Life at Gracepoint

I had a small imagination of what God can do through the church in the area of service and growth. I never imagined some of the things that happened this year, especially through the development of our Sunday Worship Services and the avenues by which God has worked in Praxis ministry. What used to be Pastor Ed giving a message on stage in front of green drabby curtains is now a beautiful stage with lighting and curtain enhancements that incorporates into a regular message series. The enhanced Sunday Worship Service experience is a product of the outgrowth in Praxis ministry, with increased areas of service, not just through sound, lighting, and stage but also through the Welcome Team, Impact and Joyland. There was a newcomer who, after his first Sunday at Willard, said that he was so warmly received by the Welcome Team, he felt like he's been going to this church for a long time. I'm also amazed that 60 Oakland inner city children come on a weekly basis to join our Joyland children during Joyland large group time to hear the message of God's love and Jesus Christ, and to hear them reciting verses like 1 Corinthians 13 gives me such joy. In Praxis ministry, I also never imagined having montly convalescent home visits, where after regularly interacting with elderly who, most of the time, I find it very difficult to carry out a conversation, 4 of them end up receiving Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior! God is wanting to stretch my mind in new areas of pouring my life out in response to the Great Commission and faithfully serving in various capacities.

The beginning of December usually marks the beginning of the Christmas season, and for many people, this means that it is time to hit the shopping malls and start buying those Christmas gifts. For Joyland teachers, the beginning of December marked the countdown toward the annual Joyland Christmas Celebration, which is scheduled for the third weekend of December. JCC is a performance that is put on every year by our children’s department during which our kids get a chance to show off their amazing singing, acting and dancing talents. JCC has always been a huge production in the past that required countless hours of preparation, but this year the workload increased even more due to the added number of kids and new friends that have been coming through the Impact program.

While the rest of the world has been busy hitting the malls, Joyland teachers have been busy writing scripts, making props, sewing costumes, finding and editing music, producing thousands of flyers and programs, practicing the lines with the kids, teaching kids how to act etc. etc. Every aspect of JCC is indeed very involved and time-consuming. As the costume lead for the 2nd-3rd grade skit, I am just one small part of the entire performance, yet I have spent many hours and long nights cutting fabric, sewing tunics, fitting costumes on the kids, altering costumes, and creating dozens of spreadsheets.

It may seem strange that so much work and so many sleepless nights are put into this 2 hour performance. Yet, I am personally thankful to be part of this kind of work, to be around people who are trying to honor God passionately by giving their all and spending these long hours on what may seem like trivial things. Seeing the entire JCC performance coming together and watching the kids recite their lines, I am reminded that it is all worth it. While the rest of the world is lost in a shopping frenzy, I am glad that we can be engaged in meaningful work and that we can lose ourselves for these kids.

I’m thankful for CSUEB Koinonia’s Thanksgiving Celebration last week. Most memorable that evening was our time of thanksgiving; two of our guys expressed their sincere gratitude for our group members who ‘put a lot of time and energy into making everything happen.’ One of the guys is an international student who was very touched that we had taken him out for his birthday. His last birthday was spent alone because he had just moved to America and didn't know anyone, but this year he was so thankful that he was surrounded by people who cared about him. The other listed off several detailed ways in which he had seen people work hard to put even one bible study or event together. I wasn't expecting their simple expressions of thanks, but I was touched because they noticed the heart behind all that we do. Likewise, I learned that I could be a more joyful, thankful person if I would take some time to pause and notice the rich blessings God has given to me, and his heart of love behind those blessings that motivates all He does. And by giving Him the praise and thanks that He rightfully deserves, I can honor Him.

This past week marked the end of our very first Alpha series at CSUEB Koinonia. Though it lasted only 5 weeks, we have considered various topics on Christianity and developed many meaningful relationships through our small group discussions. Because CSUEB is a commuter school, it’s not always easy to gather together to have this kind of time. The sheer fact that somehow, in the middle of their hectic school week, students would pause to have genuine conversations about life, God, and the Bible is simply amazing! For weeks now we have excitedly shared stories of students' genuine inquiry about Jesus and the Bible, or a small sign of struggle with their newfound sense of sin. Hearing these stories makes me pause from my busy workday to give praise to God for making each discussion possible, and to offer up a quick prayer for our students. Just as we have been able to bring the message of gospel this quarter through the Alpha series, I eagerly anticipate many other opportunities to praise God and honor His name on the CSUEB campus in the coming year.

This past summer’s big announcement of changes within our college department resulted in the creation of three separate college fellowships. Basically, the large Thursday and Friday night groups stayed the same, but a third "experimental" small-group ministry was started: Kairos Fellowship…another Greek word to remember. Four Kairos groups were sent out to make inroads on campus to places we hadn’t reached before. But how? No one really knew. I remember thinking, "Will this work? Will people come?"

Who would have expected that only after half a semester we would have an All-Kairos BBQ and Bible Study with about 70 students? It was a sight to see our sanctuary full of people, eating together, laughing, and listening intently to Pastor Ed’s message. Amazingly, I know some of these students’ stories…some of them rarely came to the 150+ people bible studies, and a few of them were the types who never would’ve stepped into a church let alone even liked Christians, but now those same students are coming regularly to meetings, inviting their friends to Bible Studies, taking Course 101 and seriously seeking and considering Christianity as truth. I wonder where each of these students would be right now if Kairos hadn’t started? How appropriate, I thought, that we named our group “Kairos” since in Greek it means “the right and opportune time” because for many of the students who joined us that night this may perhaps be the most opportune time in their lives to hear the gospel and believe.