International Graduate Student Ministry – Gracepoint Berkeley

Enjoying your time with IGSM so far?  We wanted to offer a way to plug in deeper with our community: small groups!  Are you looking for a place where you can discuss your questions about Christian life?  Somewhere where it’s safe to discuss your thoughts about God and faith?  Or do you simply want a group of people to share life’s ups and downs together with?  Join a small group, which we call LIFE groups:

• Listen
• Intercede
• Fellowship
• Engage

It’s a place to pray for one another, study the Bible, and grow in our personal discipleship.  If you’re interested, please sign up below and one of our staff will contact you.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

On July 3rd, another group of ISM brothers went to Santa Cruz for fishing. I heard from Chul that they worked very hard and caught about 34 fish. I did not believe it until I saw the pictures. I was sad that they did not bring back any of their catch because I love fresh fish (yum!!!). But I am glad that they all had a great time!

Wedmod and I took our small groups of international graduate students for a fun one-day outing in San Francisco on July 3rd. We started the day hiking the Land’s End Trail next the Legion of Honor museum. After the hike, we drove down Clement and spotted a small Chinese dim sum place. We were placed at the back table with a nice man-made waterfall view. Dong was very happy with seating arrangement as he got to enjoy the man-made view. After that, we headed out to the Ocean Beach to play soccer and football. While I love playing football, I believe soccer is a better sport. We wrapped up the day with beach bonfire and Canton-style BBQ over the fire. We also had clam chowder, which really hit the spot in the chilly wind! Check out the pictures.

In the summer, ISM met for Bible study in homes in Alameda. The small group Bible studies were places where we learned about Christianity and what the Bible teaches about God, human nature, and Jesus Christ. We started with dinner each week, delved into the Bible, and strengthened our friendships in this nice cozy setting.

If you’re looking for a small group, please contact us! Check out the photos–you might want to join one after you see them!

Every summer, ISM changes its Bible study format to smaller and cozier group. This Bible study format change provides three advantages. The first advantage is that we can meet at ISM members’ homes in Alameda. Unlike the more austere and lecture-style classroom setting, homes provide a more relaxing and welcoming environment. Meeting at homes also allow us to have better food (nothing beats a home-cooked meal). Although coming to Alameda is a bit far from campus, the distance actually allows the students and scholars to have a short excursion away from their all-too-familiar research setting on the Berkeley campus.

The second advantage is that we can hold a more discussion-driven Bible study, which allows for more interaction among the students as well as with the Bible study teacher. Another advantage is that the discussion topics can be different for different groups. This allows us to tailor the Bible study topics according to the questions and the needs of the students and scholars. Lastly, it’s always nice to have a change of setting once in a while.

In the past two years, we have tried offering classes such The Book of Romans, Genesis in Space and Time, Worldviews Today, and others. This year, we are divided into three smaller groups: one group studies the Devotion Time (DT) passage provided by Gracepoint Fellowship Church; the other two groups study the Alpha Course material.

We just started the new format last week. I pray and hope that through the new format, our ISM students and scholars will build more relationships with one another and get to know God more through the Bible studies.