Kairos Christian Fellowship (Gracepoint – Berkeley)

This past  winter retreat was awesome!  We loaded up the vans and drove through the beautiful curvy hills of Santa Cruz to Mount Hermon on Friday, Jan. 22.  We got just in time for our first incredible meal there—gravied turkey, chicken tenders, and salad.  After Nelson’s unbelievable impersonation of a monkey during the ice-breaker session, we started session 1 with some awesome praise—helping us to settle our hearts and focus before the message.

Pastor Ed gave a really incredible message on the “almost guys,” Saul and Samson who missed God’s calling.  Saul began an upright man appointed by God to be king over Israel, but fell as he refused to own up to the  sin in his life.  Sampson too fell because he was so addicted to his bodily desires that he was powerless to his sin.  The message was really convicting for everyone at the end as Pastor Ed asked each of us to write a letter to ourselves as if we were Saul or Sampson.

Day two began bright and early with some incredible breakfast and testimonies.  Andy and Amy shared honestly about some of their personal struggles and how God was faithful throughout their journey.  What really struck me about their sharing was how God used some of the most difficult struggles in their lives to change them and bless others.  And only by God’s grace could they serve and be sent out today as they are.   Following the testimonies, Pastor Ed gave a message on the rich young ruler, who is unable to forfeit his idols and Pilate, who is enslaved by his fear as he balanced the screams of the crowds with Jesus truth.

After a time of fellowship over sports, snacks, and nap , we heard more inspiring testimonies from some of the church directors and leads—Daniel and Sarah Kim, Lem and Karen, Steve Kim, Sharon, and Suzanne.  The last session pastor Ed gave a message on faithfulness based on the life of Abraham. Pastor Ed said God can use us in powerful ways if we choose to be faithful in making concrete vows and abandoning our irrational emotions.  That night ended with a special time of praise and prayer in which 33 brothers and sisters surrendered their lives to Christ for the first time or made significant re-dedication decisions.

On the last day, we talked about God’s vision for the church in Acts 2 and how debilitating fears can be.  I think my favorite time was our 10 year vision casting.  It made me really excited to cast a vision for myself that is so grand that only by God’s grace and provision could it be possible!  We finished up that retreat with a Q/A session and headed home.  Praise God for the many salvation, lordship, and rededication decisions made! I was blown away by how loving and faithful God is and what He can show us if we choose to be wholly devoted to hearing from Him and worshiping him together as one body.  Praise be to God!

Mt. Hermon

awesome kung fu moves!

seniors!

junior class!

sophomores!

the freshman class…

now the older and wiser…staff!