Anyone for small groups?

Question: Hey, I thought Kairos was already the small group ministry of Gracepoint Fellowship Church. Why do we need even smaller groups?

Well, I’m glad you asked (Ok, I know that was cheesy). Here at Kairos 2, we have smaller group Bible studies, which we call Kairos Bible studies, and then we have “small group”! While Koinonia and a2f (other great campus fellowships!) meet in groups of over 100 or 200 for their weekly meetings, we have anywhere from 25-40 at our weekly Friday Bible studies. On top of that, we start with a scumptious dinner, which is often home-cooked (extra plus), and end with some great activities just to have fun together!

Kairos 2 Bowling Challenge!

However, during the midweek, we break up into small groups that are normally single gender, in order to get real, talk about pertinent life issues, and help each other with Christian growth. Regardless of what spiritual background you come from, small groups are the place for you to building relationships, discuss spiritual issues, and walk with friends in this journey called life!

Question: Ok, so what are small groups like?

Hmm, good question. They normally run about 1 hour 15 minutes on a Wednesday or Thursday night. They are led by some of our staff and upperclassmen and well… why repeat what this video so aptly describes.

Ok, but the best answer is, you’ve got to come experience it for yourself!

Question: So how do I check out one of these groups?

I thought, and you probably did too, that we’d never get here. Well, the easiest way is to sign up online!

We start in 2 weeks so hope to see you there!

SF Spectacular Trip Moved to Next Sat (9/6)

Update (8/28): With the flurry of events this week, we’ll be postponing our SF trip to Saturday, September 6th. This will allow many of the students who are going home over Labor Day to join us!! So get some rest over the Labor Day weekend, study, or just take in the first week of school!

Hardly a week has gone by and we’re already planning for next week! This (Labor Day) Monday Next Saturday (9/6), we’ll be heading out to San Francisco to have a great tour of the city. And we’re not talking about visiting Chinatown and Japantown here (though you can do that on your own some other time) — we’ll be going to the big places! First up, we’ll be hitting up Battery Park, where there is a marvelous view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Kairos sisters showing off their herculean strength

After that, we’ll head on over to Pier 39 for lunch: SF’s famous clam chowder! Then, we’ll peruse the hats at the Crazy Hat shop. Who knew that all those hats and crazy shades could be so much fun? I didn’t at first… but amazingly, it’s a lot of fun!

Tryin' hard to be cool. Except they smilin'. And Ron's trying real hard to not smile.

No one's trying to be cool here. Except maybe Cheng.

Afterwards, we’ll visit Lombard Street (the windiest street on the face of the earth*), and we’ll finish off the day with some Earthquakes at Ghirardelli. All that fun and excitement in one day, and you’ll be back at home by 5pm!

We’ll be meeting in front of the Crossroads at 10:30am on Saturday, Sept 6, and please don’t forget to SIGN UP! (This will help us arrange the rides on the day of.) Oh, and for the rest of our events this week, just check out our post below!

Alright folks, if you have any questions, just leave a comment here and we’ll get back to you!

* Based completely on subjectivity.

Welcome Back (and news for this week)!

Hey everyone! Isn’t it incredible that school is less than five days away? Yessiree Bob, in five short days flowers stop blooming, birds stop chirping, and the sun will no longer rise, for summer comes to a screeching halt. Oh, the agony! The injustice of it all!

Well, I have some good news for you. We have activities throughout the next week that will definitely help cushion the blow:

 

NSWN 2007

 

• First on the list, this Sunday’s Worship Service will be at 1:15pm and it will be held at the Pauley Ballroom. Please note both the location and the time change!
• Next up, we’ll be playing frisbee, soccer, and football this coming Tuesday (8/26) at 4pm. Hopefully, summer hasn’t caused your muscles to atrophy — but if it has, well… it’s ok. You’re still invited. This will also be a great way to meet all your friends at Kairos (and new ones) whom you haven’t seen all summer! Location will TBD.
• This Wednesday (at 6pm) will be our New Student Welcome Night #1. If you haven’t been there before (what!? Shame on you!), it’s an event filled with rockin’ music, hilarious-yet-thought-provoking skits, goofy videos, and a brief talk. Oh, and there will be a ton of free bbq! So grab a friend and come on out! It will be held at the Pauley Ballroom.
• Finally, we’ll host NSWN #2 on Friday, 7pm (again at the Pauley Ballroom). In case you’re wondering if we’re going to regurgitate everything from Wednesday night out again, think again! We’ll have fresh new skits, different line-up of songs and music… even the video will be different. So even if you’ve been to our Wednesday event, please feel free to come out again!

How much is a lot of bbq? We're cooking 1100 lbs of meat this year!

Alright folks, this week will be thoroughly exciting, despite the fact that school starts on Wednesday. Come join us — you won’t regret it. I guarantee it!

At the starting line… Kairos 3, 4, and W!

REWIND: Back in the fall of 2006, Gracepoint Fellowship Church, Berkeley, launched Kairos Christian Fellowship. We started with 4 groups, but over the last 2 years, Kairos 3 and 4 joined Koinonia and a2f (our other campus fellowships at Gracepoint).

Remembering our First Kairos 2 Bible Study back in the Summer of 2006

As one of the original Kairos groups, we’re excited to announce that this fall, Kairos 3, 4, and W will be starting anew!! Wait, what’s Kairos W? Well, it a Kairos group just for women! That’s right, it’s a place just for the girls to be real, to bond, and really form deep relationships around Christian values.

On top of that, many of staff and leads for these groups are good friends of Amy and I.

Kairos 3 is headed up by Ken and Carmen Hsu. Ken was my college buddy and we were roommates back then. Kairos 4 is led by Tim and Debbie Fitz (and their adorable daughter Mikaela) and we’ve known them for over a decade (can’t believe it’s been that long…). Kairos W is headed by Jenn Yoon and Jeanne Phung, two fun-loving, thoughtful girls. As they launch these groups, I’m excited to see how God will work and who will join them as the pioneering group of students! Good luck guys, and we’ll be praying for you here at Kairos 2.

The staff of Kairos 4: Tim and Debbie Fitz, Jully Yi, Richard Dongses and Richard Yen (left to right)

The staff of Kairos W: Jenn Yoon and Jeanne Phung (left to right)

Check out their new blogs:

• Kairos 3
• Kairos 4
• Kairos W

New Student Welcome Night (NSWN)!!!

Fall semester is just around the corner and we’re all gearing up to put on one of the BIGGEST events of any student group at Cal!! We call it the New Student Welcome Night which is being hosted by Kairos Christian Fellowship (that’s us!!), acts2fellowship, and Koinonia.

What? You’ve never been to the NSWN before? You’ve never had the famous korean bbq? You’ve never seen the skits, experienced the video, heard the message, been blown away by the music? Well then, watch this trailer and check out the website below!

New Student Welcome Night 2008!

More on Cal Connect ‘08

Howdy, folks! Doubtless by now, some of you have received email newsletters, postcards, and email reminders of our event this Thursday (psst… it’s still not too late to RSVP). As we’re gearing up for Cal Connect, we have some updated news!

More Faces

Since sending out our email newsletter, two more people have joined us to talk about their experiences at Cal. Ron is an Industrial Engineer who also likes film on the side, and Jessica received her masters in Public Health just last year (2007).  Both will join the rest of us to impart our wisdom (and/or pointless knowledge) of our experiences at Cal!

Cheng, Ron, and Robert (who was sad that his photo wasn't posted in the newsletter)

Lin & Jessica

 

Survival Guide

This year, we’ve completely revamped our Survival Guide to Cal. It used to be a simple brochure that is chock-full of useful information; now, same information, but with a major facelift. Behold:

 

Woooo, pretty cover!

It opens like a flipbook.

Moreover, it opens up completely. What's on the backside..?

When some of the juniors and seniors first saw this, even they were completely enthralled. You know what they say: there is no charge for awesomeness… or attractiveness. (Unless you’re not a freshman. Sorry guys, you’ll have to work for yours.) =D

RSVP

So, if you’d like to meet current students and alumni from Cal (and get the Survival Guide for free), please sign up! This Thursday, 7-8:30pm, San Mateo Starbucks. Find a ride, grab a drink, and we’ll see you there!

Cal Connect 2008!!

I can’t believe it’s August!! As we approach yet another Fall semester, we have yet another exciting opportunity to welcome the incoming freshmen from around the Bay! For the past 2 years, Kairos has worked with the California Alumni Association to host receptions to welcome the incoming freshmen to Cal. Since Andy & I both grew up in the Bay Area and were freshmen just a couple years ago , we thought itʼd be a wonderful opportunity to help answer any questions the incoming freshmen may have or just to welcome them to Cal. This year weʼll be hosting a reception for the students in San Mateo County on Thursday, August 14. 

Also coming to the reception, weʼll have Abe who graduated in 2005 from EECS representing the Engineering department, and current Cal students Cheng & Chanhee representing MCB and pre-med, Robert with Economics, Lin from the Haas school of Business, Ron with Industrial Engineering, and of course Andy & I, to represent the best major at Cal, Cognitive Science! Weʼre all busy getting ready the different brochures, making our very own survival guide to Berkeley, and refreshing our memory on the answers to the important questions of where to get good cheap food after midnight, what’s the best places to study, what should I bring for move-in, how can I get more involved in Cal athletics, and much more!! We’re definitely looking forward to the new faces weʼll be meeting. GO BEARS!

Informal Reception Details:

• Date/Time: Thursday, August 14 from 7:00-8:30pm (drop in anytime!)
• Locations: Starbucks @ 1701 South El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94402
• Click here to RSVP
• For more info: Andy & Amy at andytung@alum.berkeley.edu or (510) 914-4749

*Hosted by Kairos Christian Fellowship, an official student group at UC Berkeley

Link to the official California Alumni Association “Welcome to Cal” reception announcement.

From Gracepoint Berkeley to Gracepoint Austin!!

Bryan Song setting up our Koinonia picture board

You ask, what’s the difference between Gracepoint Berkeley and Gracepoint Austin? Answer: The weather; 70 degrees and 0% humidity versus 102 degrees and 60% humidity. Everything else felt the same, from the family atmosphere, awesome fellowship, great food, trash talking on the basketball court, and the anticipation that God is going to do something great there!!

Hanging out after dinner at Pastor Manny and Sunny's House

This past week, me and 7 of my college buddies had the opportunity of going to Austin TX, to help out our church plant in any way we could. I personally felt an incredible sense of privilege as Pastor Manny and Sunny were the first ones to reach out to me and some of my friends when we first got to Berkeley. Fast forward just a couple of years (haha), and now we had the chance to help them out, and boy did we feel such a sense of joy doing so!

Tony Kim finishing up the sign board

We went to the dc’s, designed flyers, hosted our own basketball tournament, went on campus tours and prayer walks, built sign boards, shelves, dressers, designed websites, ate incredible southern bbq, tex-mex, and Sunny’s cooking, visited museums, presidential libraries, attended Koinonia bible study where we had our first UT students join us, went bowling where I lost my voice yelling, and so much more. As I worked and hung out with my friends, I was amazed at the fact that we’ve known each other for the past 12 years, since we were freshmen at Cal. And now we were serving together.

Working in 90 degree weather, at night, with Isaac and Tony (Kairos 1) on an A-Frame

More than all this, I am so excited to think that Pastor Manny, Sunny, and our entire Austin church planting team are there to share the gospel and recreate the community we have here in Berkeley. My heart was broken as I heard that multiple churches in the Austin area have pulled out of college ministry simply because it is too difficult. I believe that God brought us out to Austin for a reason, because his heart longs for people to come to know his love and saving grace.

Please join all of us as our entire church continues to pray for GFC Austin and the UT campus!! As our Austin team would say, “Hook ‘em Horns.”

Bonus Shot: Pastor Manny succumbing to the request of an UT Austin student for him to change allegiences. In the end, he held on to the bears (but for how long is the question)!!