Core Values Archive

  • Fear not

    Fear not

    Submitted by Vicky…  (Vicky is right in the middle, with the blue / purple wrapped flowers) I grew up in Taiwan and from an early age, I was used to burning incense on holidays and following various local customs.  I was not sure whether God...

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  • A rich life

    A rich life

    Submitted by Irene… (Irene is on the far left, Olivia is next to her, then Cynthia/Eugene) Ever since I was little, I thought that it was necessary for me to study hard and to find a good job in order for me to live a...

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  • Just as I am

    Just as I am

    Submitted by Steven… Growing up, I only knew of two things: to be successful in life and to find happiness. I believed that in order to get through life, we need to be “strong”: strong against the tragedies that happen in your life, strong against...

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  • True life in Christ

    True life in Christ

    Submitted by Tony… I was born into a Christian family. My grandmother, deep in her faith, led us all to church every Sunday. Both my parents were baptized in this church; My mother joined the choir and my father became the general affairs manager. So...

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  • Image is everything

    Image is everything

    Submitted by Kristen… From day one, my life was filled with godly people, prayers and love as I was born into the community of Gracepoint. For as long as I can remember, I always had people at my house at all odd hours of the...

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  • In the Father’s home

    In the Father’s home

    Submitted by Thanh… I used to be a very self-centered, bitter, lost boy who tried to be like everyone else at school. Like every other teenager, I pursued popularity, attention and approval among my peers. The desire to fit in was a burden to me,...

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  • Putting God back in the picture

    Putting God back in the picture

    Submitted by Tabby… Because both my parents were Christians before I was born, I started going to church ever since I was born. So I grew up learning all the stories in the Bible and who God, and I heard the story of the gospel...

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  • A bigger God

    A bigger God

    Submitted by Noah… I’ve believed in God my whole life.  From the moment I was conscious I was immersed in the church, and taught the message of the gospel.  I first “accepted Christ” in 4th grade at a Joyland retreat. That was the first time...

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  • Amazing grace

    Amazing grace

    Submitted by Stephen… All my life, I have grown up in the church, assuming the role of the good church kid, attending service every Sunday, and going to the occasional retreat or church outing. I heard the gospel often, and soon it became just another...

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  • 700 aunties and uncles

    700 aunties and uncles

    I was really touched by Nathan’s sharing yesterday, on the part 3 video of the grumpy old men talk show (to be posted soon on gracepointvideo.org), when he said that he has about 700 aunties and uncles who love him and take care of him. ...

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  • Running on gratitude

    Running on gratitude

    Submitted by Tiffany… Growing up, I was always in the position of being protected from my father’s anger, weaknesses and neglect by my mother and sister. When I saw how much pain my mother and sister suffered, I felt useless and wanted to do something...

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  • Consumed by God’s work

    Consumed by God’s work

    Submitted by Sam… I have always seen myself as different from other people. Pride told me that everyone else were objects standing before me that could either satisfy my desires or oppose them. But God introduced another standard into my life from an early age...

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  • Empty –> Full

    Empty –> Full

    Submitted by David.. I was born and raised as a middle child in East Los Angeles and for the first five years of my life, I was the youngest in my family.  During these early years, I remember being heavily influenced by my older brother...

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  • Lightning speed

    Lightning speed

    Just wanted to post some short sharings from some of our Austin members about the anniversary service this past week. Submitted by Bryan… This past weekend Gracepoint Austin celebrated its first anniversary.  What a year it has been!  It’s hard to imagine that just one...

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  • Full and satisfied

    Full and satisfied

    Submitted by Olivia (from Gracpoint Hsinchu)… The long awaited NTU (National Taiwan University) discussion small group “Pause” finally started on October 7, 2009 (clap + cheer)! Two years after Koinonia came to Hsinchu, Taiwan, we’re finally in a new city and new campus, making connections...

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  • Receiving 100 times as much

    Receiving 100 times as much

    Submitted by Helen… My 30th birthday was this past week and I was so grateful to God for all the ways that God has been faithful in my life for the 30 years.  I can’t believe that I’ve been here for the past 12 years. ...

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  • Standing before the old rugged cross

    Standing before the old rugged cross

    Submitted by Anonymous… In 1986, I was born in an ordinary family in Beijing. The baby boom in China culminated that year with more than fifteen million babies, which meant that I needed go through competition my entire life, including my education, career and marriage....

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  • Thank you for giving to the Lord

    Thank you for giving to the Lord

    Submitted by Lauren… Two weeks ago we celebrated Grandma Bessie’s 100th birthday at Crown Bay nursing home. We first met Grandma Bessie Porteous about 1 year ago when we started elderly care ministry. Grandma Bessie was born in 1909 in Olympia WA. At the age...

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  • You feed them

    You feed them

    Being an introvert by nature, I feel much more at ease in one on one or smaller group settings, and my reaction to crowds is, “Get me outta here;” so one of the things that never ceases to amaze me is Jesus’ compassion on the...

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  • Go Longhorns!

    Go Longhorns!

    Submitted by David… Coming from California (Go Bears!), I knew football was big in Texas. However, what I experienced on Saturday for Koinonia’s UT vs. Texas Tech game viewing was simply incredible. The 605 house which was purchased just this year was jam-packed with over...

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  • Doing LIFE in Texas

    Doing LIFE in Texas

    Submitted by Jackie… I can’t believe it’s only been about two months since Daryl and I moved to Austin. It’s been a whirlwind with Welcome Week, NSWN, DC outreach, Tex-Connect, LIFE groups…and just when I think we have some down time, we’re gearing up for...

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  • Hsinchu / Austin Discipleship Retreats

    Hsinchu / Austin Discipleship Retreats

    Austin and Taiwan both had their very first discipleship retreats this past weekend.  (Austin retreat picture above.) I am just amazed and so thankful as it’s just been one year since we started Austin and two years since we started Taiwan, but the sense of...

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  • Sue’s story

    Sue’s story

    Rick and Sue are the directors of Kairos Christian Fellowship (pictured above), a Gracepoint Berkeley ministry. (Sue is in the front row, right side.) I grew up in a very comfortable home and never lacked anything. For my 17th birthday my parents surprised me with...

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  • Rock star to food server

    Rock star to food server

    One of the things I cherish about Gracepoint Berkeley’s New Student Welcome Night every year is that it really doesn’t matter who you are or what you do.  Each person matters, each person’s presence counts and what each of us does has rippling effects for...

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  • Let your glory fall on this place…

    Let your glory fall on this place…

    No time to write anything this week, so I’m just going to link to and post up some other things going on in our midst.  This past Saturday, after the prayer walk, we had a productive and fun Saturday workday at Northloop, doing everything from...

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