Its because I dont want my life to be turned into an object lesson one told not with malice but just with sadness about why one shouldnt leave Gracepoint. They are hardworking, sincere, competent, and godly folks. Disclaimer, College ministry (known as KBSU, ABSU, or KBSK, depending on the year). He and his fiancee didn't even interact like couples, so are other married couples. Gracepoint Church Memories - Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Berkeley Memories from Gracepoint Fellowship Church. Thats life as a very imperfect sinner. They met in a building on Alcatraz Ave on the border of Berkeley and Oakland, hence the name Berkland. After five years as an involved member and eventual staff intern for the Gracepoint Church on UC Santa Barbaras (UCSB) campus, Jane Doe, a source who does not feel safe revealing her identity to individuals still associated with Gracepoint, faced a debilitating mental health crisis catalyzed by her involvement with the church. Lets be clear, rebuking sessions at Gracepoint are not fun. 37% of Gracepoint members viewed the church primarily as a family, 34% viewed it as an army, and 29% viewed it as a factory. I want to do these things. I made a lot of mistakes. It took me a year of therapy and an unsuccessful suicide attempt to start dismantling those things that I was told about myself, Doe said. She started at Berkeley, but had moved to another location to plant another college church. Kelly Kang/Ed Kangaccused all of us of using the church for personal gain (marriage). Smith also recalled getting reprimanded for using YouTube to listen to secular music, including Taylor Swift, and for watching a Japanese anime film that was part of her coursework for a film class. Gracepoint Church's Bald Fellowship. How helpful are reviews of a church when they're left by their own members? Leaders could track screen time not just to check for pornography but also to discourage users from listening to K-pop or watching too much ESPN. According to internal emails obtained by The Triton, Center for Student Involvement (CSI) Executive Director Emily Trask followed up individually with the president and did a check-in with the group and the CSI sent educational information to all student organization principal members about high pressure groups via the student organization listserv., In response to an email inquiry from The Triton, UCSDs Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) said they were not aware of any allegations involving Gracepoint Church.. Im not sure who started calling getting rebuked, rocked, but it really turns something negative into something of a badge of honor. In April 2021, Gracepoint published a now private YouTube video of Ed Kang, the senior pastor of Gracepoint Church. I have noticed that you are looking more and more unhealthy lately.), and living spaces (I was appalled once again to hear that your house has been like a pig sty. Meet the staff of Gracepoint Irvine. Gracepoint Church - for college students near Berkeley Sunday Worship Service. There's been quite a few abuse allegations and it's safer just to stay away from this church. During this time, Becky was revered and spoke at many retreats at Berkland Berkeley as a special guest. I've been a lifelong Christian but what they do is really, really extreme. The church changed its name to Gracepoint in 2006 when Ed and Kelly Kang split from the founders. In fact they are down-right humiliating and induce a lot of guilt-driven repentance. According to Hendrickson, that was when her relationship with her son began deteriorating. (LogOut/ Sam C. told The Triton he wished to avoid seeing Gracepoint personnel on campus. Gracepoint Church checks all the boxes of a college ministry success story. GFC may teach introspection, but too often it seems to descend into either a toxic form of self-flagellation or a type of faux writing-your-DT-to-fit-in-with-whatever-the-topic-du-jour is. Over the years, church members were told to avoid driving traffic to the online criticism and were instead encouraged to protect the churchs online reputation. At times, Gracepoint leaders asked staff and members to search and click on church webpages or positive blog posts at least three times a day to improve Google search rankings. Years of whole-life discipleship took a toll. My life would be innumerably poorer without that time. To put it very simply, in the spiritual economy of the Gracepoint ecosystem, getting rocked is like getting audited and passing. And all those culture wars. Just having dinner, everyone at the same tablethat was very rare.. College Ministry . At least I personally, am not out to "get you" because I hate Christians or something like that. However, my opinion is that there is too much guilt-driven manipulation and fearmongering, and not enough careful correction. I say this as a preface to make clear that I have no ax to grind. BBC Davis (located near UC Davis in California) became Waypoint Church for some time while remaining affiliated with the Berkeley Branch, from now on referred to as Gracepoint, GP, or Gracepoint Berkeley. leavegracepoint ex-Gracepoint (Berkeley) Additional comment actions I think there's a possibility that the focus is to try and seem like they are "church planting network" aka Acts2College Network/Gracepoint Network rather than an actual church that has a group of elders making decisions. I work at a big company now, and its a company thats pretty good in its field. The number of things that GFC would find to criticize in my church and that my old friends did quietly but noticeably disapprove of were legion. Each of us have our own story of how God found us and transformed our lives, and we believe that college is a prime time for students to explore and grow their faith! 2005: The Letter, church split, and Gracepoint is born - As time went on, there was growing concern about Rebekah Kims behavior, harsh rebuking and shaming of her disciples in a public manner, and overall lack of humility and accountability. The church started using Willard Middle Schools auditorium/cafeteria for Sunday gatherings when the building on Alcatraz became too small to fit all the members. I have no personal grudges, and really no serious negative interactions with Gracepoint leadership. Ed Kang received his law degree from Boalt and practiced for a couple or few years before quitting to attend seminary and . Continue to next article: What does Gracepoint have to say? At campus clubs like Klesis and Acts2Fellowship, Gracepoint pushes college students to wrestle with tough questions and pursue church mentorship. As we memorize our hymn of the month together, we pray the sentiments expressed in the hymn, PDF: Jan - Feb 21, 2023 DT (dark background), One Page Bible Reading Schedule Jan - Feb 21, 2023 PDF. My regrets are mostly about the people that I ministered to when I had no right to be called a minister, Loekito said. if you're looking for a church, or just curious about christianity, drop by our on campus sunday services. Gracepoint has since expanded to ~100 sites, primarily in college towns. Tjhen said that his own actions were totally inappropriate and not our church policy.. Address. Materials produced by The Triton do not reflect the views of the Regents of the University of California and the Regents do not endorse, warrant, or otherwise take responsibility for said content. Gracepoint Church Religious Institutions Alameda, California 839 followers An Acts 2 Church in every college town Follow View all 88 employees About us Our story began in 1981 as a. According to Len Tang, director of the Church Planting Initiative at Fuller Theological Seminary, high-pressure churches like Gracepoint often enforce a methodological purity within their ministry. Some years later, they issued a statement renouncing past practices and saying that they'd been wrong in the past, but they'd be better now. . There isn't a need to "brainwash" in the stereotypical way that people think when you use that term -- social pressure, from subtle to intense, will do the same thing just fine. It may not be for everyone. At our church, you'll find a wide range of people from those who have grown up in the church to those who are learning about Christianity for the first time. And the closest friends I have from my time at GFC are those who also left and who were deeply hurt by their experience, so I dont know how much credit GFC should get for that bonding experience. Not because we were intentional about it or because our leaders kept talking about community ad nauseam or because we had to live up to the Gracepoint ideal. I don't think she cut off all relations with people outside of her church (because, going off the interpretation that GP wants to evangelize, this is counterproductive). On a new church podcast launched last month, Isaiah Kang, Eds son, said anonymous posters are not messengers from heaven. He added, Whatever else may be trueyou may be wronged, you probably were wrongedthat doesnt make what you do right.. Summary: - Key verses - Sentence summary of each chapter and/or key events The fellowships from Gracepoint are registered members of the ASUC (Berkeley's Student Union) and Unity in Christ, the overarching Christian group overseeing the different Christian college fellowships here. It feels like the bridge is being burnt from the other end, said Mun. An anonymous source, who first encountered Gracepoint Church on UC Berkeleys campus, attended throughout their time as a undergrad and continued participating in church activities after graduation, noted that within Gracepoint, church leadership encourage LGBTQ+ members of their congregation to implement guardrails., The source defined guardrails as something that was very prominent at various points in terms of how a person should make decisions and behave, particularly in opposite gender relationships.. Sign up for our newsletter: I have been attending this church for two years now (I'm a sophomore), been somewhat involved, and I think I kinda know how things are run. And if I had stayed, I shudder to think how much more I would have lost, and how much more I would have been damaged. But that's a whole other topic I don't want to get sidetracked by here. Curtis Yee is a faith and culture reporter in Sacramento, California. Gracepoint Berkeley Church - Alameda. This history is provided to give context when understanding how the church came to be what it is today. Yes it's an "all in" church. When you've isolated the individual from his or her old support network and substituted the group, they're psychologically locked to the group and cannot leave. Search in Google Gracepoint Abuse, Gracepoint Berkeley, or Gracepoint Legalism - whatever you feel like. The media class is unfortunately not available but has been replaced by class that would touch on very similar . Latest report on Christian persecution finds Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa the epicenter of jihadist violence, while China leads effort to redefine religious rights. You have to disciple them in a particular way, or you need to isolate them or separate them from certain influences, Tang said. Gracepoint Church, founded in 2006, currently runs a variety of campus ministry groups across the University of California, including Klesis and Acts2Fellowship at UC San Diego. (LogOut/ Saturday, April 19, 2008 But this is not the. Gracepoint is one of the larger churches in the Berkeley/Alameda area (not that numbers necessarily matter), has very mainstream/middle-of-the-road Protestant beliefs, and is certified by the Southern Baptist Convention. The church grew in number steadily. (Because of the churchs focus on college ministry, leaders discouraged members from inviting coworkers or neighbors who were out of college. For anyone who is currently at GFC and wondering, even just a bit, if you want to stay or not, I would encourage you to listen to those stories. Gracepoint Ministries Collegiate Churches Parachurch Ministries and Fueled by 1600 Covocational Ministers 1 Collegiate Churches An Acts 2 church in every college town. You can disagree with me if you want, this is just my opinion, but it does seem to me that even the slightest amount of adversity will cause Christians to play the persecution card. jesus centered and bible based short devotions. Church Online is a place for you to experience God and connect with others. We are a church where you can belong even before you have believed. Gracepoint personnel did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Triton and declined to comment when approached in person. Turns out, in the end, most people come to their senses. If the abuser fails to do that, they rationalize by saying, they dont love me and I guess I never loved them. At this church, it is the same, because if you do not respond to rebuke, you are spiritually desolate and they cannot shepherd or love you. I realized I was never going to be able to prove that I was taking my sins seriously.. It was also a period of growing dissatisfaction and division among the leaders in their feelings toward Rebekah Kim and her leadership of BBC. Peer will report you for that thing. I'm not a historian criticism of GP is on the exact same level as those things. Ed Kang is the son of Korean immigrants. Please, please avoid this church as much as you can. I guess you could say we were just a bunch of people who enjoyed college life so much that we never left it, the church quips in a promotional video. Explore Gracepoint Berkeley Church's 186,086 photos on Flickr! Enough stamps and certifications and you will be qualified to move on up the ranks. Hereis a Yelp Review (that is hidden and not tallied into their final score) that is from October 2018 from Christain that sounds exactly like the Berkland I attended decades ago. Founded in 1981 around the concept of whole-life discipleship, the churchthen known as Berkland Baptistestablished itself as a home for Asian American students attending the University of California, Berkeley. Undergraduate students were discouraged from dating and, in some cases, forced to break up. Associated Students of the University of California. Church leaders were also encouraged to write positive Yelp reviewsand sometimes report negative ones. Gracepoint | Church Sundays 8:15 & 10:00AM FACEBOOK LIVE YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM TV SOUND-CLOUD LISTEN "Crossing into the Unkown" by Ilse Gainsford 10AM SUNDAY SERVICE: Watch Live Sunday Service: "Crossing into the unknown" by Ilse Gainsford 01.01.2023 Sunday 10AM NEW TO GRACEPOINT "Checkout the site" Website Developer. These constant assessments about me being unrepentantthey didnt reflect what I was actually thinking and feeling, said Noelle, who is also an abuse survivor and asked CT not to use her last name due to her job as a teacher. Yes, I am pretty involved with my church (I cook freshmen dinner, I volunteer at elderly centers when we visit, etc. And I know people would do this. Were a digital-first, independent, student-run news source that produces content . 70 70 Campuses 40 40 Cities Catch the vision 2 Parachurch Ministries Reaching out to the world. And you will continue doing so despite multiple people now trying their hardest to explain it to you. 88 episodes. Half a dozen former members recalled learning that couples were together only upon receiving wedding invitations. School amends "all comers" policy to exempt religious student group leaders. Lets start with the first, and probably the most important. Check out this recent article about them: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/september/gracepoint-berkland-asian-american-church-discipleship.html. But because it happened as a genuine outgrowth of Christian life. On the border of Berkeley and Oakland, the church was named Berkland Baptist. This was posted two months ago but for those of you who missed it, there is now a Discord channel for anyone who wants to have a conversation there: My perspective is different from many posters on this subreddit. Read more. Fill out an application here. However, I have found nothing but beneficial experiences so far. Their teaching is unbiblical; the extreme emphasis and focus on sin is unhealthy. Despite bringing his symptoms to his leaders, he said he was not allowed to step back from most of his church responsibilities. Youth fellowships, in particular, like to practice "love bombing," where members will go out of their way to greet you, be friendly, do favors for you until you join -- after all, why wouldn't you want to join a group where everyone is so nice to you? I didn't say that, but they did in fact send her to the local public school. While oversight and granular life advice can be part of college formation and discipleship, Gracepoints influence grew more intrusive as members remained at the church. From young adults to retired, we've got them all and we are so excited for you to join us. This is a quote from http://gracepoint-berkeley.blogspot.com/a blog that exposes the cult-like qualities and history of Gracepoint Ministries, a church with many branch ministries such as Koinonia, ABSK, Acts 2 Fellowship (A2F), Kairos, and Berkland.Gracepoint Ministries is present in : UC Berkeley, UC Davis, SF State, UCLA, UC Riverside, USC, UC Santa Barbara, UT Austin, Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, and more. After all, there was a lot of yelling, most likely some crying, and maybe some forced fervent and desperate prayer. One Thanksgiving, Austin Lee (no relation to Paul) was berated for not tithing enough after moving cross-country to help plant a church at the University of North Carolina without consistent employment. Yes, they are very intentional in their faith. The source, who disclosed their bisexual orientation to church leadership, was advised not to be alone in a car or have a roommate of the same gender. Most of what Gracepoint preaches is standard Christian stuff, nothing crazy here. One source who attended Gracepoint during their time at UCSD asserted this resulted in a Gracepoint social bubble that made it difficult to interact with others outside of that bubble.. I do think that this is part of a larger problem with Christianity in America. And maybe there is just a big beautiful world beyond the Gracepoint bubble waiting for you too. We will be reading select key passages of the Bible in one year. This mental health crisis caused Doe to suddenly move back home, where she entered intensive therapy for an eating disorder and later attempted to end her life. For those who have left, connecting with other former members in person and online has helped their transition out of the church. In 2020, Acts 29 CEO Steve Timmis was removed from leadership for his level of bullying and control. Category. Growing up poor in Los Angeles he was headed for a life of crime and delinquency. They were expected to ask permission to go on vacation or visit their families, former members said. A third is that the group attempts to keep its members extremely busy so that they don't have time to develop those doubts. Some critics are taking their concerns offline. Some former members said their departures were mischaracterized within the organization, with current attendees saying that those who left did so to pursue the world by purchasing pets or getting Disneyland passes. Emails obtained by CT show that Gracepoint maintained its own blogs to compete with those critiquing the church. Gracepoint Berkeley Church, Alameda, CA. I had seen ita couple years before, when other students had trouble academically and seeing what standard practice was when the church is trying to help the students get their academics and I knew it was going to be [a] suffocating environment, Sam C. said. 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