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. I work at a big company now, and its a company thats pretty good in its field. 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. But does this type of rebuking do more harm than good? Sam C. told The Triton he wished to avoid seeing Gracepoint personnel on campus. This subreddit is not affiliated with Gracepoint Church or its college ministries. For Loekito and others, the churchs warning of idolizing the family carried into married life. 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. Unplug from UCBMFET. (Are they still there? Our short history can be summed into the following periods. Gracepoint is a multi-ethnic church that got started in the Bay Area on the college campus and now serves several local communities across. When they became part of the ministry team, Gracepoint members were required to install internet filtering software like Covenant Eyes on their devices. View collections. Sam C. participated in ABSK from 1999 to 2003, eventually taking on a leadership role within the group. Traumatizing and the message was clear. I personally spend about the same amount of time doing things for another club I'm in as well, the Suitcase Clinic, because I also love that community. Yes it's an "all in" church. I remember being very sleepy because this happened very late at night. As the predominantly Asian American church network expands to dozens of college towns, former members come forward with claims of spiritual abuse. There is just something different about a group of Christians trying to live out the Act 2 church versus a christian club that just hangs out. What kind of religious organization are they really? You can ask questions and have discussions regarding the Truth Project by responding to this post. GRACEPOINT BERKELEY - 54 Photos & 87 Reviews - 2797 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA - Yelp Restaurants Home Services Auto Services Gracepoint Berkeley 87 reviews Claimed Churches Edit Closed See hours Write a review Add photo Photos & videos See all 54 photos Location & Hours Get directions Edit business info Ask the Community Ask a question 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. Kang said that a period of withdrawal from ministry can be appropriate, but the practice of writing reflections has tapered off over the years. Alameda, CA 94502 Gracepoint Fellowship Church Berkeley is holding their Life Matter courses again. Of your background, we invite you to come . You can do so here. Regret: What I lost from being at GFC. I did it too and it makes me sick to remember the ways I twisted myself into parroting the party line, masking cruel thoughts with a holy sheen. This church has reviews on Yelp that you may find instructive. By gracepoint In Devotion Text, Genesis with Comments Off on Bible Reading: Gen 19-22 Bible Text: Genes is 19-22 Here are some ways to process the readings for each day. Berkland members bonded as both Christians and Korean Americans, often referring to older church members by Korean honorificshyung for older brother and noona for older sister. She was asked to write reflections and was repeatedly told that she had not seen the full reality of her sin. Alameda, CA 94502 Gracepoint Fellowship Church, a Berkeley church located near the UC Berkeley campus, is having free seminars / workshops called Life Matters. One of the characteristics of a cult is that it pushes its members to break relationships with non-members and associate only with members. Global Rank. That familial attitude tied into the churchs model of whole-life discipleship. For example, I think technically GFC affirms the fifth point of Calvinism, the perseverance of the saints. How often does this doctrine get taught? Youre my true family. According to emails from former leaders, members were asked to change their wardrobe (I think I need to get some odd clothes out of [this members] closet too so she doesnt get tempted to keep wearing them.), dietary habits (I found out [that you] regularly eat late at night. They are excellent at outreaching to newcomersit is insane. I had no idea that this person was dating until the rebuking session over and I asked someone what was that all about. There's a huge difference. By visiting our site, you agree to our privacy policy regarding cookies, tracking statistics, etc. 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. Gracepoint Ministries Collegiate Churches Parachurch Ministries and Fueled by 1600 Covocational Ministers 1 Collegiate Churches An Acts 2 church in every college town. From the perspective of GP: "if heaven existed, shouldn't you be spending your time telling everyone?". was removed from leadership for his level of bullying and control. And, to be fair, if youre being rebuked, there is a fair chance that you did do something wrong or not (e.g. Another former member, Elaine Huang, said church leaders called her selfish when she opted to visit her parents in Taiwan the summer after her graduation from UC Berkeley in the early 2010s. Served 113 Homes Since 2006, we've had the privilege to share God's love (the greatest love) to the elderly on Valentine's day. Join us online Past sunday service messages. 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). They helped believers in Ephesus (Acts 18:18-28), in Rome when they were allowed to return, and again at Ephesus (2 Tim 4:19)." Want to submit an op-ed or letter to the editor? (Former Berkland members said founder Rebekah Kim was trained by University Bible Fellowship, a Korean offshoot of the shepherding movement.). That would actually be a sin. After sharing with church leadership that he was put on academic probation, Sam C. was later summoned to meet with the pastor and his wife at their house in Davis, a meeting which he described to The Triton as a traumatic experience., According to Sam C, the couple scolded him for 20 to 30 minutes, and it brought me to tears, as if my parents were scolding me as a five or six year old.. 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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. And when they violated those expectations, often unknowingly, the results could be explosive. He was unsure how the group may have misrepresented itself to the university. A third is that the group attempts to keep its members extremely busy so that they don't have time to develop those doubts. Days later, the staff asked me out for lunch. Still, based on my experiences, I cannot be more thankful I found a group where I can grow in my faith. Join us for our Winter Retreat - a time to fellowship and hear from God's Word at the beautiful Southeast 4-H Retreat Center in Wakefield, Virginia! However, I have found nothing but beneficial experiences so far. I'm mad because I've seen not only myself but also others get hurt and develop mental health issues because of your practices. I'll try to be succinct and objective. You are being held accountable. Arguing that her parents were already saved and therefore required less of her attention, Huangs leaders convinced her to cut her months-long trip short to participate in the churchs fall outreach. 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.. Like Paul, Priscilla and Aquila were missionaries. UC Davis alumnus Sam C. (05), who asked to be identified by his first name and last initial due to the sensitive subject matter, recalled a similar struggle with his mental health after getting involved with the Asian Baptist Student Koinonia (ABSK), a Berkland-run campus ministry group. 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. If they really examine things, they really could change, he said, but I just dont think theyre willing to let go of a lot of the practices theyve been holding on to.. I remember all too clearlythe day thatmy entire classgot rebuked because one class member was found to be secretly dating another member of the church. But their restoration hinged on the whims of Gracepoint leaders, with the process sometimes dragging out and involving assignments to repent with written reflections and confessions. If it's your friend, let him or her know that you're there. 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. Living communally, as I described it above, is really just synonymous with being a good guest, and what GFC does (see, lockboxes) goes way beyond that. Last year, Pete Nguyen left Gracepoint after experiencing severe depression and suicidal thoughts while attending. Content Copyright 2016-2020 The Triton. Documents from 2011 taught church leaders to rebuke members so that the person gets to have proper fear toward God & proper shock over what he has done, with the trainer modeling screaming and slamming the table, according to former staff. Sam C., who has since been diagnosed with depression, said, Its something that I still work on, you know, 18 years later. This includes "unhealthy addictions" and "sinful acts" which may include: partying, drugs, bad influences of friends, excessive social media use, etc. 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. 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