Alpha Journals - Tom's Story

Growing up, my parents weren’t religious and the only time I remember going to church was for my brother’s christening. I always believed there could be a higher being, but I thought Christianity was outdated and irrelevant.

To me, Jesus was nothing more than a wise guy. I suppose I thought life was about finding success, and that meant having loads of friends, being well liked, and finding my dream job. I expected that once I had ticked all these boxes, I’d be satisfied.

When I was sixteen, a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer and died months later. I really didn’t know how to react and was totally shaken. I had nowhere to channel my grief, so I fell into a self-destructive mode. The easiest thing to do was to push everything down further.

I started going out way too much, drinking and dabbling in drugs. None of these things made me happier and I didn’t understand why. Even though the selling point is, ‘Take these and you’ll have a great night,’ every morning I woke up with the same feeling of emptiness.

When I was nineteen, I moved to Brighton to study Music Business. I kept up this lifestyle but I hit rock bottom a couple of months in. I was alone in a new city and I had no one to turn to. [Continue reading here]

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Find out more on how you can run an Alpha Course in your church by attending HIM's Alpha Course Conference.

Alpha Course Conference
Friday, August 15 | 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Saturday, August 16 | 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Register online

LEAD PASTORS COME FREE when you bring at least one other person.
Pastors enter code ALPHA14PAS upon checking out to receive free ticket.

$39 pp Groups 2+ (Lead Pastor in group come FREE. Use code above.)
$99 pp Individual (If coming by yourself)
Fees include all conference materials and meals on Saturday (continental breakfast and lunch). Meals are not included on Friday.