Come join us for this week’s H.O.T. Spot (hang out time) on Thursday.  We’ll have lunch and fellowship together during your break between classes.  You can bring your lunch and we’ll bring lots of food to share too! Come anytime between your break from 12-2pm and we’ll meet at the tables between the FAC & Union.  If it rains or it’s too cold, look for us inside the Texas Union eating areas.

Date: Thu, 4/29
Time: 12-2pm (come anytime)
Location: Tables between FAC & Union

On July 10, 2010 we celebrated the second anniversary of our church plant team’s arrival in Austin. As we gathered in the morning at the steps of the Texas Union to lift up the UT campus in prayer, each of us also recounted the ways God worked to lead our church to Austin back on July 10, 2008, and for the ways He has worked throughout.

The [brief] history of us eventually choosing to go to Austin as the location of a domestic church plant was initiated a year prior by our senior pastor Ed Kang and his wife Kelly (Gracepoint Berkeley), and the senior leadership team. After much research and separate visits by Pastor Jonathan and Susanna (Gracepoint Davis), and Pastor Manny and Sunny, the campus of UT Austin (which resembled UC Berkeley) eventually became the location we would actively pray about and commit to starting our next church.

After some emotional send-offs for the church plant team the night before (July 9, 2008), our initial team of 9 people arrived in Austin, along with others who came to encourage us and help us settle in. We were reminded of all of God’s provisions that made everything possible, from the ideal housing for Pastor Manny’s and John’s family living in a duplex just 5 minutes away from campus, jobs and school admissions for our team members, and the perfect meeting locations for Bible Study adjacent to the dorms and a church building just one block away from the Union. Not only that, we also had much support through prayers, resources, and encouragement through phone calls, emails and texts from our church members back at home, reminding us that we are not here alone.

Fast forward two years later (some mentioned it was like 10 years already) and we find ourselves so thankful having seen our church community grow in size and faith in God through many salvation decisions and spiritual growth, and seeing excitement towards our vision to see “an Acts 2 church in every college town.” We all marveled at God’s goodness, not only inviting us to co-labor with Him in Austin, but also sharing in the partnership in gospel with many back at home (Gracepoint Berkeley and Davis), at Gracepoint Hsinchu, and now our new church plants in Minneapolis, Riverside and San Diego. It was fitting as we ended our prayer time also remembering our brothers and sisters at the new church plants, and have so much excitement for all they will experience in their first year.

Praise God for His faithfulness!

Before you view the video below, it would be great if you could first comment on one of your most memorable moments, or something you are very grateful to God from anything these past 2 years, just as a small way for all of us to be encouraged. Thanks!

Join us over Spring Break as we get busy building up our Head, Heart, and Hands!

• Apologetics training
• Projects (e.g., building projects; preparing dorm talks, video training, etc.)
• Night softball (World Series)
• Overnight camping trip (Fri-Sun morning)

Everything starts on Wednesday evening, March 16. Don’t miss out on these few days and we’ll have a blast developing our head, heart and hands!

Sign up today!

One of the most difficult and emotionally-charged questions people ask at some time or other in life is the one regarding the Problem of Pain.  Some of the questions asked along these lines include:

• If God is good, why does He allow suffering? Why does pain and suffering exist? Why does God allow evil?

C.S. Lewis summarized the problem of pain as follows: “If God were good, he would wish to make his creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty he would be able to do what he wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either the goodness, or power, or both.” Then in order to answer this, Lewis looks more closely at the wrong assumptions found in the words “all-powerful” and “good” when ascribed to God, and much more.

But even before Lewis attempted to answer the intellectual difficulties raised by suffering in his book Problem of Pain, he too personally experienced pain as a child, teenager, and young adult before conversion (described in his autobiography Surprised by Joy).  Because he personally understood how the problem appeared to unbelievers, it gives us a greater sense of oneness with those who have also experienced tragedy to wrestle with this issue together. And it’s true that the stories of personal pain that often precedes those questions are so heart-wrenching that it begs the listener to equally consider such weighty issues of the existence of God and the goodness of His character.

But despite the difficulty of this issue, should this be an obstacle to faith in God?

Thankfully, one of the greatest comforts of Christianity is not just that there’s a well thought-out explanation behind why evil even exists, but also that God knows our pain, suffering and evil we endure in life. But if God is aware of it, that causes many people to ask, “Why can’t God just fix it?”  Lewis answers, “What are you asking God to do – wipe out all past sins? Give people a fresh start? Offer supernatural help for everyday living? But God has done this – through Calvary.” It is through the cross that demonstrates God does personally identify with what we are going through, as his own Son took the cross to save us from the sin that put Him there.

Actually, often times it is difficult to give an explanation for why a particular evil or pain took place.  Thankfully, because can find comfort through the assurance of God being with us in the midst of it, we in turn may be able to comfort others.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

For this post, it would be great if you could do the following and then post a response to share what you learned from the material below. Be prepared to stretch your mind as you consider this weighty topic.

1) Post what were your initial thoughts as you thought about this issue growing up?
2) Review one (or more) of the following resources that address the Problem of Pain:

• Article:  Billy Graham, “Evil, Suffering, Death — What’s the Solution?“
• Video:  William Lane Craig on the Problem of Pain (Gracepoint Berkeley 2010)
• Book:  Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

3) Post your thoughts about what you realized through the material.

Are you a new student with some questions about your major or classes, or just want some inside “scoop” on ways to get ahead? Come meet some helpful Koinonia upperclassmen and grad students who are eager to provide valuable info to help navigate through the rigors of college. We’ll start with an informative presentation and have make-your-own ice cream sundaes during our mingling time.

*All of our welcome week events are free for UT students!*

Join us as we play our own version of the popular game show, “Minute to Win It.” We’ve come up with some creative games that will both entertain and bring your team together and win some fun prizes. Come out and get to know us better and meet other new students.

*All of our welcome week events are free for UT students!*

Want a memorable way to spend your first couple weekends at UT? Look no further than Koinonia’s second annual Dodgeball Tournament! Koinonia’s Dodgeball Tournament is a great way to unwind from a long week, meet some new people, and have a lot of fun! Dodgeball will start after TFNs every Friday starting August 26th and will go on throughout September. Check out the trailer below for a taste of what’s to come…

NOTE: We will not be having Dodgeball on Friday 9/2 due to the Labor Day Weekend.