Amherst Koinonia Church

Moving

2008-01-01T18:00:00.000-05:00

We are moving! In order to continue to find the correct page, please bookmark our homepage as: http://amherstchurch.com.

Have a good break!

2007-12-20T17:00:00.000-05:00

AKC's next service will be February 3rd.

Merry Christmas! See you next semester!

This week at AKC

2007-12-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

Friday (14th): 7:30PM FNF, Movie night! at Kendade 203 on Mt. Holyoke campus
Sunday (16th): 1PM Service at Chapin Chapel on Amherst campus

This week at AKC

2007-12-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

Friday (07th)

Christmas Party - 6PM at Pastor Matt's House (We will be leaving at 5 from UMass)

Saturday (08th)

1PM - Prayer Walk at Hampshire College (Contact: Ernest)

Sunday (09th)

10AM - Prayer Walk at UMass (Contact: Ernest)
1PM - Service at Chapin Chapel on Amherst Campus

This week at AKC

2007-11-29T01:30:00.000-05:00

Friday (30th): 7:00 - Joint meeting with IVCF - "Will you take the risk?" - Cleveland L1 on Mt. Holyoke campus
Saturday (1st): Springfield Homeless Outreach
Sunday (2nd): 1:00 - Service at Chapin Chapel on Amherst campus

This week at AKC

2007-11-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

Friday (16th): 7:30 - FNF @ Friedmann Room (2nd floor), Keefe Campus Center, Amherst College
Saturday (17th): 1:00 - MoHo Prayer Walk
Sunday (18th): 1:00 - Service @ Chapin, Amherst

This Week at AKC

2007-11-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

Friday (9th): FNF - 7:30 at ACE House, Mt. Holyoke
Sunday (11th): Service - 1PM at Red Room (Converse Hall) on Amherst Campus

Updated Retreat Information

2007-10-25T13:00:00.000-04:00

Meeting points for Friday

If you are from UMass or Amherst College meet up at the Northeast Parking lot of UMass at 4:30. If you will be late or have questions contact Matt Kingman
If you are from Moho meet up at:Blanchard Bus Stop at 4:45. If you will be late or have questions contact Sarah Park.
If you are from Smith, meet at the campus center at 4:50pm. Please do not be late! If there are any questions contact Jenny Jung.

Registration

Retreat Forms are now offically due by Tuesday. If you do not have your money and forms in by Tuesday you will not be going.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week

Directions

I-91 N to exit 3 in Vermont. Go half way around the rotary and take Rte. 9 E across bridge and into New Hampshire for approx. 7 mi. Camp Spofford will be on your left just past the intersection with Rte. 9A. (1/2 mile after you pass Rte. 63).

What to bring

Bible
Pen or Pencil
Sleeping Bag or Blankets/Sheet
Clothes
Toiletries
Towels
Alarm Clock
A Good Attitude

Optional

Notebook
Pillow
Flashlight
Camera

This week at AKC

2007-10-25T12:30:00.000-04:00

We have retreat, therefore we will not be having FNF or Sunday Service.

This week at AKC

2007-10-19T01:00:00.000-04:00

Friday (19th)

7:30 FnF at ACE House on Mt. Holyoke campus

Saturday (20th)

1:00PM Smith Prayer Walk
8:00AM Kenya Yard Sale

Sunday (21th)

1:00 Service at Chapin Chapel on Amherst campus

This week at AKC

2007-10-11T13:45:00.000-04:00

Friday (12th): 7:30 FnF at ACE House on Mt. Holyoke campus
Sunday (14th): 1:00 Service at Chapin Chapel on Amherst campus

This week at AKC

2007-10-05T00:12:00.000-04:00

Friday (5th): This week is kind of an odd one, since so many of you will be going home for fall break. We will have bowling this Friday in lieu of FnF. This is a yearly AKC tradition and it is always a fun night of fellowship. Bowling will be meeting in Northhampton Bowl which is located at 525 Pleasant Street Northampton, MA 01060. It is located next to exit 18 off 91. Umassers will be meeting at 6:45 at Northeast Parking lot. Mohos will also be meeting at 6:45 at Blanchard, rides will be provided. If anyone else needs a ride feel free to contact Ilbum.
Sunday (7th): We will be meeting at the Cadigan Center for Religious Life at Amherst at 1pm... NOT at Chapin. Please make sure to look at the map, since its a bit off the beaten path.

This Week at AKC

2007-09-27T13:00:00.000-04:00

Friday (28th)

Party at the Raptis house! - Meet by 6:30 on your respective campuses. Make sure that you grab dinner before you leave since, although we will be having a lot of food, it is not dinner. Also, if anyone is willing to bring or bake any food items, it is always appreciated... but do not feel obligated at all.

Mt. Holyoke - meet on the front steps of Blanchard. The contact person is Jessie Kang.
Amherst - meet in front of Frost Hall. The contact person is Lyh-Hsin Lam.
Umass - meet in the NorthEast parking lot. The contact person is Matt Kingman.
Smith - meet on the steps of the campus center. The contact person is Jenny Jung.

Sunday (30th)

1:00 PM - Service at Stirn auditorium on the Amherst Campus

This Week at AKC

2007-09-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

Friday (21st): 7:30 PM - FnF will be at Blanchard 108 (next to the ATM machine)
Sunday (23rd): 1:00 PM - Service at Chapin Chapel on Amherst campus

Fall Retreat

2007-09-16T13:00:00.000-04:00

This year Fall Retreat will be at Camp Spofford, from October 26 to 28. The cost will be $70, however there is an Early Bird discount of $5.00 if you hand in your registration form and money before October 8th.

Here is the Registration Form

More information will be added here as it we get closer to the retreat date.

This Week at AKC

2007-09-13T20:50:00.000-04:00

Friday (14th): Gym Night - 7 PM at Kendall on Mount Holyoke campus
Saturday (15th): Morning Prayer - 6 AM at Amherst Korean Church (located where First Baptist)
Sunday (16th): Service - 1:00 at Chapin Chapel on Amherst College campus

UMass is meeting in the Northeast parking lot at 6:30 on Friday

This Week

2007-09-05T22:05:00.000-04:00

Friday (7th): No FNF this week.
Saturday (8th): Prayer at First Baptist (in the Hub). This will start Friday night midnight, and last for 24 hours till Saturday night midnight.
Sunday (9th): First service of the semester! 1:00 PM at Chapin Chapel on Amherst College Campus

For first time visitors who do not know how to get to Chapin on Sunday, we will post more information on where and who to meet on Sunday morning.

UMass students may meet Ernest at 12:30 in front of the UStore in the campus center where you will head down to Hagis mall to catch the bus over.

MoHo has the following meeting times/locations:

12:25 Buckland
12:30 Prospect
12:35 Torrey

And, AKCDaily. is now back!

Welcome Back Students!

2007-08-30T00:11:00.000-04:00

Summer is winding down, and this coming fall will usher in a new freshman class to the Five Colleges. Here at AKC, we're excited to start planning for a great year. Here's a glimpse of what's to come: - Sunday worship services will resume on September 9. 1:00 pm at Chapin Chapel (Amherst College) as usual. - Friday Night Fellowship, or FNF as we like to call it, meets at the Mt. Holyoke campus on Fridays. Please stay tuned for updates on when it will resume, what time it will meet, and which room we'll be in. - Small groups will begin in a few weeks, when everyone's availability and schedules have been pretty much crystallized. - Fall Retreat (yes, Fall Retreat -- woot!) is coming up! It's scheduled for October 26-28, so clear your calendars for one exciting weekend :) If you're a new student, please feel free to contact us at amherstkoinoniachurch@gmail.com if you have any questions (or even if you'd like to just say hi :D). We'll also have tables out during the first weeks of school at UMass, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, and Amherst College, so please feel free to drop by for some more info!

Our Vision

2007-08-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

To be imitators of Christ, loving others and showing them grace, just as Christ loved us.: Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2, NIV)
To be witnesses of Christ to others, beginning with those closest to us and extending from there to the wider world.: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8, NIV)
To keep our eyes and our hope on the Kingdom that is to come, that we may live our lives on this earth boldly and purposefully for Christ.: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:1-4, NIV)

How to get to Sunday Service

2007-08-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

This article is not yet complete.

Taking the bus from UMass

There are 2 busses, 43 and 38, one leaves at 12:30 and the other at 12:50 both from Hagis mall. You will need a school ID to get on for free.

Mt. Holyoke van

Meeting location and times:

12:25 Buckland
12:30 Prospect
12:35 Torrey

Up again

2007-05-07T19:04:00.000-04:00

And our site is up again!

Test

2007-04-06T11:14:00.000-04:00

Test Post

This Week at AKC

2007-02-16T10:43:00.000-05:00

TONIGHT - Friday, February 16th - Friday Night Fellowship @ 7:30 We are meeting at the ACE house at Mt. Holyoke. Come out for some fun & fellowship. Sunday - Service @ 1pm in Chapin Chapel Next Friday, February 23rd - Agape Night!

The State of the Dream

2007-02-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

Instead of FnF, we will be joining this special service:

Hoodies

2006-12-06T15:30:00.000-05:00

The hoddies came in! For those of you who signed up on Sunday, remember to bring money on Friday or Sunday to get yours.

2006-11-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fall Retreat is this weekend! (November 3-5th) We will be at Camp Spofford in Spofford New Hampshire (www.campspofford.org)

phone: 603.363.4788

Directions: Interstate 91 North to exit 3 in Vermont. Go half way around the traffic circle and take Rte. 9 East across bridge and into New Hampshire for approx. 7 miles. Camp Spofford will be on your left just past the intersection with Rte. 9A. (1/2 mile after you pass Rte. 63.

Speaker: Dave Cho

Cost: $60 ($50 for drivers)

What to bring: Bible, Notebook, Sleeping Bag or Blankets/Sheet, Pillow, Clothes, Flashlight, Toiletries, Towels, A Good Attitude

We are leaving at 5:30 on Friday at the Northeast Parking lot at UMass. We will most likely be back by 2pm on Sunday.

2006-10-18T00:54:00.000-04:00

For the fall retreat, the Worship Team has requested that we post 4 songs so that everyone can familiarize themselves with them before the retreat.

Chris Tomlin - How Can I Keep From Singing
Hillsong - Now That You're Near
Hillsong - From The Inside Out
David Crowder Band - Our Love Is Loud

You can download a copy the songs here.

2006-10-12T19:06:00.000-04:00

Friday, October 13th- Freshman Dinner If you are in the class of 2010, come on out and get to know your fellow classmates. We will be at the ACE house at Mt. Holyoke at 6pm. There will be some great food. You won't want to miss it! Saturday, October14th - Servant Team Retreat The servant team will be having a leadership retreat in Brattleboro, VT. We will be hiking and learning what it means to lead through servanthood.

2006-09-13T22:04:00.000-04:00

Upcoming Events: Friday - September 15th : Games Night We will be meeting in Kendall Gym at 6 pm and then moving to Torrey Hall for some worship and a short message. Wear your sneakers. To see the Mt. Holyoke campus map, click on the following link: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/cic/map/index.shtml?pg=200 Saturday - September 23rd: Party with the Rapti Pastor Matt and Adrienne will be hosting a gathering at their house in Vermont. Its a great time to get to know one another and eat lots of great desserts! Directions will be sent out in the church email. Let us know if you can drive.

2006-09-09T21:52:00.000-04:00

Welcome Back!! Its hard to believe... but the summer has gone and we are back for another fall semester. There may be some things that we don't necessarily like about going back to school... but we are very glad that everyone (or mostly everyone) has arrived back safely to the Pioneer Valley. We are excited to see what God has in store for this semester and for the year as a whole. We are looking forward to growing together as a church body and seeing you as an individual grow in your walk with the Lord. Our first church service is Sunday, September 10th. It is still at 1pm in Chapin Chapel on the Amherst College campus. We hope to see you there!

2006-05-01T19:58:00.000-04:00

Thanks also to all who came and prayed for the annual AKC Spring Retreat this past weekend!! God really used the speaker Pastor Houi to stir our hearts, and the holy spirit really moved among all of the small groups. And if you have pictures from the retreat, please send them in & we'll post them on the website! Senior Banquet is this Friday at Chapin Auditorium at Mount Holyoke. The night begins at 7PM and dinner will be served. Cost is $15. Please come join us in giving the Seniors warm wishes for their upcoming year!

2006-04-27T10:11:00.000-04:00

SPRING RETREAT! - April 28-30th Its almost here... the weekend you've all been waiting for. We are looking forward to it, and we hope you are too. We have almost 50 people signed up to go, so its sure to be a great time of getting to know people better. More importantly, it will be a time to really meet with God, reflect on your relationship with Him, & learn how you can have an amazing & dynamic life in Christ. We are meeting at the Northeast parking lot at UMASS at 3:30. Please don't be late. If you haven't paid, please bring $65, as well as your registration & waiver forms. Also, don't forget to bring a snack/dinner for the road. See you there!

2006-04-22T09:51:00.000-04:00

Relay for Life Its happening right now! Lets give the AKC team our support. For info about the relay, go to www.acsevents.org/relay/MAfivecollege.

2006-04-14T22:37:00.000-04:00

Good Friday Service - Joint service at Amherst College

Dinner at 5:45 in Alumni House Service at 7:00 in Cole Assembly (Red Room), Converse Hall. Chris Rice will be the speaker. For directions go to: http://www.amherst.edu/about_amh/visit/map/

2006-04-10T16:11:00.000-04:00

The AKC Daily

Lately, Pastor Matt has been stressing the importance of getting into the Word, and there's no doubt about it. That's why AKC has started a new ministry to provide that. Many students may find it hard to crack open the Bible every day in the midst of their busy lives, so we've been inspired to find better ways to integrate the studying of Scripture into our daily lives.

AKC Daily. What is it? It's a Xanga blog that is updated daily with a new digestable portion of Scripture. It takes no longer than a few minutes to read, yet it encourages us to be active in our personal spiritual growth. Use Xanga's commenting feature to post questions, answers, comments, revelations, prayer requests, etc., and to let the rest of AKC know what you're thinking when you read the passage.

Here's the link: xanga.com/akcdaily

2006-02-24T12:03:00.000-05:00

30 Hour Famine Schedule of Events Friday, Feb 24th Noon – 1:00pm Lunchtime prayer (start the fast wherever you are) MHC (@ S. Rocky Sunroom) 5:30pm – 8:30pm Praise Night (@ Chapin Hall, Amherst) Saturday, Feb 25th 10:00am Devotional/Prayer *MHC (@ S. Rocky Sunroom) 5:00 – 7:30pm Breaking the Fast (@ Mercyhouse) Famine in a nutshell: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 19:19 It's not about skipping a few meals and getting sponsors. It's a time to grow closer to the Lord and to be each other's encouragement. But let's face it - sometimes loving our neighbor isn't easy, especially when they live half way around the world! The Famine is all about putting hands and feet to Christ's instruction so that you can change the lives of people living in some of the most deplorable conditions imaginable. Is it not this kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to cloth him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58:6-7

2006-02-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

Gym night - February 10th We will be meeting for FNF (Friday Night Fellowship) at 6:30 in Chapin Chapel on the Amherst campus. We will then go to the Alumni Gymnasium for some games and fun! Bring your sneakers and get ready for a good time. Agape Night - February 17th Let's celebrate love! More importantly, let's celebrate God's love! Agape is the Greek word for the love that comes from God. We will be meeting on the Mt. Holoyoke campus. Please let Keven Kao know if you would like to share with us any of the talents that God has given to you or if you are able to bake or help out with any snacks. 30 Hour Famine - February 24th

Taste Hunger - Save Lives! This is a Lock-in we will be having where we will fast for 30 hours. It's not just about knowing what hunger feels like though. We will be raising money through this event for World Vision, which helps hungry people and preaches the Word of God. Please talk to Evelyn Chen for more details. Other upcoming events We are planning a ski trip to take place soon. Please let us know if you think there is place where we can get good rates.

2006-01-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? After almost 6 months of not having a website, we are up and running again! We apologize to anyone who has come looking for this site this past fall - only to be turned away by an error message. Since the website was started before Pastor Matt & I (Adrienne) came to this church or before many of the present students, we did not know for quite some time who had the claims to our domain name.. and since the contract time had run up, the people on their end didn't know who to contact either. Fortunately, due to some great detective work by some of our servant team members, we are back on our feet! Please continue to look here for updates on future events, directions to our church or Friday night fellowships or anything else going on here at AKC.

2005-04-29T17:14:00.000-04:00

FAREWELL BANQUET! Where: Willits Hallowell on the Mt. Holyoke Campus : if you do not know wherethat is, go to C4 at the campus website - www.mtholyoke.edu/cic/map/ When: Friday, April 29th - 7 pm if you are eating; 8:30 if you are not eating c.. Dress: girls - wear a nice dress or skirt; guys - a nice suit or at least a collared shirt & tie Cost: $15 if you are eating - if you have not paid already, you must pay at the door See you there!

2005-04-06T10:16:00.000-04:00

AKC is hosting Forget the Girl. Come one. Come all! Proceeds will benefit AKC.

2005-04-01T19:31:00.000-05:00

Deadline Extention The deadline for the retreat has been extended one more week. You will have until Sunday, April 3rd to get in your $10 deposit for the retreat. We hope you can come. Scholarships are available. Please come talk to us. Don't let money be an issue! Reminder - Party with the Rapti!! Party at our house tomorrow, Saturday April 2nd at 7pm. Refer to the church email for directions or email us.

2005-03-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

Upcoming Events at AKC! Spring Retreat. This year's spring retreat will be held at Rumney Retreat Center (www.rumneybible.org) from April 15th - 17th. We're going to have a great time and we'd like as many people to come as possible. The cost will be $65 - $70, depending on how much fundraising we can do. There will be a sign-up sheet at church, so please let us know as early as possible if you would like to come. The last day you will be able to sign up is March 27th and a $10 deposit will be due on that day - so don't spend all your cash on spring break! Our guest speaker for the reatreat will be Pastor Jack Lum from Boston Chinese Evangelical Church and he will be speaking about renewing our passion for Christ. So, if this is something that you want to do or know that you should, please consider being a part of this exciting weekend of growth, refreshment, and fun. Krispy Kremes. Speaking of fundraising, we need your help!!! We have decided to you sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts as a way to help us fundraise for the retreat. Orders need to be made before spring break (which is coming up soon) and the doughnuts will be delivered on March 26th. we need to sell at least 300 boxes for them to be delivered to us, otherwise we will need to pick them up in Connecticut. We will receive half of everything that we sell, which is a pretty good deal. You can go to the following webpage to download to the order form: http://www.krispykreme.com/fund.html - and click on fundraising forms and then "Traditional Doughnut Sale" form. The cost is $6 per 12 dozen box and at least $3 needs to be collected at the time of ordering. As a bonus, whoever sells the most boxes, will get an additional $10 off of their retreat price. Forget the Girl. Remember the video of that awesome band we saw at Agape night?? Well they are coming to AKC! The name of the band is Forget the Girl. Go to www.forgetthegirl.com to hear the band and find out more about them. They will be coming to Mt. Holyoke on April 23rd. Cost is only $2. More details to come!

2005-02-02T09:26:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to a new semester at AKC! We are looking forward to a lot of exciting things happening. There are a number of new ministries that we are hoping to create at within our church that would enhance our worship experience. The Christian life is not a life of sitting on the side-lines. It should be one of participation and using the talents that God has given you!

Has anyone ever told you, "you should be on Broadway" ? Or maybe you like to just ham it up every once in a while.. then you should prayerfully consider using your talents for the drama ministry that we would like to have at AKC. This would not be a large time commitment, but would involve possibly coming up with and practicing short skits to go along with the sermon. These short dramas can have a real impact and help drive home the message.

Do you just have to figure out the latest technology? Want to make movies in Hollywood someday? Well, you can get your start right here at AKC. We are looking for interested individuals who would be willing to create a promotional video for our church. As you may know, our church is supported by the generosity of many other churches. We would like to show them what we are doing here, even though they can physically come to see our services. If video is not your thing, but you are still interested in media, there are many other ways that you can serve our church through this new ministry. See anyone on the servant team about joining the media ministry.

Calling all artists! AKC is looking for a new logo or symbol to represent our church. The person who creates the symbol that is chosen, will get a free sweatshirt with our new logo on it. Listen for more details coming up.

Interested in serving the church in any other ways?? Want to provide snacks for after church? Interested in ushering? Helping to coordinate an activity such as Agape night, the spring retreat, or end-of-the-year banquet? Or if you have any other ideas, bring them up to any member of the servant team.

2005-01-20T09:06:00.000-05:00

We have a new pastor at Amherst Koinonia Church! The search is finally over. His name is Matthew Raptis. He and his wife, Adrienne, will begin their service to our church on Sunday, January 30th to kick off the new semester. If you would like to reach them, you can call 802.246.2665 or email Matt at mraptis@sover.net or Adrienne at araptis@sover.net.

2004-01-24T22:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome back! We hope you've had a great break! As you start making your way back to school and thinking about your schedules, here are a couple dates to keep in mind: Sunday, Feb. 1- First Sunday service of the semester. Chapin Chapel (Amherst College), 1pm. Friday, Feb. 6- First community group of the semester. ACE House (Mt. Holyoke College), 8pm. Hope to see you there!

2004-01-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Our Vision The servant team spent a considerable amount of time earlier this year coming up with a vision statement for our church. Here's what we decided on: 1. To be witnesses of Christ to others, beginning with those closest to us and extending from there into the wider world. (Acts 1:8*) 2. To be imitators of Christ, loving others and showing them grace, just as Christ loved us. (Ephesians 5:1-2**) 3. To keep our eyes and our hope on the Kingdom that is to come, that we may live our lives on this earth boldly and purposefully for Christ. (Revelation 21:1-4***) Everything we do as a church and every decision we make should fit with this vision and bring us a little closer to fulfilling it. Please continue to pray with us that God would bring his church (us) closer to the perfection he calls us to, through his strength! *"'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'" -Acts 1:8 (NIV) **"Be imitators of Christ, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." -Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) ***"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" -Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)

2003-12-31T16:15:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Looking back on the year, it's clear that God's blessed us, as a church and as individuals, in awesome ways. I was away for the first half of the year, and the church I came back to was much different from the one I had left last December, which is a good thing because a church shouldn't be stagnant. One of the first things I noticed was that God had brought in a lot of great new people- folks who brought a lot of new energy and fresh perspective with them, and who loved Him. It was also encouraging that many of those new people were not Korean American, which is an answer to prayer begun years ago by many who have since graduated and moved on. With so many new faces though, including an almost completely new servant team and no pastor, I don't think any of us were sure how this past semester was going to shape up. I'd say it shaped up pretty well. We had our struggles of course, but despite and even in the midst of them, God was faithful and worked on hearts. I could list off quite a lot of specific blessings from this semester, but the ones that were most meaningful to you may be different from the ones I'd list, so I'll let you think about it yourself. One gift though that many of you may not be aware of, and that I think worth mentioning, are the many people God has brought alongside us to support and pray for AKC. While we may not see them in church, they have been an amazing encouragement, and this year could not have been all that it was without them. If you're one of these people, thank you most sincerely. You have been one of God's most wonderful, unexpected and undeserved gifts to us. Looking forward to the new year, there are a lot of unknowns. But in the face of uncertainty, look to the past and let it teach you of God's faithfulness. He has always taken care of us and no doubt he will take care of us in the new year as well. May it be a year of ever-increasing faith and reliance on Him! Happy 2004!

2003-12-19T00:10:00.000-05:00

Winter break By now, you're probably (or hopefully!) well on your way to finishing up the semester's work, so congrats! This is just a reminder that AKC will not be meeting again until after the break. Our first Sunday service of the new year will be on January 31 at 1pm in Chapin Chapel. If you'll be around over Interterm and would like help finding another church to attend during that time, feel free to contact me (Courtney) at ckchoi@smith.edu. Have a great break, and see you in January! Until then, may you continue to grow in the love and knowledge of Christ!

2003-12-11T20:23:00.000-05:00

Hey folks, this is Chason. Sorry, but I made a boneheaded mistake of not publishing a BUNCH of entries so that y'all can read them from the WWW. That means they were readable to me, but in reality, I was the only one reading them! So, here they are. You can conk me on the head later. Decision about Mark We're happy to announce that we've accepted Mark as a part-time staff worker at AKC. It was a tough decision to take on Mark as a part-time staff worker instead of an interim staff worker. He has a really strong heart for God but we felt it was a big enough responsibility that we wanted to prepare a place for our future pastor. Mark will be helping us out by giving a message two times a week, developing an outreach ministry at AKC, and helping us raise money for our new pastor. Pastoral Search Update Please keep praying for a pastoral candidate. Since late October, we have not received any serious candidates for our church. By nature, its hard for a new recruit out of Seminary to come to pastor at a college church. There aren't a lot of guarantees that come with the job. Fund raising is always hard, the church reinvents itself every year with graduating seniors and incoming freshmen, and sometimes (as I'm discovering as a staff worker) the job can be very lonely. This doesn't even begin to consider what's happening at AKC. I can even see how my dearly beloved AKC has been worse for the wear without a pastor here. It seems sometimes that instead of breeding God's love and grace from our fellowship, we breed exclusivity and miscommunication. I want to encourage you, brothers and sisters. Don't look to a pastor to solve all your problems. Even after the nation of Israel received its fabulous God-loving heroes and kings, its problems came out even more clearly. The only way we find redemption in our sinfulness is by the grace and forgiveness that God offers us, out of no good of our own. Though we need a pastor to provide us guidance and direction in the future, what we need right now is for us to get real with God and love each other unconditionally, as God loved us. In the meantime, dear brothers and sisters, keep praying for our awesome pastor! I am truly convinced that we can ONLY receive a pastor at our church that has been called to work with the worst of sinners! That's us, AKC, and that isn't something with which we should run away from God. =) A regular speaker at AKC? Through some wonderful work and prayer from one of our main supporters, Mrs. Eun Chung from Yuong Sang Church in PA, we will have Pastor Paul Lim from Gordon Conwell Seminary speaking for us starting February. Pastor Lim is a professor at Gordon Conwell and is familiar with our church. We hope that he will continue to speak with us as the year goes on.

2003-10-17T15:15:00.000-04:00

Community Groups back in session Need a safe place to ask questions about God? Want to do it in a warm surrounding? Come out to Community Groups on Fridays, 8pm. As God continues to add to our numbers, we're searching for a comfortable place to be at. Tonight, we meet at the ACE House, MHC (scroll down for a map). We have a few more weeks before we finish up the Community Building phase of Community Groups and move on to Personal Growth and Development. During this phase, we're asking ourselves how we should be treating one another, now that we have forgiveness-that-we-don't-deserve. We're looking at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount for answers to these questions. Come out and join us!

2003-10-09T12:07:00.000-04:00

Decision about Mark Hey AKC'ers! Just a reminder that by the end of the week, Servant Team will be making a decision about Mark Speight as an interim pastor. We really want to encourage you to give us some feedback so either email me (Chason_Ishino@yahoo.com) or IM servant team members with some thoughtful comments. Keep praying for our permanent pastor, guys! We're are hopeful that God will bless us with an awesome, Jesus-centered pastor. ** Oh yeah, remember, we don't have Community Groups this weekend! Enjoy Fall Break and see you on Sunday! **

2003-09-26T08:37:00.000-04:00

Community Groups Hey folks! We're back to our regular schedule for the academic year, 8pm at Mt. Holyoke. The ACE House is still being refurbished, so we'll meet over at Torrey Hall instead. We'll be picking up where we left off, with the second part of the Paralytic story. Come out and learn with us.

2003-09-17T16:21:00.000-04:00

Let's play vball! Come on out to Community Groups on Friday! We're gonna meet at 6:30pm @ the ACE House, Mt Holyoke College. It'll be greeeeeat!!!!

2003-09-06T18:31:00.000-04:00

Welcome to AKC!! It's a new school year and the new year brings new challenges to our church. This year, we find ourselves still in the process of preparing a new home for our future pastor. Nonetheless, everyone on the Servant Team is excited for this unique time in our Church's life. Come out to our first Sunday Service at 1pm on September 7th. We're located at the chapel at Chapin Hall.

2003-05-14T09:52:00.000-04:00

The Road Home We've been looking Acts these past couple of weeks, and if you think about it there are many similarities between us (AKC) and them (the Jerusalem Church). We were both brought from all over Rome to this one place for a time, we both experienced difficulties and storms but also blessing and the Spirit's presence... And just when things got really good - we had to go home... Why did God split up the Jerusalem Church? It was going so well, why'd it have to end? Some scholars said it was God's judgment, because the church had grown too exclusive; some others implied that it was out of God's control, good things don't last for long in this world... But Luke doesn't seem to imply either; the Jerusalem church really was fantastic, and God absolutely is in control... The only explanation that really makes sense is God let the church be split up so that His blessing could spread all over the Empire! So as we finish up, travel home, and get settled in for the summer (or for our new lives as college grads!), I pray that you would take with you what you learned at AKC...not rules or principles about God, or disciplines, or anything like that (although those things have their proper place)...but a love for your Savior. And I pray that it would so electrify you, that you would try to help other people to love their Savior too (both believers and nonbelievers). Thank you for a wonderful semester! There's still one more Sunday - so if you're still in Amherst, come to the Cadigan Center, Amherst College, 1PM on Sunday for Prayer & Barbeque.

2003-04-24T16:03:00.000-04:00

Worship in Community I've been told that jewelers use something called a diamond tumbler to finish precious stones. They put almost-finished stones into the tumbler and spin them around so that they bang into each other - this smooths them out and brings out their brilliance. That's a pretty good description of what we do when we worship, live, and study the Bible in community. The Bible says we are sinners saved by grace - what that means is this: some people think, "Jesus loves me therefore I must be wonderful" but the Bible says, 'no, you're not wonderful (most of the time), you're a sinner" Other people think, "oh I'm worthless because I'm a sinner" and the Bible says, 'no, you're extremely precious - Jesus died for people like you.' We're like diamonds in the rough... When diamond come out of the ground they look dark and jagged - it's extremely precious but you might not know it from just looking at it. All the impurities from the ground where it came from block its light refracting properties and keep it from shining the way it could. It takes careful cutting and refining to remove the impurities and enable light to shine through. Come worship in community these last few weeks of the semester! Apr 27 - Sunday Worship Celebration, Christ our Counselor, Chapin Chapel May 4 - Sunday Worship Celebration, Jesus' Worship Service, Chapin Chapel May 11 - Sunday Worship Celebration, Semester Farewell, Chapin Chapel May 18 - Prayer Service, Cadigan

2002-11-06T16:49:00.000-05:00

Need a tune up? Anyone who plays a string instrument knows, the first thing you need to do before you begin to play is�tune-up. It doesn�t mean there's anything wrong with the instrument: the tuning changes over time, temperature and humidity make strings (and reeds, pipes, etc...) go out of tune. If you forget to tune-up, or you don�t take the time to do it well then you won�t be able to play your best regardless of how talented you are. The same thing applies to us spiritually. If you�re not tuned-up, so to speak, you will try your best (using all your will-power), sacrifice your time and energy, yet wind up just making a lot of noise. Even worse, you might never really learn to really live well (make beautiful music with your life) because even when you try to do the right thing it will come out all wrong� At AKC there are three ways to tune up every day (or week): 1. Spend quality time alone with God. Check the DISCOVER section for some suggestions on how to do that. 2. Community Groups. Get together with other believers you can relate to and pray/study God�s Word together. (There is a Community Group meeting at the ACE House this Friday! Check the CONNECT section for more info). 3. And...Sunday Worship. 1pm Converse Hall, Nov 10 (otherwise, Chapin Chapel). Come prepared, use your prayer time before the service to ask God to tune your heart to sing His grace.

2002-10-15T10:14:00.000-04:00

True Love & the Gospel How can something that you "fall into" be so difficult? How can something so irrational be so powerful? We've been looking at the topic of True Love (yes there is such a thing!) to see what the Bible has to say on the matter. Brief recap: First we talked about the "Power of Love" as an emotion, why it is the way it is...(you can listen to this on mp3). This past Sunday we talked about the "Nature of Love", it primarily a deep deep Friendship (with romance on the side), and we talked about some things we should look for in a guy/girl. (Sorry no mp3 of this one, but you can read more about it in our Discover section). See you Sunday, Chapin Hall, Amherst College, 1 PM

2002-09-09T23:17:00.000-04:00

Comforting a Shattered World a note from Pastor Leo I don't know about you, but when the towers fell last year, I was shaken. Not shaken in my faith in God, but shaken in my faith in the here-and-now. Before 9/11 I lived in a place in which normal people didn't have to worry about terrorist attacks, anthrax in the mail, airplane high-jackings and so forth...in the course of a couple of hours that world was shattered forever. (See my blog) Chances are there are a lot of 9/11 related things going on around your campus on Wednesday (perhaps even more than you care to be reminded of...) But as we enter into our communities to "bless" and not just "take", would you consider taking some time to be a part of your school's memorial events? Go as ambassadors and representatives of Hope... Here's our message: "...Yes the world does seem to be shattered beyond repair," "...But there is a goodness and beauty that does not fade and can never be shaken. We are witnesses of this and living proof that His goodness can redeem and restore what sin has marred."