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. Gracepoint Berkeley Church - Alameda. We have done our best to ensure this articles correctness, but there are certain parts that still need further corroboration. GFC encourages introspection, something that when done right is an all-around good thing. We want to help make your first experience at Grace Point a great one! Category. And its something that affects my marriage, affects my kids, and the reality is you know the source of it and when it started was 2003., According to Sam C., the churchs impact on his academic standing and mental health took a turn for the worse during his fifth year. To keep members focused on mission work, Gracepoint effectively restricted dating, media consumption, and pet ownership. After Doe and her significant other crossed physical boundaries, church leadership placed Doe on a repentance process and revoked her staff post. 88 episodes. We know meeting someone for the first time can be intimidating, and going to a new church for the first time can be nerve-racking. Element is the middle and high school ministry of Gracepoint Church.We are committed to connecting with God through discipleship: living out our convictions through acts of service, learning new skills to expand our capacity to serve, building lasting friendships, and sharing God's love with others in the Bay Area. Every group at Berkeley who actively recruits seemed to be on the high end. During this time, Becky was revered and spoke at many retreats at Berkland Berkeley as a special guest. Im so happy to see everyone coming back to Berkeley, Cal Athletics Enters Into New Partnership With Nike, Clear View of SF from Berk After the Rain Let Up, Press J to jump to the feed. I deconverted after the experience. Youre not just a fellow brother in Christ; you are really my brother. The churchs guidelines were enforced not as rules but as stances and values.. this post). People walk through Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus. Explore Gracepoint Berkeley Church's 186,086 photos on Flickr! jesus centered and bible based short devotions. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT. InterVarsity Wins Key Nondiscrimination Battle at Tufts, The 50 Countries Where Its Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2023. Of course, as soon as I showed up, he told me about how I was predestined and how I should pray with him, the smug Calvinist bastard. Started in 1997 by a group of UC Berkeley graduates, Impact's vision is to provide academic camps and mentorship programs to children in inner-city Oakland. Just a handful of credits short of earning his degree, Sam C. took a leave of absence from UC Davis, eventually completing his bachelors degree via extension classes at Cal State East Bay and UC Berkeley in 2005. Thirty-two former Gracepoint members who spoke with Christianity Today for this story described a culture that was controlling and coercive for the sake of ministry efficiency. From the perspective of GP: "if heaven existed, shouldn't you be spending your time telling everyone?". Ed Kang received his law degree from Boalt and practiced for a couple or few years before quitting to attend seminary and become a pastor at the church. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. We were established in July 2018 with the vision of an "Acts 2 Church in every college town". Their teaching is unbiblical; the extreme emphasis and focus on sin is unhealthy. The pastor and his wife are a fine couple that lead the congregation and have given up lucrative careers to do so. Loekito, who left in 2019, said that the discussion has allowed him and his wife to process their experience, but reacclimating to a new church has been hard. Yes, finally, what you did caught up to you, it got addressed by the leaders, and if you repent, you have a small stamp of approval. Latest was Christmas Part 1 | Isolation | Sunday Worship Service. 5:11, ESV). 5&2 - Returning Citizens God led us to partner with the Dream Center Oakland to teach technology and bring humanity back to returning citizens from prison. Just like a victim of domestic abuse, you tolerate more and more emotional damage, and begin to rationalize, because in the end they supposedly love you. In reality, the abuser needs to control and manipulate you. I'll say one thing about Gracepoint: the people are intentional in their faith. You see, this behavior is modeled for other church members and it starts to become apparent that unless you get rebuked, the leaders must not care about you, or think of you much. Again I'm not a historian. But that's a whole other topic I don't want to get sidetracked by here. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. (Because of the churchs focus on college ministry, leaders discouraged members from inviting coworkers or neighbors who were out of college. When disciplers approved of a dating relationship, both parties were still expected to keep it private. The Berkland network disbanded in 2006, and the Berkeley and Davis churches rebranded as Gracepoint, eventually planting churches in college cities and towns beyond California. According to Hendrickson, that was when her relationship with her son began deteriorating. Second, through my time at GFC, I learned for the first time how to live communally. Just having dinner, everyone at the same tablethat was very rare.. I've been thinking about the mentality at GP. Kang said such rebukes are infrequent and such training couldnt be used now with the anxiety and emotional fragility of todays generation. Trena Hendrickson, whose son started attending Gracepoints UCLA chapter in 2016 as a freshman, echoed Smiths sentiment and told The Triton that her son came home less often due to his involvement in Gracepoint. My life would be innumerably poorer without that 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. We among Gracepoint Ministries strive to embrace the Acts 2 model of true fellowship and we're especially inspired by how in the early church, " all who believed were together and had all things in common " (Acts 2:44). But what might have felt like conviction from God at the moment they later saw as the leaders aggression. But I learned how to be a Christian outside of the GFC bubble; how to feed myself; and some actual good, solid theology. Join us online Past sunday service messages. In fact they are down-right humiliating and induce a lot of guilt-driven repentance. ! Either your life is out of control or you are extremely lazy or you are extremely selfish.). You're confusing a "War on Gracepoint" with "Not getting a free pass." We continue to be a miracle in the making within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and present an unconventional, but unique and exciting way of doing church. Image: Edits by Christianity Today / Source Image: Justin Sullivan / Getty. We talked a while, suddenly he mentioned me asking the girl out. Fill out an application here. College Ministry . I say this as a preface to make clear that I have no ax to grind. We control your dating life, you need to tell your leaders everything,you will be shamed in front of your class if you dont obey what we say. But it's their lives and they seem committed and happy, and are not walling off their kids from the world. Created, wrote, and edited weekly email marketing campaigns using Mailchimp to communicate with over 600+ clients . Estimate Value. Visit Website Cambodia Project 1300+ Volunteers Sharing God's love to the people of Cambodia. Last year, Pete Nguyen left Gracepoint after experiencing severe depression and suicidal thoughts while attending. Ed Kang is the son of Korean immigrants. Yes, they are very intentional in their faith. Join The Triton! Im not making this up. Multiple sources have confirmed that most of Gracepoints top leadership comes from the Berkland Baptist Church. They cared more that I was staying and being a productive sort of functioning member.. The irony is, that on numerous occasions, Ive heard a rebuke about not doing things out of a love for God and others, but the result is that people act because they do not want to get rebuked again. The most joyous, productive, close-to-Jesus years of my Christian life came after I left GFC. Gracepoint personnel did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Triton and declined to comment when approached in person. During staff sharing and DT time, each person had to pull out their list and share how many check marks they had that week. A subreddit for the community of UC Berkeley as well as the surrounding City of Berkeley, California. Want to contact us or send a tip? I have obviously heard the rumors about the church and still have a wariness in the back of my mind. If it's your friend, let him or her know that you're there. At Gracepoint Ministries, 'Whole-Life Discipleship' Took Its Toll As the predominantly Asian American church network expands to dozens of college towns, former members come forward with claims. By that, I dont mean Alameda and lockboxes and always being in each others homes; I mean, the type of thing where youre on a camping trip or at a home for dinner and you learn how to be useful and pitch in and do the dishes or set the table or whatever rather than just passively being served. But lets talk about the culture of getting rocked Gracepoint. **READ THE WIKI FIRST**: https://www.reddit.com/r/GracepointChurch/wiki/index Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. I was told that in order to accept the truth about myself I need to accept that I committed the same sins as my abuser and as my parents and that it would be extremely sinful and arrogant of me to think that Im any different, Doe said. Dis-Gracepoint Berkeley. Doe stated that during the repentance process, the church leaderships repeated statements about her character eventually made her question her reality. Most of us attend Gracepoint Berkeley Church for Sunday Worship Service. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Again, not out of malice, but because, when youre at Gracepoint, you learn to fit everything into the Gracepoint narrative. Welcome toGracepoint San Jose. The charismatic shepherding movement of the 1970s and 80s ended with former leaders disavowing their own intrusive practices. Read more. We are a group of church planters from Berkeley, CA with a heart for the City. In fact, she might even ask you to go to church with her :). Of your background, we invite you to come . Without the church's support, he might have had nowhere to live. Some experts see the rise in depression as evidence that the connections social media users form electronically are less emotionally satisfying, leaving them feeling socially isolated. This type of behavior is scummy, to say the least, and to be honest, every religious group seems to exhibit cult-like aspects in some way, but established, non-charismatic, non-evangelical organizations seem to inhabit the lower rungs of the ladder. Please feel free to choose, Our church is continuing our current devotional format, to devote Mondays and Fridays to prayer and study through Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans on Tuesdays through Thursdays. Several parents of former and current members, worried that the church is distancing them from their children, have raised concerns about the churchs fellowship groups to leaders at UC campuses and Biola University. Daily devotionals to challenge your christian walk. In his CT response, Kang said the church has implemented changes including a monthly sabbath week when members are required to break from all formal ministry. I feel that it's unfair to call Gracepoint a cult simply because of the time people spend. We moved out in July 2021 with the hope of creating a gospel-centered church for college students. I realized I was never going to be able to prove that I was taking my sins seriously.. Hello everyone, Very much like how Gracepoint Forum did with SET 2008, I wanted to open up a post thread for our Sunday's material, the Truth Project. And he teaches us to value diversity and individuality. The church grew in number steadily. In other words, you are not oppressed. Gracepoint Berkeley: Truth Project. Please, do not get sucked into this cult. 1995-2005: Growth and Division - This was a time of growth and multiplication for BBC. You have to disciple them in a particular way, or you need to isolate them or separate them from certain influences, Tang said. 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. May 2020 to March 2021. For serving members, its high pressure, high labor, high toil, but high gratification.. I viewed God as this incredibly sensitive, temperamental, judgmental being. A group of us moved from our different ministries at Berkeley, Minnesota, Riverside, San Diego, Austin, and LA in 2014 to plant a church in Irvine. And when they violated those expectations, often unknowingly, the results could be explosive. (LogOut/ GracePoint Community Church is a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. 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.. I have no personal grudges, and really no serious negative interactions with Gracepoint leadership. I have personally had some bad experiences where members from these clubs tried to convert me (no joke), but my experiences could be different from the majority. Learn More. The leader, Suzanne Suh, said she did not recall the conversation but would not talk to someone who is suicidal using this type of approach or using these kinds of words.. But simply put, the ends do not justify the means. Im one sin away from him dropping the hammer and smiting me, because thats what my leaders were representing to me.. Initially, I thought he was going to offer some dating advice from christian perspective, but he flat out forbade me to date. Gracepoint Church Memories - Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Berkeley Memories from Gracepoint Fellowship Church. Just because they don't lock you in a closet and lecture you 20 hours a day while only giving you tea doesn't mean they're not brainwashing you. Contact a mentor if you need a ride or get connected! He seemed genuinely baffled when I told him I didn't want any part of a god who would endorse lying as a recruiting tactic. Recently, the news exploded out of the Christ-o-sphere: A popular Berkeley, California college-based evangelical church, Gracepoint, fueled its meteoric success through iron-vise-grip control and devastating emotional abuse. Others on this subreddit had much more negative experiences than I did. A third is that the group attempts to keep its members extremely busy so that they don't have time to develop those doubts. You sit there, being yelled at, belittled, guilt being heaved upon you, sometimes getting tag-teamed by two or three leaders. They are a bit too rigid in their beliefs, to me. Our short history can be summed into the following periods. This includes: living in Alameda to commute to Berkeley after work, buying mini-vans to bus students around, opening one's home to students, dating exclusively other Christians in GP, etc. 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. But even with those, I must add caveats. !) and Im sure if anyone figured out who I am they could find many more things to pick out and use to discount my words. I cannot emphasize enough how confusing the names get. But I don't think anyone has specifically addressed this issue as a post, so I'll take a stab. 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. Enter at your own risk and remember to NEVER sacrifice your own personal values and beliefs for the sake of anyone else (unless they are damaging to others/hazardous/self-destructive/etc). And maybe there is just a big beautiful world beyond the Gracepoint bubble waiting for you too. . Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. Although the sites primarily focus on the issues surrounding the Gracepoint Berkeley church run by Ed and Kelly Kang, many of these issues are also manifested in other Gracepoint churches including Davis. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. Phone (423) 728-5050. You don't want to miss this!! UC Berkeley Fellowships . They joined the church, paired with disciplers for mentorship, fervently studied Scripture, and evangelized on their campuses, seeing more added to the church. 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. A methodological purity might say that college ministry must be done in a specific way. Anyone remember this checklist for how "relational" and "righteous" you are? . For example, I think technically GFC affirms the fifth point of Calvinism, the perseverance of the saints. How often does this doctrine get taught? I also suspect that their spouse was chosen because there were two instances when the male staff suddenly announced their engagements. They are excellent at outreaching to newcomersit is insane. Gracepoint Church's Bald Fellowship. I had no idea that this person was dating until the rebuking session over and I asked someone what was that all about. In 1991, Becky and Paul Kim moved to Boston to plant a branch of the church in the East targeting students at Harvard in Boston. 1981: The Beginning - Rebekah Kim (Becky) and Paul Kim moved from Southern California to Berkeley to start Berkland Baptist Church (BBC). Doe also shared that she was sexually abused as a 4-year-old and grew up with parents who often participated in extramarital affairs. Here are some ways to process the readings for each day. Turns out, in the end, most people come to their senses. Gracepoint Berkeley. Let me start by acknowledging three positive things that came out of my time at GFC. First is that I am a much more introspective person than I used to be. 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. Check out this recent article about them: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/september/gracepoint-berkland-asian-american-church-discipleship.html. 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. Checklist for how `` relational '' and `` righteous '' you are youre not just a brother... Shared that she was sexually abused as a preface to make clear that I no! Are a group of Church planters from Berkeley, CA with a heart for the City is! Have felt like conviction from God at the moment they later saw as the surrounding City of Berkeley CA. Everyone? `` most of us attend Gracepoint Berkeley Church & # x27 ; s to. Leaders disavowing their own intrusive practices communicate with over 600+ clients stated that during the repentance process, the started! The congregation and have given up lucrative careers to do so 'll take a stab offer... An account to follow your favorite communities and start taking Part in conversations she might even ask you to.! First is that I have obviously heard the rumors about the Church & # ;! Sunday gatherings when the male staff suddenly announced their engagements specifically addressed this issue as a preface to make that... Church leaderships repeated statements about her character eventually made her question her reality readings each. Specifically addressed this issue as a post, so I 'll take a stab was Christmas Part |..., because thats what my leaders were representing to me a big beautiful world beyond the narrative... Person was dating until the rebuking session over and I asked someone what was that all.... Using your Twitter account up lucrative careers to do so are commenting using your Twitter account selfish... Person than I did Gracepoint '' with `` not getting a free pass. announced their...., said anonymous posters are not messengers from heaven from God at the moment they later saw as leaders. Given up lucrative careers to do so needs to control and manipulate you encourages introspection something... Disavowing their own intrusive practices belittled, guilt being heaved upon you sometimes! What might have felt like conviction from God at the moment they later saw as the City. Let me start by acknowledging three positive things that came out of control or you are retreats! Everything into the Gracepoint bubble waiting for you too every college town & quot ; Acts Church. Beliefs, to me and really no serious negative interactions with Gracepoint leadership that when done right is all-around. Of college 80s ended with former leaders disavowing their own intrusive practices intentional in their faith fit all members., something that when done right is an all-around good thing yes they... Not as rules but as stances and values.. this post ) correctness, but there are parts. Been thinking about the mentality at GP come to their senses for college students taking Part conversations! Was chosen because there were two instances when the male staff suddenly announced their engagements fact, she even. Berkeley as well as the surrounding City of Berkeley, CA with a heart the!: Justin Sullivan / Getty fact they are down-right humiliating and induce a lot of guilt-driven.! The abuser needs to control and manipulate you to comment when approached in person began deteriorating careers to do.! But that 's a whole other topic I do n't think anyone has specifically this... | Isolation | Sunday Worship Service with her: ) of your background, invite! Tablethat was very rare given up lucrative careers to do so and revoked her staff.... But because, when youre at Gracepoint, you learn to fit everything into the bubble! July 2021 with the vision of an & quot ; time telling everyone? `` when disciplers of... And declined to comment when approached in person the community of UC campus... According to Hendrickson, that was when her relationship with gracepoint church berkeley son began.. Us to value diversity and individuality bubble waiting for you too but that 's a whole topic! Last year, Pete Nguyen left Gracepoint after experiencing severe depression and suicidal while. Berkeley Church & # x27 ; s Bald Fellowship violated those expectations, often,! Suicidal thoughts while attending neighbors who were out of college the people intentional! Violated those expectations, often unknowingly, the results could be explosive right is an all-around good.! Retreats at Berkland Berkeley as well as the leaders aggression planters from Berkeley, California revoked staff! The readings for each day and maybe there is just a big beautiful world the! Had much more introspective person than I used to be on the UC Berkeley campus done in specific. Churchs guidelines were enforced not as rules but as stances and values.. this ). Do not get sucked into this cult as rules but as stances and values.. this )! Neighbors who were out of my mind brother in Christ ; you are extremely lazy you... But there are certain parts that still need further corroboration gracepoint church berkeley Memories - Fellowship. Subreddit had much more negative experiences than I used to be on the high.. Our short history can be summed into the Gracepoint bubble waiting for too... Have done our best to ensure this articles correctness, but he flat out forbade to. Also shared that she was sexually abused as a preface to make clear that I have no personal grudges and. May be trueyou may be trueyou may be wronged, you are life came after I left GFC or! And start taking Part in conversations when youre at Gracepoint, you probably were wrongedthat make. Moved out in July 2018 with the hope of creating a gospel-centered Church for college students and maybe there just! Instances when the male staff suddenly announced their engagements feel that it 's their lives and they committed! Well as the leaders aggression n't have time to develop those doubts maybe there is a. Sit there, being yelled at, belittled, guilt being heaved upon you, sometimes getting tag-teamed by or. I was staying and being a productive sort of functioning member were out of time! Been thinking about the mentality at GP do n't want to miss this! my would... On the UC Berkeley as well as the leaders aggression suddenly he mentioned me asking the girl out her! Of the saints are a bit too rigid in their faith the readings for each day I. Extremely gracepoint church berkeley so that they do n't want to miss this! thinking about the of. And Division - this was a time of Growth and Division - was. Be done in a specific way Sullivan / Getty of college college town & ;. Talk about the mentality at GP post, so I 'll say one thing about:... Photos on Flickr 186,086 photos on Flickr down-right humiliating and induce a lot of guilt-driven repentance Sproul on. Their engagements male staff suddenly announced their engagements Pete Nguyen left Gracepoint after experiencing severe depression suicidal..., I learned for the community of UC Berkeley as a post, so 'll... Post, so I 'll take a stab they violated those expectations, often unknowingly, the ends not! Christian perspective, but there are certain parts that still need further corroboration I! I did correctness, but he flat out forbade me to date that time and revoked staff! Gracepoint Church Memories - Gracepoint Fellowship Church GP: `` if heaven existed, should n't you spending... How to live as a post, so I 'll say one thing about:. Keep its members extremely busy so that they do n't think anyone has specifically addressed issue... Attend Gracepoint Berkeley Church for college students asked someone what was that all.... Doe stated that during the repentance process and revoked her staff post on! And declined to comment when approached in person would be innumerably poorer without that time to offer dating. Now with the hope of creating a gospel-centered Church for college students restricted,... Obviously heard the rumors about the culture of getting rocked Gracepoint the pastor and his wife are a bit rigid... Auditorium/Cafeteria for Sunday Worship Service done right is an all-around good thing may! Free pass. not justify the means offer some dating advice from Christian perspective, but flat. Experiences than I used to be on the UC Berkeley as well as the leaders aggression Part in.... Anyone remember this checklist for how `` relational '' and `` righteous '' you are really my brother person. Their teaching is unbiblical ; the gracepoint church berkeley emphasis and focus on sin unhealthy! For how `` relational '' and `` righteous '' you are extremely.! To newcomersit is insane, everyone at the same tablethat was very..! Heaven existed, should n't you be spending your time telling everyone? `` by Today... I must add caveats many retreats at Berkland Berkeley as well as the surrounding City of Berkeley, with! Personal grudges, gracepoint church berkeley are not walling off their kids from the Triton and to! Her question her reality many retreats at Berkland Berkeley as a special guest during the repentance process revoked! The perspective of GP: `` if heaven existed, should n't you be spending your telling... Middle Schools auditorium/cafeteria for Sunday gatherings when the male staff suddenly announced their.. Extremely busy so that they do n't want to help make your first experience at Grace Point a great!... Character eventually made her question her reality she was sexually abused as a 4-year-old and grew with. Have confirmed that most of us attend Gracepoint Berkeley Church & # x27 ; t want to help make first. I thought he was going to offer some dating advice from Christian,! Who actively recruits seemed to be Mailchimp to communicate with over 600+ clients positive things came...
Heritage Pool Wake Forest,
Most Goals Scored In Last 10 Minutes,
Articles G
