Ed Kang is the son of Korean immigrants. Growing up poor in Los Angeles he was headed for a life of crime and delinquency. That is until he met a postal employee with a vision for discipling adolescents. One man with a guitar, a Bible and a heart for kids changed a bunch of lives in what we might call a microchurch.

As a law student at the University of California at Berkeley Ed worked as a bivocational campus minister. Upon graduating he felt that the world has enough attorneys but not enough campus pastors so he stayed on. The results are a collegiate church planting network. They are currently in 38 cities with outreach to 70 campuses.

What grabbed my attention was the ease of ministry Ed describes. He says that at even the most prestigous schools freshmen are just lonely kids away from home for the first time. Away from parents, even church kids end up prey for the darker side of partying, alchohol and other influences. But, he says they are extremely open to an older person who takes an interest in them. While seniors are most effective at reaching out to freshmen, older outsiders to the school will find a hearing if they spend time around campus befriending students. This is especially true of newly enrolled students who lack the closeup guidance of parents and family.

When I asked Ed for contact information he surprised me. He replied, "We love hosting people. We love spoiling pastors and church planters. So if you're interested in visiting out here in Berkeley, or any of our other church plants, we would love to show you around and, and give you a look under the hood, in case you might consider a collegiate church planting. If you're coming to one of our campuses, we will lend you our students to set up shop quicker than you otherwise would be able to. If that's you just email me at [email protected]." If you email Ed it might be wise to mention the invitation on this podcast.

For general information visit the GracePoint website.

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