Gracepoint Berkeley

I’ve been to over a half-​dozen other churches and this is no ordinary church: this is a teaching school & community for people who are interested to learn more about Christianity and try to practice it. They offer lots of courses taught by experienced people you can take like Christian Foundations, Beginning Steps, Post-​College Life, Survival Kit 1, Survival Kit 2, Marriage, etc. to prepare people for what’s coming up in life. Ministry opportunities here are varied, from children to youths to college to elderly. The majority of the focus is on teaching college students.
Messages are Biblical and well-​put together and the staff are generally committed to the welfare and equipping of members for works of service to the community. The relationships formed here are warm and deeply familial from the many sharing times, peer times, and activities that often provide challenging growth opportunities for one’s spiritual life to be more like Jesus.
A vocal few leave and then bitterly persecute this ministry for decades because of big misunderstandings on either part, hearing things incorrectly, or wrong motives or expectations. However, many thousands more stay to help build up the ministry, many go to help start up church plants in other college towns, some go back to help their home churches or another church, some to global missions, and a few to seminary to pastor new churches. Over 300+ people have made their salvation decisions during their time at Gracepoint this past year alone and also in prior years.
I would highly recommend this for anyone who is serious about learning more about Jesus and being equipped to do good works here and beyond.

This is the best church I have ever gone to. Other churches can learn a lot from the way they conduct themselves and do ministry (and I pray they will).
They provide members with a sense of mission. Members are not passive bystanders but all required to be actively engaged in a ministry that shares the gospel. They follow the acts 2 model in so much as members share and live lives together on a daily basis.
Their mentality is that each member is a missionary in a mission field with a mission as opposed to a more common passive view that sharing the gospel is the pastors job or that of the paid clergy.
They build active reflection and meditation into their structure and all members are required to participate in the same morning devotional program.
They are serious about following Jesus and living God centered lives as opposed to self centered lives.
Are they perfect? They definitely have their limitations such as almost half of them believing in theistic Evolution, too much unhealthy and fast food, and being asked by my leader not to ask questions during bible study.
I could have looked past most of that. What ultimately had me resign from their fellowship was their view on, or requirements, for membership.
I was part of an outside men’s group/​bible study/​accountability/​evangelism group that meets every Monday and we had been meeting for several years prior to me starting to attend Gracepoint.
I was ultimately told after a year of attending that I would have to drop that Monday night commitment as a requirement for membership since Gracepoint also sometimes has Monday night church wide events.
Actually, you are not allowed to prioritize any other commitment over Gracepoint events on any day unless it is medical or something else representing legal liability.
Essentially, they are a ministry to college students and ANYTHING not aligned with that mission on any day of the week is not acceptable, not even other ministry. To me this is too far off. This was my breaking point.
There is more and further implications of what has already been stated, but this should be sufficient for now.
I believe this would be more acceptable if they purely called themselves a ministry or seminary. (My recommendation = Gracepoint Ministry Fellowship [Alameda]). But this type of alignment doesn’t belong under the title of «Church».
Their view and «requirements» for membership are too inconsistent with the biblical model and their stated mission statement of being an Acts 2 church. Could you imagine an acts 2 church where all their voluntary decisions suddenly became requirements for membership?
You would end up having many members making seemingly good decisions for the wrong reasons. You would also expect some people to feel resentful and confused, or scared to leave since they were «in» so deep.
In short, their teachings are great, but their policies are lacking.
Currently, I am exploring the House Church Movement
I definitely think Gracepoint is a powerful fellowship/​ministry and great for many people. I met some great people with big hearts for God and others.
However, I also would imagine there are some who all you know is Gracepoint and you might have fear or be wondering what it might look like to follow God outside of Gracepoint.
Feel free to message me if you want to talk more, especially if if you have questions or want to follow God, but don’t know if Gracepoint is for you.
I write this
1., being very thankful for my previous involvement with the church, which I found extremely edifying in many ways and desiring the best for the future of this church and
2., as a powerful request to the leadership to not Lord their power over their members but instead to lead as Jesus did with influence. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). Let those who have ears to hear hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church