

Michelle Ingram 

Colin Gabriel 

2016 Income R 3 475 134,00 

e: louise.botha@alphasa.co.za 

t: +27 (0)11 702 4625 

e: mpumalanga@alphasa.co.za 

t: +27 (0)13 753 3214 

e: eastlondon@alphasa.co.za 

t: +27 (0)82 818 0908 

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www.alphasouthafrica.org 

32

Alpha South Africa Annual Review 2016

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