Start - book review - word-on-the-web

So what is it about?	This is an attractive pack containing everything that is needed for Christians to run a six-week course for the not-yet-convinced who have questions about life and want to discover something about Christianity. The pack includes a glossy A4 book with breakdowns of the six sessions and photocopiable pages. There is also a video with six lively ten-minute programmes to play during the course.
Who is it for?	The pack is designed for those who want to lead such a course, but the aim is that the video, the session outlines and interactive exercises described in the book will eventually be experienced by those who come to the course.
Does it do what it says on the label?	Yes. The front cover of the A4 book describes the course as: 'Discovering Christianity in six small-group sessions'.
Enjoy or endure?	Definitely enjoy. I have helped to run Alpha courses, Youth Alpha and the Y Course, and I have also read materials for Emmaus and Essence. But in my opinion, this is the best of the lot, by a long chalk! One of the strengths is the video. The presenters, Robin and Phyllis, aren't preachy and are always on the move, a refreshing change from some enquirers' course videos which are nothing more than people standing up and preaching for half an hour. There also isn't the whiff of church anywhere. Most of the video has been shot in places such as seaside resorts, shopping malls, on the streets or in scrapyards - in other words, out there in the real world.
Any other comments?	Alpha and other courses are still needed, and are still doing a good job - but sometimes these other courses might be seen as too intellectual, too middle class or too churchy by the people invited to join them. Start! is simple without being patronising, and I believe can be enjoyed by all ages and all classes. Thoroughly recommended.