About

This is a blog about abuse and legalism at Gracepoint Church, formerly named Berkland Baptist Church. The older posts (2010 and earlier) are not my own. I re-posted what existed before on another blog/website that is now down. I believe these posts contain valuable information that may help those who are trying to leave Gracepoint and trying to heal from that process.

Gracepoint Church at Berkeley has started many other churches and campus ministries in the United States as well several places in the world. Some of these churches are abusive and controlling. I do not know about all of them. If these posts and experiences resonate with you, you are welcome here.

Those who have left Berkland Boston, now called Antioch Baptist Church, may also share some of these same experiences. You are welcome here. Their student ministry is called ABSK or Asian Baptist Student Koinonia and they have churches/ministries at other locations as well.

Please post a comment to share your experience with others. If you have a question, please post a comment. 

All comments are reviewed and moderated. I approve 99.9% of comments. I don't approve spam.

If you need to talk to someone, there are numerous email addresses and offers to help in the comment sections. Please reach out and ask for help.

It's been a long time since I left this church and I am now mostly recovered from the spiritual abuse and trauma I experienced at Berkland. I wish the same for you and hope that this blog is helpful in your healing journey.


John 8:36So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (ESV)

16 comments:

  1. hi John, Do you have any contact email or phone number that I can contact with? I really need some help right now.

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  2. I just wanted to thank you for continuing to update this blog.

    I lost someone very precious to me to this cult, and I hope that one day they get exposed for who they are.

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    1. You're welcome. I hope that this blog helps prevent the pain and suffering that I and many others have experienced. I personally don't label them a cult, but they are very cult-like. And spiritually abusive.

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    2. I'm sorry that you lost your loved one to Gracepoint.

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  3. Hi how can I share experience here? Thanks

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    1. You can comment here or on any of the posts. I try to publish comments as soon as I seem them but I only check intermittently so please be patient.

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  4. Hi John, i am a PK of a former BBC pastor from all the way back to the inception of BBC. just wondering, when did you leave BBC? i am so heartbroken to see how much brokenness this church caused in so many people's lives and i'm so thankful that my parents had enough and quit. i know lots of insider knowledge of the main staff members before gracepoint ever became a thing. I was part of the PK/MK/JK retreat in 2010 at concord house in boston and i saw so much brokenness in my peers' families who were all in senior positions of ministry at BBC. centralized unchecked power in ministry is always bad.

    I have a question, how did BBC turn into gracepoint ministries? gracepoint looks like a fully established modern church. how is it affiliated with BBC and acts2fellowship and other gorups?

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    1. Hi PK,

      There is a three part history I posted on the blog that tells how BBC became Gracepoint. I'm glad your parents are no longer perpetuating the spiritual abuse of BBC/Gracepoint. I don't think Gracepoint is affiliated any longer with BBC, except for their shared history. Acts2fellowship is the name of one of the numerous college ministries by Gracepoint.

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    2. I probably know you since I was at Berkland Boston for 6 years around that time. I always found it interesting that many of the original pastors who've followed Becky since the beginning came from broken homes, not uncommon in the early 1980s Korean immigrant community. Ed alludes to this in his letter announcing the split in 2005 and in one particular article in the Cal alumni magazine a few years after the split about his own upbringing. It's been almost 10 years since I left Berkland and I am still wary about involvement in church. I always say to people I learned more about how to function in the "real world" at Berkland than I did at my actual job.

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    3. It's definitely a possibility that we know each other. I hope you and your parents are alright these days.

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  5. Hi John -
    I really appreciate you updating this blog. I think you're really helping a lot of people by doing it.

    I'm the person that started the Gracepoint subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/GracepointChurch/). Is it possible to post a link to it on your blog so your readers know it's another resources they have available? I'm working on putting a link to your subreddit and other resources into the FAQ and sidebar of the subreddit since I think your blog is helpful to many.

    The primary goals of the subreddit are to (a) help current Gracepoint members that want out get out and (b) connect and support former Gracepoint members.

    I think having an open discussion forum like a subreddit will make it easier for users to communicate with each other, which I think is critical in helping people leave Gracepoint. Additionally, I'm sure there's TONS of people that want to leave Gracepoint, but don't know about the resources available to them (I was one of those people!), so growing a subreddit will definitely help reach more people.

    I appreciate you considering doing this. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

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  6. First time commenter here. As someone who was member of "campus staff" under Rebekah Kim and Paul Kim and as someone who served in this inner circle for almost ten years can say without reservation that Antioch aka Berkland is a cult. Have seen and heard too much to think otherwise. Personally, I left just over ten years ago. My personal takeaways are these. 1) For people, including parents and students going to Antioch, beware. These people aren't what they appear. They are wolves. They may appear as nice people who share homemade Korean food with you, or take you to lunch/coffee, or who help you move from your dorm, but they are wolves. As a parent of teens, this is something that I will share with my own children 2) If you are on the fence about moving, but are afraid or worried about "how it will look," don't be. Its not important how you leave. Just leave. Getting out is also incredibly courageous and brave. People from church, will say that you couldn't handle it, or that you didn't want to carry the cross, or some bs like that. Don't let church get in your head. Just leave. Also you don't owe anyone at church an explanation. This is for you. This is for your family. 3) Don't hesitate in getting help after you leave. Talking to a therapist a perfectly normal response after you've experienced a personal trauma and toxic relationships. 4) It is possible to move on. For a time, we kept in touch with former members of Berkland, but for own mental health, we have chosen to end those relationships. Other than writing this comment here, I spend remarkably little time thinking about my 15+ years in Berkland. I have even began to forget alot of the things that happened. There are some things I can't forget, but thankfully with time comes healing and you can replace shitty memories with better ones. Peace and Be Well friends.

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  7. Hi, Thank you for this blog. My initials are KM, and we have GP staff functioning as volunteers for the youth in our church. It's always seemed suspicious to me. I'd like to connect with anyone who can help and knows the strategies and tactics that GP uses, how they influence youth and students, and what they teach the youth that can be divisive. I'm very concerned. Who can I reach out to for advice?

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    1. Hi KM, I'm on the Gracepoint subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/GracepointChurch/ along with many others who have experience at Gracepoint and you are welcome to reach out to me and others there.

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