CINEMAGOERS all over Britain will see a commercial this month to trigger interest in Alpha, the ten-week course in Christian believing. The 60-second film, costing "hundreds of thousands of pounds" was made by The Mob, a video-production company. It flashes high-achieving modern icons, a catwalk model, a Premiership footballer, and a mountaineer, across the screen. Each asks: "Is there more to life than this?"

The advertisement will play in more than 2000 cinemas, alongside films such as  Cinderella Man, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and The Wedding Crashers. Alpha postcards will be in the foyers alongside the more usual film-promotion images.

Nineteen-year-old Kim Johnson, who is seen in the film alongside two other models, said afterwards she had loved doing the ad. "I hope it reaches as many young people as possible, and that people will come to Alpha as a result."

Bear Grylls, a former member of the SAS, who at the age of 23 became the youngest Briton to climb Everest, is seen clinging on to a rocky overhang before finally achieving the summit of a mountain. He said the message of the film was "strong".

The Alpha course showed him that faith was not always about smiling and being polite in church, he said. "It's very raw and very painful sometimes, but very forgiving.  You didn't have to be perfect. It was OK if you swore or needed a cigarette suddenly."

The film also shows Linvoy Primus scoring a winning goal. Afterwards he spoke of how he had given a talk about Alpha at his football club, Portsmouth. "Even if they don't come along [to Alpha], they know there is an opportunity to know God - not in a church building but in another environment," he said. Mr Primus has started his own charity, Faith and Football, for children in Portsmouth and Birmingham.

Alpha organisers at Holy Trinity Brompton, in London, estimate that the course of suppers and learning has received more than 6.7 million guests. In the latest campaign, some 7000 churches in the UK are inviting people to come to a meal. To back the campaign, Alpha has launched a website, istheremoretolifethanthis.com, and is spending  £1 million on an advertising drive that includes posters on buses and taxis, and leaflets in parishes across the country.