LIKE most people, I have driven behind a bus which displays an Alpha Course poster .

"Is there more to life than this?" they ask.

It sounds intriguing and more than once I've idly wondered what the course was and how exactly it would answer this question of all questions.

Then recently I was given the opportunity to find out when local GP Sheila Benett wrote and asked if I would like to know more.

Sheila, who lives in Almondbury, became involved with running the Alpha Course after attending it herself and says it changed her life.

The Alpha Course is, quite simply, a Christian mission, designed to explore spirituality and faith.

It has been variously hailed as "a novel approach to Christian education", "the miracle formula church leaders are hoping will reverse this religious decline," and "making Christianity relevant to modern life."

Publicity material for the course works hard to dispel the view that Christianity may be seen as boring, untrue or irrelevant in today's modern society. Pamphlets and brochures are packed with pictures of wholesome smiling young people, who are obviously having a good time.

The course has slick, contemporary marketing. There is nothing old-fashioned or dull about its approach.

For Sheila, Alpha was a turning point in her religious life. Although she had always been a churchgoer, attending with her parents and then with her own children - Stewart (15), Hayley (12) and Gregory (10) - she says now that her faith was low on her list of priorities. (Her husband Stephen is not a church member.

"When the children came along church was an ideal place to allow someone else to look after them in creche or Sunday School while I could have an hour of contemplation. I think some of the sermons had meaning for me but I confess that a lot of the time my thoughts were elsewhere," she said.

Then in 1997 she attended an Alpha Course run by New North Road Baptist Church. "I hadn't heard of Alpha before but the thing that attracted me was that it included a meal so I wouldn't have to cook that night. I don't think I was considering too much the content of the course because I thought I knew about the Christian faith - but I was searching for something," she explained.

Sheila, whose married name is Selbie, admits that she had started thinking of the Bible stories as "fairy tales". "But I learned on the course that there is good strong historical evidence for the events of the Bible," she added.

The Alpha Course is held over a period of 12 weeks, during which time students see a number of videos and discuss course material, which covers everything from "Who is Jesus?" and "Does God heal today?" to "Who is the Holy Spirit?" and "How does God guide us?"

There is always a shared meal at the begining for interested parties and during the course students are encouraged to join an away day. "This encourages people to focus completely on what they are doing," says another Alpha leader Sheila Brewer, wife of Birkby baptist minister Peter Brewer.

"People look after their bodies but what about their spirituality and their mental health?

"The course allows people to raise questions in a non-threatening atmosphere. Alpha introduces us to the creator and to a relationship with God so that it becomes more than just an idea," she added.

Sheila Benett (Selbie) says that for her the Alpha course was a born-again experience. "I rang up the minister and told him I would like to speak in church about what had happened to me. I'm naturally very shy and hesitant to speak in public, but I was able to do that.

"I have become a much calmer and more patient person and I don't worry as much and don't get as stressed," she said.

The Alpha Course is free. The next one in Huddersfield begins on April 27. If you want to know more contact Sheila Brewer on 01484 531981 or email thebrewers20@hotmail.com