In Tune with Jesus

For me the journey to faith in Christ was a gradual one. It took place over a period of at least four to five years and certainly until the few months before making my commitment to Christ, was a subtle process, happening almost without my being aware.

In retrospect I am amazed at the number of Christian people I met in those years who I now consider to be good friends. At the time, their religious conviction seemed totally incidental, especially as it had never occurred to me to consider that however gradually, I was being increasingly drawn towards Christian company.

It was purely through this contact with Christian friends and families that over time my viewpoint of almost total cynicism toward the existence of anything spiritual moved to the point of feeling like the Christian message was something quite significant. I had to make a decision one way or another.

About this time an invitation to attend an Alpha celebration dinner arrived, and what followed was three remarkable months where the combination of support and fellowship and the information given on the videos seemed to connect with all the questions and loose endsâ still in my mind about Christianity. The weekend away was the turning point - an amazing experience. I made my decision to follow Christ at that weekend.

Among the things which really attracted me to the Christian faith, and which I gained particular insight to through Alpha:

• That it is a living faith. God is alive! God is real! Christianity is relevant.
• It's message is timeless! Christianity has the power, by the grace and love of God to change and heal people.

The Alpha model is one I feel I can recommend very highly. It was a place where I felt looked after, respected and accepted. This feeling of love and belonging and seeing people bear witness by their day to day actions, was for me the formula which served to persuade.

Robert Orr is deputy principal Oboist with the NZ Symphony Orchestra and now a youth leader at All Saints' Hataitai in Wellington.