International Graduate Student Ministry – Gracepoint Berkeley

International Graduate Student Ministry will hold our annual Retreat from Friday, Mar 19 to Sunday, Mar 21.  So save the date. We are excited to have a guest speaker, Dr. Zhengrong Zhu (bio). Don’t know what to expect at the retreat. Check out the video below:

[vimeo 8647298 500 281]

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We just finished up our ISM Winter Retreat last weekend at Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds.  It was a really special time as many of us got to really listen to the word of God, as well as some very informative special lectures by Daniel from Gracepoint Fellowship Church and Acts2Fellowship in Berkeley.  Daniel spoke about how there are things that science cannot explain, such as consciousness, thoughts, and the mind.   He also gave a good summary of a case for the resurrection of Jesus and how it is possible even through the evidence allowed by skeptics!  

Chul and Sharon gave wonderful messages about Jesus’ temptations and how we can encounter Jesus honestly, even with our doubts and all.  Brothers and sisters gave their testimonies about how they experienced God dealing with them about their ambition, moving closer to God in spite of family obstacles, and how they came to know Jesus personally.   Many students received prayer from the staff, and it was a really wonderful time.  As you can tell from the picture, Chul really opened wide his heart to us.  (see 2 Cor 6:13)

Finally, we had a lot of fun playing games like acting out Bible passages as a group.  Meowmeow (and my team in absentia) won with their funny rendition of Noah’s Ark and received coupons for free Dreyer’s Ice Cream.  We also acted out various animals, with Josiah’s money (and Sanghoon’s banana + Shufei as the tree) taking first place.  And I must say, my chicken act with the other guys was pretty funny too…!  Even Mia said it was good, so it must’ve been.  I guess it’s hard to compete with animals when they have props like Shufei. 

As you can tell, we had a blast and a blessed time.  Who says you can’t have both?  Hope you won’t miss out on our next ISM retreat!

Many of the ISM students and staff attended the winter retreat for Gracepoint Fellowship Church Berkeley this past weekend.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and bonding, as well as getting a chance to listen to messages from the Bible for an extended period of time.  (and had some very thought provoking video clips as well)  Many brothers and sisters shared their stories about how they came to know God, how they struggled with their personal issues, and how they grew through the process.  It was a great opportunity for all of us to take time out to think about God’s love for us.

The ISM Winter Retreat is coming up!  We hope that you can join us for that if you couldn’t be at the GFC one.  We will have a series of Bible studies to give everyone a deeper understanding about God’s perspective on life, sin, Christianity, and relationships.  Also, we will have some special seminars including topics such as the origin and validity of the Bible, the existence of God, etc.  It will a very informative opportunity for you to explore whether Christianity is rational.  And of course, we will have some fun games, go hiking and enjoy nature!  Sign up is here.