Nicky Gumbel

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Nicky Gumbel
Rev Nicky Gumbel
Born	Nicholas Glyn Paul Gumbel 28th April 1955
Occupation	Theologian, Author, Minister
Nationality	British
Subjects	Evangelism, Theology

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Nicholas (Nicky) Glyn Paul Gumbel (born 28 April 1955 in London) is an ordained Anglican priest, vicar and author. He is most famous as the developer of the Alpha course, a basic introduction to Christianity supported by churches of many Christian traditions.

1 Early life
2 Law and theology
3 Alpha Course and beyond
4 Websites and resources

[edit] Early life

Gumbel is the son of Walter Gumbel, a German Jew from Stuttgart whose licence to practise law in that city was withdrawn in one of the early Nazi purges. Walter emigrated to Britain and became a successful barrister. Gumbel's mother, Muriel, served on the Greater London Council for many years between 1967 and 1986 and was Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An avowed atheist, Nicky Gumbel was converted to Christianity in his first year at Trinity College, Cambridge through reading the New Testament. He said, "I was enthralled. It was as if I had found what I had been looking for all my life".

[edit] Law and theology

After graduating in law in 1976, he became a practising barrister based at 3 Hare Court, Temple. Meanwhile, he became a regular worshipper at Holy Trinity Brompton, Knightsbridge. Then in 1982 he announced his decision to leave the bar to train for ordination in the Church of England. In 1983 Gumbel began theological studies at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford from where he graduated with an honours degree in theology. After some difficulty in finding a curacy, Gumbel joined the staff of his 'home' church of Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London as a curate is 1986. He was ordained priest in 1987. In 1990 he took over the running of the Alpha Course that had been running there since 1973.

[edit] Alpha Course and beyond

The course was transformed under his leadership from being one designed for new Christians to one primarily for those outside the church who would not consider themselves as Christians. With its informal, relaxed and low-key approach the course grew fast in popularity – particularly among those in their 20s and 30s – and was soon attracting the interest of other churches. In May 1993, a conference was held to introduce church leaders to the Alpha course. It attracted 1,000 leaders, many of whom left to start courses of their own based on the one run by Nicky Gumbel at Holy Trinity. Further conferences were to follow all over the UK and increasingly around the world, where the course began to be taken up by thousands of churches. In May 1997, an Alpha conference was held at Westminster Cathedral at the invitation of Cardinal Hume for hundreds of Catholic priests and lay leaders. Since then the course has grown throughout the Roman Catholic Church.

Gumbel was officially installed as Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton Church in September 2005 after the Reverend Prebendary Sandy Millar retired from stipendiary ministry and moved on to be an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of London based at St Mark's Tollington Park in North London. Gumbel is the author of a number of books related to the Alpha course, including Questions of Life, which has sold over 1,000,000 copies. Voted "Christian Book of the Year" in 1994, it has been published in 48 languages. He is also author of Why Jesus, Searching Issues, Telling Others, A Life Worth Living, Challenging Lifestyle, Heart of Revival and 30 Days. Gumbel was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Gloucestershire in Autumn 2007 as recognition of his broad contribution to the wider church via Alpha. He received the degree from the university's Chancellor, former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Revd & Rt Hon Lord Carey of Clifton PC. Nicky Gumbel is married to Pippa and they have three children.

[edit] Websites and resources

Holy Trinity Brompton Church - The church where Nicky Gumbel is vicar.

Many of Nicky Gumbel's talks may be found on the HTB Sunday Talks podcast

He recently (2006) preached a sermon on the Da Vinci Code using historical documents explaining how gnostic texts of Phillip quote the New Testament and therefore, contrary to Dan Brown, cannot be earlier: