Nov
27
Thanksgiving SWS and Celebration
By Joseph Lim-Effendy | 7 comments
Danggggggg! Can you see the glory?? Can YOU see the gloryyy of our Koin (aka fellowship)?? (See the People's Song song by AMP if you don't get the reference.) This past Thanksgiving Celebration can only be described as glorious! Filled with fun, fellowship, FOOD, and dance, we had a great time together in our very first Sunday Worship Service and Thanksgiving Celebration with [make]new. The afternoon started off with a solid message from Pastor Jonathan on Luke 17. Pastor Jonathan really broke the down the passage and I was blessed reflecting upon how much I can return back to God and give thanks for! Before the message, members of Koinonia had the opportunity to bless us and share how they were thankful despite different struggles across the year. Deep. After service, all of Koinonia began to prep for the festivities at hand…THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION (TC)! But before the performances, we had legit family time together over Thanksgiving Lunch/Dinner! Koinonia does food big, but for Thanksgiving, we all went all out. Just look at this deceptively large mound of bacon. Bacon may just be a no big deal for some, but it’s NOT just bacon, but a bacon wrapped turkey! WHO DOES THAT? Just as the Word is a double edge sword that divides soul and spirit, joint and marrow, look at Jesse carve that turkey! Don’t mess, he knows wassup! After our hearty meal, it was performance time where Koinonia’s true nature was demonstrated. Koinonia was once compared to a unicorn – mystical and majestic, and no other truer words could describe the rest of the evening. The freshman started off the performances reminding the rest of us of our once had youth. Look at the joy in their eyes! So much vitality. I wonder if their faces will be like after finals….hmmm Look at these freshman be so cool with their umbrellas. I hope they hold on to them because they’ll soon learn what REAL rain is, but if they don’t it's alright because the wind will render them useless. That’s Berkeley. The sophomores took the stage next to give us a glimpse into the roughness and brutality of suffer-more year. Hang in there! What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger (and more dependent on God!) The juniors delivered a very God (the) Father centered performance. Since the mafia is low key and operates in the shadows, no images of the performance were recorded, but we did snap this photo of some of their members. Dangg…they look tough. Trifling is not recommended. The seniors closed out TC with an energetic time of reflection. It was a glorious and joyful time as some of the seniors thanked God for the work He’s done in their lives in the last four years. Thank God for all He’s done in all of us! Despite their old age, the seniors couldn’t contain their thanks and broke out in dance! Phew!! Thank God no hips were fractured or shoulders dislocated in their praise! As the seniors concluded their last number, they reminded us of our commitment to God and his desire for us to follow Him! Thank God for his faithful this past year across Koinonia and in our lives! Looking forward to next year’s TC alreadyyyy!
Nov
20
Thanksgiving Retreat
By Jen Kim
Hey Koin! Wow, time really does fly by when you have reasons to be joyful~I can’t believe it’s already been a week since Thanksgiving Retreat, and two years since the one I attended my freshman year. Here’s the recap: messages, videos, testimonies, more videos, FOOD, & fellowship! It all started Friday night at the Koffman Auditorium in Alameda where the whole church (well…most of the church) gathered to share how God has been moving in their ministries. The weekend was CHOCK-FULL of 2012 video recaps from all of the ministries in Gracepoint, from Joyland to ECM, San Diego to Minnesota, Koinonia to A2F, and even Make[New] to Crosstalk. Yea, we’re just that big, but that’s just what made the retreat so amazing. Personally, I struggled to stay awake during my freshman year, but Thanksgiving Retreat has a special place in my heart because it was during the retreat my sophomore year when I rededicated my life to Christ -- now, I stand as a junior full of joy and gratitude for all the ways that God has touched the lives of so many people, including mine. Pastor Ed spoke about how pouring out our life for the one who poured out his is a beautiful thing, even though the world may call it wasteful, and various ministry leads shared their testimonies of God’s work throughout the year. James, of course, led us through amazing praise (per usual) and we were blasted with a BOMB orchestra put together from numerous church members, lifting their many years of lessons and practice for God’s glory. I got to watch all my friends from the mezzanine, and it was quite a show x] Throughout the weekend, we ate some good food and shared some good laughs with new and familiar faces. God is g o o d. Can I get an amen? Check it out! Oh, and we got some tough bros to look pretty ridiculous (focus your attention to the guys on the left! ;D haha) If ya guys missed out, don’t worry; all this fun is an annual affair! But we can always, and should always, foster a thankful heart all year round. Till next time Koin! pEacE~ written by your favorite junior, Jen(nifer) Kim :)
Nov
16
Sign up for Winter Retreat
By Dasol Jung
Sign up for our annual winter retreat! The retreat will be an exciting time when our college groups will come together to start off the new year by hearing from God's word. It will be a time to refocus, be refreshed, challenged and inspired! Sign-up & plan now... You don't want to miss this time. See you there! Dates: Jan 19-21, 2013 (Sat - MLK Mon) Berkeley people: Please try to return to Berkeley by Friday noon. Location: Mt. Hermon Conference Center (near Santa Cruz, CA) Further details (cost, logistics) will be provided at a later date, but mark your calendars!
Nov
16
Winter Institute & UCSD Winter Mission Trip!
By Crystal Dou | 2 comments
Join us for Winter Institute (January 2-5) and Winter Mission Trip to UCSD (January 9-13)! All the church plants will be joining us for an exciting week of training in apologetics and equipping ourselves for the new year. Sign up ASAP as we'll be inviting Cliffe Knechtle as a guest speaker. Author and pastor, Cliffe is most known for his Give Me An Answer ministry, as well as the dialogues that he has with crowds of students on university campuses across the United States. He will be giving sessions on: Tough Questions, Comparative Religions & Worldview, Sin & Morality, Heaven & Hell. You'll also get to sign up for seminars + electives! Cost: $50. Sign up here We'll also have domestic mission trips this year! Koinonia will be heading down to UCSD for a week to help out with UCSD's welcome week. I went last year and it was a time when I got to help out with UCSD's college ministry and experience God at work on their campus. Priorities will be given to sophomores, so sign up ASAP as spots are limited!! Cost: TBD. Sign up here.
Nov
08
Sr/Fr Sierra Lodge Trip
By Kenneth Balibalos | 5 comments
As we all gathered in the Sierra Barn, I couldn’t help but reminisce about my first time at Sierra Lodge and thinking about how awesome it was. Not only was it built three times, but also it was a place where we could all get away from Berkeley and have some real fun. And like every getaway to Sierra Lodge, it didn’t disappoint. To start off the night, we got to know each other with the “Four Corners” game. We quickly split up into the caffeinated versus the non-caffeinated, the pc users or the mac users, and we ended the icebreaker by trying to convince others why our area (NorCal, SoCal, Out-of-state, or International) was the best. While SoCal was obviously the best, I couldn’t help but linger on one freshman’s defense of China and Korea, claiming that “Korean BBQ is the product of our wisdom…” How true. Thank you so much. It was a great starting point for our souls as we began our smores/hot-link/banana boat/fire/singing fellowship and ate and sang to our hearts content. Afterward we had free-time. I was personally ambushed and dragged into a snowball fight. Others relived and passed down the torch of King Kong Shower to loud freshman. Some played the classic Sierra Lodge sports: foosball, basketball and around the world ping-pong. The next day we had a Bible Study at our TSM (The Saturday Morning) presented by our very own Wilson and we were challenged that God would use what little faith we have. It isn’t about the amount of faith we have, but the object of our faith that matters. It was a meaningful point to dwell upon as we drove to Kings Beach on Lake Tahoe. For many people, beauty took on a whole new meaning as it was their first time at Lake Tahoe. In the midst of getting to know one another through laughing, eating, playing sports, watching a dog play fetch and enjoying God’s creation, I was struck by in just a short while, bonds and friendships were already starting to form and strengthen. I was personally really thankful that God has placed all these people in my life. While we were sad to leave something so wondrous so soon, we had the greatness of Korea awaiting us for dinner at Sierra Lodge. With so much great food, fun times, and close friendships forming, how would anyone say no to Sierra Lodge?!??!?!?! Check out the pictures! Peace.
Nov
02
Jr/So/Fr Sierra Lodge Trip!
By Dasol Jung
This past weekend, the juniors, along with some of the sophomores and freshmen, went up to Sierra Lodge, located by Lake Tahoe, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the campus and spend time hanging out, eating, singing by the campfire, and, of course, playing in the snow! After a couple of hours of driving and eating In 'n Out on the way up, we arrived at Sierra Lodge and started off our trip with some time playing games and hanging out. We ended the night singing songs and eating hot links, s'mores, and banana boats by the campfire. The next day, we played a guess-who game and Joe gave us a stirring bible study on Mark, on the passage where Jesus calls his disciples to follow him, and by doing so, find life to the fullest. Afterwards, we went out to play in the snow! There were snowball fights, tackle ultimate frisbee, king of the hill battles, snowman making, and sledding. We went sledding down a pretty smooth and not very steep slope, as you can see from Albert's expression. Some of us had fun making snowmen. All in all, it was a fun-packed day. There snow-thing better than a weekend filled with fellowship, snowball fights and friends. Hope to see you guys at Sierra Lodge next time!
Oct
29
Thanksgiving Retreat
By Tim Choi
Join us as we look back on all that God's been doing across our different ministries this past year! Friday 11/9 7:30-9:30 Saturday 11/10 10AM-10pm (lunch and dinner included) @ Kofman Auditorium. If you have any questions, please ask your staff! Signup HERE!!!
Oct
26
Koinonia Half-Time Games!
By Crystal Dou | 2 comments
After the thought-provoking message, the juniors and freshmen headed off to Harbor Bay, our HUGE new church building. There were so many rooms and offices in Harbor Bay… it was like a maze! After nibbling on some fancy multi-grain crackers and salami for snacks, we broke up into teams to play Minute-To-Win-It games. We started off game time with ‘Face the Cookie.’ It was hilarious to see some of our brothers and sisters make some pretty funny faces to get a cookie to go from their face to their mouth. It was quite a work out for those out of shape facial muscles! We then played some more games like getting a bubble gum from a bowl of whipped cream, wrapping someone in a roll of toilet paper, and rallying a paper ball across the room. We also had loads of fun laughing at out-of-balance and blinded samurais attempt to duel each other. We ended the night by taking life group pictures together. All in all, it was a night filled with laughter and good food. We got to laugh at each other, have fun together, and fellowship with one another in the midst of the business of school. Hope to see you all again next week!
Oct
26
Koinonia Half-Time!
By Dasol Jung | 2 comments
Last friday, all of Koinonia got together for the first time in a VERY long time for Koinonia Half-Time!! We had a fun time of rousing praise led by our very own talented praise team. They were pretty amazing. My favorite was Let the Praises Ring, such a good song… Becky Song, a senior, also shared her testimony. Her testimony was heartfelt and touching. It was one of those moments where you really had to be there to understand. … and oh man, Pastor Jonathan's message was awesome to the max.. Remember that joke about the PhasiSEEs who can't SEE? Wasn't that funny? I thought it was hilarious. But I noticed that though I was among the few who laughed, many were in pain. And not from laughing either. All kidding aside, we ended the bible study in true Koinonia style, we took a large group picture, and then, each class split off for some fun memory-making, de-stressing games. Stay tuned for Koinonia Half-Time Games!
Oct
26
Sierra Lodge Trips!
By Brandon Chen
Coming up very soon are our Sierra Lodge trips! Sierra Lodge is an amazing place that we built ourselves, right in the midst of some amazing nature! Join us for a weekend of great food, hiking, campfire, water sports, ultimate frisbee, basketball, and much more! This semester, we have two different trips to Sierra Lodge: this upcoming weekend (Friday 10/26 - Saturday 10/27) and next weekend (Friday 11/2 - Saturday 11/3). Make sure to contact your Lifegroup staff for details. You don't want to miss it!
Oct
19
Koinonia Half-Time!
By Brandon Chen | 2 comments
Join us this Friday for our Koinonia Half-Time! We're all together again at 2050 VLSB, starting with dinner at 6:30pm! Don't miss it!
Oct
19
Lifegroup + Mini-Golfing
By Lydia Kim | 1 comment
This past Friday, Steven and Robin's lifegroup cluster had an awesome time at Bible Study, followed by mini-golfing adventures. We started the evening with dinner and continued our discussion-based Bible Study through the book of Mark. Afterwards, we all packed into cars and headed to Golfland! Before golfing, we had some yummy snacks and hot chocolate! Then, after breaking up into teams, we got down to the serious business of mini-golfing. Very serious business... Facing swinging poles, treacherous slopes and even moats, we swung ball after ball to complete the rounds. On top of these geographical obstacles, we added our own Koinonia Challenges, ranging from hitting with your eyes closed, standing backwards and even standing flamingo-style on one leg, as demonstrated below by Tin! All in all, it was a fun night of exciting hole-in-one's, painful misses and even shots that flew out of the golf range! In the midst of busy mid-semester stress, it was nice to relax, playing golf, laughing at one another and just spending time together. :) Look forward to seeing everyone next week at Koinonia Half-Time!
Sep
28
TONIGHTisRSFnight
By Tim Choi
Tonight, after your regularly scheduled life groups, Koinonia will be going to RSF to have our epic, once in a semester, colossal (but very friendly and collaborative!) RSF SPORTS NIGHT!!! so bring your shorts and sneaks and we'll see you there...
Sep
18
AMP
By Tim Choi | 8 comments
DINNER STARTS AT 6:30!!! see you there... this friday, Sept 21, 7:30 @ First Presbyterian
Sep
14
College Ops!
By Tim Choi
College Ops is an opportunity for "YOU" as a student to take ownership over the different tech related needs for our group. It's a great place to get more experience, learn some new things, and get to know people from other classes! Signups are here:
Sep
11
FRESHMEN BEACH TRIP!
By Tim Choi | 1 comment
This past Saturday, the freshmen went to Fort Funston (SF) for a much needed fun day in the sun. It was a nice time to just get away, have some good food, and hang out on the nice and cool SF coast line. Check out the pics below!
Sep
06
TFN this Friday
By Tim Choi
Join us this Friday for our weekly THE FRIDAY NIGHT. It'll be a good time to see each other again and study the word of God. And as usual: GOOD FOOD! Hope to see you there!
Sep
05
Office Hours with Pastor Jonathan and Susanna
By Tim Choi
Pastor Jonathan and Susanna are hosting office hours for students on Fridays from 2-5pm. This is a great chance to get to know them better, ask questions, or get advice. They'd love to get to know you and help you along in your spiritual journeys!
Aug
28
Life Group Kickoff!
By Dan Chiang | 1 comment
Here are some pictures from our Life Group Kickoff last Friday. Hope you can all join us for The Friday Night this coming Friday (8/31)!
Aug
23
NSWN & Welcome Week in Review
By Tim Choi | 2 comments
With classes starting today, we just wanted to look back and see all of the exciting things that happened during welcome week! We're really glad to have met all of the new students this past week and we hope to get to know you guys even more as the semester continues. Don't forget to join us on Friday for our LIFEGROUP KICKOFF, 6pm VLSB!