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 Lana Gunsell tried just about every religion at one time or another. “My mother was Jewish and my dad was Catholic. So Saturday we’d go to the temple and Sunday we’d go to the St. Paul Cathedral,” says Lana. “Not making any sense of this, even at a young age I was seeking to know more. So on Wednesday nights I slipped away to a Lutheran Bible study group that a friend of mine in school went to. That didn’t seem to work, either.”
Lana continued her search in college, studying Native American religions and becoming involved in Wicca. But these weren’t for her, either. So she tried Buddhism. But after practicing Buddhism for 30 years and not seeing any significant change in her life, Lana wanted more. “There was quite a bit of searching going on in me still,” she continues. She finally found something that made a difference in her life after coming to Woodland Hills and hearing about Jesus. She decided that this was something she wanted to commit to, but she knew she had a lot to learn about what it all meant.
 After hearing about Alpha, a basic introduction to the Christian faith, Lana decided to give it a try. “The Alpha group was exactly what I needed,” she says. “I was asking, ‘How do I understand all this? How do I even read the Bible?’” Alpha was designed for people like Lana who are new to the Christian faith and those who are still searching for something that will make a difference in their lives. The course includes topics like “Christianity: Boring, Untrue, and Irrelevant?” and “Who is Jesus?” The Alpha evening begins with a great meal, then a video presentation. It ends with dessert and small group discussion. In the small group, questions are encouraged. No question is too simple, too complicated or too hostile. “I loved Alpha because it was exactly what I needed. I’m just the new kid on the block, and I knew zip! Each week we’d study a topic about Jesus, and it was just so helpful. Being new, I had tons of questions, and I asked them every week. My Alpha group was very patient.”
Lana enjoyed her Alpha experience so much that she didn’t want it to end for the summer, so she joined a Woodland Hills covenant group to keep learning. She’s also planning on attending a follow-up course in the fall. She says, “It was probably the Lord’s plan for me to visit all these different faiths so that when I came to him I knew this was it—this was where I needed to be and where I need to stay.”
If you’re trying to find something that will make a difference in your life, consider Alpha. You’ll have the chance to ask questions, meet new friends who are also searching, and explore whether Jesus could be the answer.
Click here to learn more about Alpha at Woodland Hills Church.
article by Ellen Chalifoux
e-mail her at ellenc@usfamily.net
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