Allegations of abuse against Acts2 Network, a Southern Baptist organization that plants churches across the country, have been brewing for decades.
“For many years after I left, it impacted me greatly,” Mary Choi said. “I had nightmares and I would wake up very stressed by the sense of getting into trouble, being yelled at by my leaders.”
The organization operates more than 60 church-plants in dozens of prominent college towns nationwide, according to the organization’s website.
“I’m grieving a life I could’ve had if it weren’t for them,” Jess, whose name has been changed for privacy, said. “I’m still grieving the money, too.”
In 2021, A2N expanded to Ann Arbor, creating Anchor College Church. Anchor has not been connected to any abuse allegations.
Many former members of A2N at other church-plants who spoke with The Michigan Daily describe their experience as traumatizing, emphasizing that their time with the organization still impacts them today.
“I don’t want anyone to go through the same thing as me,” Alice Liu said. “I really don’t want anyone to be exposed to the potential traumas — the potential dangers — like this because I can see how easily people get lured into the church.”
Over the course of a seven-month investigation, The Daily spoke with 15 affiliates of A2N, including former members of A2N churches and the parents of both current and former members. The Daily also interviewed three of the organization’s pastors.
Involved at different times and in various churches, these sources are mostly unconnected to one another. The abuse former members and parents allege, however, reveals a pattern of misconduct across A2N’s churches.
The Daily contacted 10 attendees of Anchor College Church with questions about their experience at A2N. Only one person responded, stating that no one from Anchor besides the church’s pastor would answer The Daily’s questions.
The majority of former members and parents interviewed by The Daily described the church as spiritually abusive and financially and religiously coercive, ultimately creating a culture conducive to complete control. All former attendees interviewed attest that A2N directly perpetrated harm against them in some way.
Although A2N has noncollegiate ministries, undergraduate attendees are at the crux of the organization’s mission. Their website promotes A2N’s unofficial slogan: “Launching lifelong kingdom workers from every college town.”
The Daily requested comment from William “Ed” Kang, A2N’s longtime network director, regarding the allegations of abuse the organization faces. Kang declined The Daily’s request to speak virtually, but agreed to answer questions via email.
In his response to The Daily, Kang acknowledged that some allegations are verified and true, but insisted they were mostly isolated incidents.
“I really don’t think anything close to spiritual abuse has taken place on anything like a wide scale in our ministry,” Kang wrote. “But some situations that ex-members attest to may well deserve the label, but it’s definitely outlier situations that most of the leadership would strongly disapprove of.”
‘Your nerves never rested.’
All former members who spoke with The Daily say they experienced spiritual abuse — which generally entails using spiritual practices to manipulate and control people — while part of an A2N church.
A2N is a decades-old organization that traces back to Berkland Baptist Church, which began near the University of California, Berkeley. Formed in 1981 with Korean culture at the core of its ministry, the organization has diversified in its practices and population. Kang was part of Berkland Baptist Church in its early days, and in 1991, he became its senior pastor.
In 2006, Kang split from Berkland Baptist Church, taking his ideology and many congregants with him to form Gracepoint Ministries. Kang and his congregants grew the church significantly in the next two decades, planting dozens of member churches across the United States and one in Taiwan.
In 2023, Kang renamed Gracepoint Ministries to Acts2 Network. Kang told The Daily that the rebrand was intended to better reflect the organization’s growing size and diversity.
A2N churches nationwide follow similar schedules and have nearly identical leadership structures. At the head of each church is a senior pastor, with other A2N members holding leadership positions as mentors (formerly known as leaders) or workers in A2N’s ministry.
These mentors are essential to the college student’s experience of A2N churches and are a fixture in churchgoers’ daily lives. One of a mentors’ most important jobs is the facilitation of peer groups. Each peer group, divided by gender, has a mentor who guides congregants in Bible study, weekly reflections and other faith-based activities.
The Daily requested comment from two mentors at Anchor College Church in Ann Arbor and was told no interviews would be granted.
Mentors, The Daily’s sources say, were often considered immune to criticism or sin.
The Daily spoke with a former college staff mentor during the 2000s at UC Berkeley who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation.
“They would never say they’re God, but the idea was that God has given the (mentors) a special place,” the former mentor said. “Regardless of whether they sinned, you’re responsible for doing the right thing, and the right thing is obeying them.”
Mentors were explicitly instructed to form close relationships with church attendees through regular devotional reflections and group sharing exercises, during which churchgoers were required to share their sins and encouraged to bare their souls to their mentors.
Sources say leadership, specifically mentors and pastors, promoted a psychologically distressing environment in which these close relationships and personal reflections were leveraged as a means of control.
The Daily spoke with Jess about her experience with the organization as an undergraduate at the University of San Francisco from 2013 to 2017 and in leadership positions at the UC Berkeley church from 2017 through 2022.
‘I thought I was giving to God.’
When Alice Liu began her master’s program at UC Berkeley in 2010, her family’s financial struggles were a significant source of stress.
Liu joined the A2N church — called Gracepoint at the time — at UC Berkeley and quickly found that the church’s tithing culture exacerbated her financial stress.
“Tithing” is the practice of giving donations, often monetary, to a religious group. Historically, in many Christian sects, this has meant giving 10% of one’s income, though this number has become more flexible in the modern era.
At A2N churches, former churchgoers allege they were expected to tithe 10% of their earnings each month, regardless of whether they could afford it. Sources say that leadership instructed both undergraduate and post-graduate attendees to give to the church; the source of the contributions and any hardships the donations created in their lives were deemed irrelevant.
Liu recalls that church mentors specifically asked her to tithe money from student loans granted to pay for her master’s program and explicitly advised her to take out the maximum borrowing limit on those loans.
“Even though I was not doing well financially, I tithed 10% every time,” Liu said. “That (was) not my decision — it was something my leader suggested, and I was hesitant about taking that suggestion, but I really trusted her.”
Liu cut ties with A2N in 2012. Fourteen years later, she’s still paying off her debt.
The practice of tithing financial aid wasn’t unique to Liu. Multiple sources allege that leadership knowingly pressured them to tithe financial aid money to the organization.
In 2013, just a few weeks into her freshman year, Jess’ mother died. She received a significant amount of money from insurance and inheritance, which the church was aware of.
According to Jess, mentors instructed her to tithe 10% of the insurance and inheritance’s gross amounts each month.
“The first thing (A2N) advised was ‘Make sure you tithe off the gross (amount),’” Jess said. “I didn’t want to, but because I knew they could see what was tithed, there’s a possibility they could question ‘Are you a Christian?’ or, ‘Why are you holding on to so much money?’”
Jess, among other sources with whom The Daily spoke, alleged A2N leadership tracked each member’s financial contributions. Kang denies that tithing is discussed among leadership.
Kember explained how she conceptualizes the distinctions between healthy and abusive tithing practices.
“There’s a lot of language used in some high-control groups around giving beyond your 10% as an indicator of your faith,” Kember said. “They’re playing on you showing your devotion through how much money you give (the) organization — they don’t say it that plainly, but that’s what the message is.”
Mary Choi, who was part of Berkland Baptist Church from 1991 to 2001, explained that she poured funds she didn’t have into the organization, including her work-study earnings and financial aid. Choi alleges that preaching and messaging from leadership equated tithing with religious devotion.
“I thought I really was contributing to God’s work,” Choi said. “I thought I was giving to God.”
All but one of the former A2N members who spoke with The Daily shared similar sentiments: The organization created a culture in which tithing did not feel optional.
‘Giving money for the kingdom of God does not harm you financially.’
Tithing is the primary source of income for A2N, Kang wrote in an email to The Daily. He asserted that donations are inspired by Biblical devotion and not coerced by the organization itself.
The Daily obtained an email soliciting donations of $10,000 each from 200 Gracepoint members to fund the purchase of a new church building. The email was sent in 2006, the same year Kang created Gracepoint.
In the email, Kang noted that these contributions should be approached with a mentality of sacrifice, highlighting the subjectivity of money in the eyes of God.
“I know that all of us feel financially tight, and that not many of us have extra money in the bank,” Kang wrote. “But, often the feeling of not having enough is subjective, and relative. One thing I have personally experienced again and again in my life is that being sacrificial in giving money for the kingdom of God does not harm you financially.”
In addition to monthly tithes, the organization also has larger giving events, such as the annual “Thanksgiving Offering.”
Jess alleged members were encouraged to stretch themselves thin for the Thanksgiving Offering to demonstrate commitment to the organization for the upcoming year.
The Daily obtained emails from 2021 detailing instructions for giving money and transferring stocks to the organization for the Thanksgiving Offering. The Daily requested comment from Pastor Jonathan Lee, who sent the email, but did not receive a response.
In addition to monthly tithes, the organization also has larger giving events, such as the annual “Thanksgiving Offering.”
Jess alleged members were encouraged to stretch themselves thin for the Thanksgiving Offering to demonstrate commitment to the organization for the upcoming year.
The Daily obtained emails from 2021 detailing instructions for giving money and transferring stocks to the organization for the Thanksgiving Offering. The Daily requested comment from Pastor Jonathan Lee, who sent the email, but did not receive a response.
‘That’s not the son that we had.’
The Daily requested comment from several people currently involved with A2N churches. While these requests were denied, The Daily was able to speak with several mothers of those presently and formerly involved.
Sandra — whose name has been changed for privacy — learned of the organization when her son joined the University of California, Riverside church in 2021.
In an interview with The Daily, Sandra explained that she rarely sees her son since he joined the church, despite living only 30 minutes away from him.
“We’ve missed celebrating holidays and birthdays,” Sandra said. “Now, (he) hardly visits us. We have to make a schedule, an appointment, with him to get into his world, and that’s not the son that we had. … It feels like the church has manipulated him to change his priorities.”
In 2021, Lily learned that her son joined the Gracepoint church at the University of Minnesota. In an interview with The Daily, Lily — whose name has been changed because she fears further estrangement from her son — said he has become unrecognizable since joining.
Lily said her interactions with her son, who is still a member of A2N, have become increasingly infrequent and surface-level, a breakdown in communication she attributes to the organization.
She has found solace through a Reddit forum, r/GracepointChurch, where those formerly and presently affiliated with the church congregate virtually to share their experiences.
After their children joined A2N, Lily and four other mothers connected through this subreddit, forming a tight-knit group where they share information and provide support.
In an email to The Daily, Lily expressed her gratitude for the community she has found online.
“(I’m) thankful for meeting and speaking with ex-members and parents in the same situations,” Lily wrote. “In a strange way GP/A2N seems to have succeeded in creating this other community of people who genuinely and unconditionally care about others and their help doesn’t depend on being part of the same church and comes with no strings attached.”
‘I know what I need to hide.’
A2N promotes “whole-life discipleship,” meaning that members are expected to treat their faith as a vocation, detailed in their Covocational Explainer video.
Membership, Kang defined in an email to The Daily, is reserved for A2N attendees that have signed a membership covenant and is not available for undergraduate college students.
Former churchgoers say that, while whole-life discipleship was supposed to bring them closer to God, it instead meant A2N controlled each aspect of their lives through a weekly organization-wide schedule. These schedules dedicated time for daily devotionals, peer group meetings, Bible study and other ministry duties.
Sources allege that missing events was not an option. Failure to show up, they say, was conflated with a lack of devotion to the church and to God.
Jess told The Daily that, in 2022, Gracepoint members began to complain that these tight schedules didn’t allow time for exercise.
The Daily obtained a 2022 email from Kang sent to all members, detailing how to incorporate exercise into their schedule.
Former congregants say ministry expectations followed them home, too.
One of the most prominent features of A2N, sources say, is the peer homes, which are a property owned or rented by an A2N member where churchgoers live together.
Because they are owned and occupied by mentors and congregants, these homes are “open to ministry,” meaning that local members utilize them for storage, worship and other meetings. This meant that leadership frequently informed decisions on decor, food and other domestic affairs.
In an email to The Daily, David Park, the lead pastor of Anchor College Church, wrote that no A2N affiliates rent or operate any peer homes in Ann Arbor. Park wrote that churchgoers do live in homes together, but that he and the church have no involvement in their attendees’ housing.
All 10 former members The Daily spoke with lived in a peer home. Parents of present and former members each said their children lived in peer homes as well.
At UC Riverside, Sandra’s son lives in one of these peer homes, located just down the street from his pastor.
In an interview with The Daily, Sandra — who visited her son’s house earlier this year — said cameras are installed both outside and inside the home.
As is characteristic in many peer homes, Sandra’s son has seven other roommates in a four-bedroom home; six sleep in one room, two in another. The other rooms are dedicated to internet usage and church gatherings.
Several former members who lived in group homes told The Daily that internet usage was heavily monitored and private electronic usage was strongly discouraged. According to Sandra and multiple other sources, “game rooms” function as a place for residents to work from home, check emails and have supervised internet access.
All former members allege the organization exerted control over personal aspects of their lives, including but not limited to dating, exercise, diet and social media use.
Jess, who lived in several peer homes throughout the 2010s, recalled how church leadership frequently spent time in these homes. She remembers leadership hiding her pantry items, bedroom decor and personal belongings when leadership would visit.
“I’m tired of fighting this, so I know what I need to hide or what I need to put away for the time being, and then I can go live my life afterwards,” Jess said.
Kember noted that, while group housing does not necessarily indicate high-control tactics on its own, the merging of personal space and church membership can lead to an abusive environment.
“Your actual housing stability is tied to being in this group, so it leaves less room for flexibility and questioning of things,” Kember said. “Anytime that happens, it can be a slippery slope where ‘I’m less apt to speak up, ask questions or doubt something because everything feels threatened.’”
‘There’s no hotline.’
In the past decade, there has been an outpouring of criticism against A2N online, both against the organization and in reference to local churches.
Websites such as Peace After Gracepoint Church and After Gracepoint feature stories from those who have left the organization and provide guidance for current churchgoers who are considering leaving.
Multiple news publications have also reported on abuse within the organization: The University of California, San Diego covered alleged abuse across the UC system in 2021, and Christianity Today published an article detailing the consequences of A2N’s whole-life discipleship in 2022.
Kang denies that the 2023 retitling of the organization had any relation to negative press surrounding the organization. Kang denies that the 2023 retitling of the organization had any relation to negative press surrounding the organization.
In an email to The Daily, Kang clarified that this change was intended to help the organization shift from a tightly structured, centralized model of churches into a locally-driven, centrally-supported network.
Kang explained that, in transitioning to this decentralized model, the burden of operation and upkeep falls now to local church mentors, not himself.
During and following this reconceptualization of his organization, Kang clarified that no overarching changes had been made.
“We’ve changed some practices, such as adopting annual feedback for our mentors, but would not characterize these as overarching, structural changes,” Kang wrote. “Responses and refinements have taken place within local church leadership contexts and across ongoing leadership conversations, trying very hard to be self-aware and monitor what it feels like to be on the receiving end of our ministries. It’s an ongoing process.”
The Daily requested clarification from Kang multiple times regarding specific steps taken to address the allegations of abuse and whether accountability channels exist but received no response.
The Daily attempted to speak with current members of Anchor College Church but did not receive a response to questions regarding their experiences with A2N. None of the allegations in this article are attributed to Anchor College Church leadership nor attendees.
The Daily interviewed previous and current Anchor College Church mentors in Ann Arbor: Will Sam and David Park, respectively. Park declined to speak to The Daily virtually but agreed to answer questions through email.
Neither could specify any harm-reporting practices.
In an April 2026 interview, Sam was asked what official channels exist to report harm experienced by an A2N church attendee, and said he did not know of any.
“I mean, you can always email people and be like, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on.’ But I don’t know; there’s no hotline,” Sam said. “The basic Christian understanding is that we’re all sinners and we make mistakes every day, so if something does happen, you have to say something… You could report it out, but that’s the thing — to who?”
Three months after The Daily’s interview with Sam, Park was appointed Anchor’s new pastor.
The Daily asked Park to specify and provide documentation of whether any official feedback channels are available to churchgoers who experience harm by A2N, both at the local and organizational level.
Park wrote that churchgoers can raise concerns with their local pastor or ministry mentors.
On Sunday, Aug. 30, a source informed The Daily that A2N’s official website had been updated to include a Q&A section addressing allegations of abuse and the organization’s response.
The Daily was unable to confirm the exact date the website was updated, but according to an internet capture of the site dated July 20, the website did not include the Q&A page. One portion of the Q&A tab specifically addresses how the organization handles criticism, including purported conflicts and allegations that concerns were dismissed, minimized or not fully addressed.
“We’ve been intentional to make it easier and less intimidating to speak up,” the website states. “For example, new ways to contact senior leadership directly through our website, anonymous channels to give feedback to staff mentors, and real investment in training those mentors to listen well.”
It is unclear how this process works or whether it has been communicated to local leadership.
There’s no explicit mention of a place to report abuse on A2N’s new website, and no responsive records, links or pages in reference to the word “report” can be found on the website, either. The only publicly accessible link is a “Contact Us” button on the website, the same link that Park provided when asked where church attendees can report instances of harm or abuse.
