The Students for the Truth - The Local Church on Campus

History

The Students for the Truth are affiliated with the Church in Berkeley located on Dana Avenue.  The Church in Berkeley is part of the Local Church, which is spread throughout six continents and has a world-wide membership of more than 100,000.

"We have about 2,000 churches in the free world today," Hon said.

The name Local Church has been given to the group by outsiders, because of its decentralized, "one city -- one church" approach to church organization.

"The Local Church has its origins back in turn of the century China and the teachings of Watchman Nee," said J.  Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara.

During the early 1960s, a student of Nee's, Witness Lee, brought the church to the United States, after working to spread it extensively throughout Southeast Asia, according to Melton.

The Students for the Truth began informally during the early 1960s.  Hon became involved with the church and the club while a UC Berkeley student.  He graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1971 and continued his involvement with the church.

The club later became more formal and was known as the Christians on Campus until 1991, when the name was changed to Students for the Truth.  Its membership has steadily grown and now includes about 100 student members.