The God who made the world ... made all the nations ... and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him. - Acts 17:24-27 (NIV)

Paul informs us that God uses historical and geographical settings of people groups so that they would seek him. He uses their place of birth to do this. But Scripture also demonstrates he uses migrations – appointed times when he changes their boundaries and they find themselves in new situations – for the same purpose of pointing people to himself. Ours is such a time and the US is such a place for more than 47.8 million immigrants living in the States (2023 figures). That is 14.3% of our population, a significant increase from 4.7% in 1970. Seems like things have changed? They have!

Our conference will remind us of God’s purpose behind this phenomenal growth and motivate us to embrace it as his appointed time. It will help us pursue our current Global Prayer and Action Goal: Take the abundant life of Jesus global while staying local.

Embracing this goal on your own can feel daunting. That’s why our conference is highlighting four trellises. A trellis provides a structure on which climbing plants thrive. The weakness in the stem keeps them from growing tall and gaining benefit from the sun. But if they are attached to a trellis, they can be healthy and fruitful. Perhaps you feel too weak to take the abundant life of Jesus to internationals right around us.

Explore one of the four trellises and latch on to one this week.

• Friends of Refugees (FOR) is a local ministry of the Chapel over the last 25 years with hundreds of genuine friends from around the globe. Most have needs you could meet so there are many opportunities to share Jesus’ love. Our children will learn about FORkids as well. Most refugees are very family oriented.
• Cru Military International (CMI) is headquartered on the peninsula and can connect you to hundreds of international military personnel who come to our area for professional development. CMI equips folks like you to offer spiritual development while they are here as well.
• Global Student Friendship (GSF) reaches international students on area campuses. Its main focus is Old Dominion University where it hosts a residential facility for internationals. But its footprint is ever-expanding. As more such students come to the peninsula, we anticipate this trellis to help us significantly. You’ll hear how to engage those who are already here.
• Your sphere of influence. Yes, where you live, shop, work, play, have children in school, etc., is where you’ll meet an international guest. The trellis for this is your Home Group, your circle of friends, or maybe just your family.

God has brought them to us. May we be used to set them seeking for him in fresh ways.

Tom Kenney
Pastor Emeritus

Men's Ministry Breakfast | 8AM | Cafe
Welcome our new Director of Global Ministry & Education, Billy Haselton. Hear his life and ministry stories in Taiwan; hear his heart for dozens of international university students he has met by teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) most recently in North Carolina. What a great way to launch our conference and get to know a new staff member.

Prayer for the Conference | 8:30AM | Room 201
Join us in asking the One who is sending us internationals to make us faithful to His purposes.

Student Ministries (Middle School & High School) | 9AM | Room 208
How to engage with international students in your current and future school experience. Dr. Kurnia Foe joins the class at 9:30AM and offers guidance for now and for the years ahead as more students come from more places.

College Ministry Class | 9AM | Room 204 then Room 208
International Students: Planting seeds among future global leaders. Our college class hears from Dr. Kurnia Foe, director of Global Student Friendship (GSF) from 9-9:30AM. Come with questions like: What is God doing among these scholars and how can we love them in Jesus’ name? How do I start and keep a friendship with an international classmate or visitor to the Chapel? At 9:30AM Kurnia joins our combined Student Ministry class (6th-12th grades) preparing them to engage international students both now and in their future academic pursuits. GSF is centered on Old Dominion University in Norfolk but has an ever-expanding regional footprint. Hampton University, CNU, and William & Mary all have international students and will likely have more in the years ahead.

Discipleship Classes
9AM & 10:45AM | Room 202 | International Military: How to make a friend and have an impact on some of the hundreds who come here for training. Cru Military International leader, Gantumur Badrakh and his wife, Deegii, are Mongolians passionate for reaching military men and women from all over the globe. We are fortunate to have them as part of the Chapel where they can link us to this segment of the international community.
10:45AM | Room 204/205 | International Students: Planting seeds among future global leaders. Hear from Dr. Kurnia Foe, director of Global Student Friendship (GSF). Come with questions like: What is God doing among these scholars and how can we love them in Jesus’ name? How do I start and keep a friendship with an international classmate or visitor to the Chapel? GSF is centered on Old Dominion University in Norfolk but has an ever-expanding regional footprint. Hampton University, CNU, and William & Mary all have international students and will likely have more in the years ahead.

KidzMin | 9AM & 10:45AM | Classrooms & Hall B
Members of our Friends of Refugees (FOR) and Friends of Refugees Kids (FORk) share stories of making friends and sharing life and hope with internationals on the peninsula. Kids have a major role to play in befriending our family oriented new neighbors.

Worship Service | 9AM & 10:45AM | Gym
Ministry Report - Gantumur Badrakh of Cru Military International shares what God is doing in military communities worldwide and the role the Chapel can play.
Sermon - Our new Director of Global Ministry & Education, Billy Haselton, helps us understand and embrace the unique opportunity we have to reach the world through the internationals He is sending our way.

Conference Info & Connection Tables  | 10:15AM & 12PM | PCC Foyer

• Cru Military International: Meet Gantumur Badrakh and his wife Deegii to find out how you can engage with visiting military personnel. Or how you could be used during brief or long-term cross-cultural deployments. Gantumur and Deegii, from Mongolia, are part of the Chapel family. Your faith will grow as you hear their stories.
• Global Student Friendship: Greet director Kurnia Foe and his team. Find out how many hundreds of international students come to Hampton Roads each year. Learn how you and your family/friends can be part of God’s plan to engage them while in an open culture like ours.
• Friends of Refugees (FOR) & FORkids: An array of opportunities awaits you (and your children). After years of connection and friendship, we have a warm welcome in over 200 refugee homes. Whether weekly, quarterly, or otherwise, there’s a meaningful relationship for you to begin. A team of experienced men and women are ready to take you on your first visit to a refugee’s home. Drop by and find out how easy it can be.
• Bridges USA: Come and hear how individuals, churches and organizations (like Friends of Refugees) are welcoming Afghans throughout the USA.  Bridges USA exists to encourage, resource and connect anyone who is welcoming displaced Afghans into their community in the US. Learn about Afghan culture, the refugee journey and how we can serve our local Afghan friends in many meaningful ways.
• Conference Info: Got a question about some part of the conference? This table is for you. It’s also your opportunity to meet some of our Global Ministry leaders.

Global Ministry Prayer: Africa | 10:45AM | Room 201
Join us to pray for our partner churches and workers in Africa with special attention on African international students, refugees, and military personnel in the States.

Luncheon | 12:15PM | Café
Join us to hear from Friends of Refugees volunteers. What do they do? Why do they do it? How have they been changed personally? What is needed? Are refugee numbers decreasing or increasing? How open to relationships are the refugee communities with which we have engaged? An FOR panel will offer answers that could help you discover your role in the work. And don’t forget FORkids! What an opportunity they have. Pastor Garrett Spitz hosts. Open to all.

Prayer | 6:30AM | Hall C
Pray with volunteers serving international students, local refugees, and international military communities. We'll pray biblical and ministry themes we heard on Sunday. Come and go as your schedule permits.

Home Groups | Various Nights / Times (visit: pccyorktown.com/home-groups)
Most groups will have a representative from the international student, local refugee, or international ministry on hand to share their own experience and answer questions about your involvement. A Bible study on God’s use of migrations grounds our prayers this night.

Women's Ministry Event: Joining Their Journey | 6PM | PCC 
Ladies, join Women's Ministry for a special evening with local Afghan ladies. They will share stories about their journey thus far in the U.S. How hard was it to leave? To start anew in a strange land like ours? What helped? What didn’t? And how has it been for your children? These interactions will stretch your heart. They will also reveal the heart of God. Learn how we can love these neighbors well and pray for their needs. Tea and light refreshments will be served.

Prayer for the Conference | 8:30AM | Room 201
Join us in asking the One who is sending us internationals to make us faithful to His purposes.

Discipleship Classes | 9AM & 10:45AM
The American church and refugees: A story of hope | Room 202/203
"AM" offers an encouraging look at what is happening across the country. Although immigration is complex, if you aren’t aware of how God is using the current immigration boom, you need to be here. In addition to the national overview, "AM" offers a look at what role the Chapel could play in seeing an international church come about on the peninsula, one that is biblically solid and culturally appealing to our refugee neighbors.    
Afghanistan: A case study of God’s mercy in the face of human suffering | Room 204/205
Taught by “MP”, this class describes both the suffering and the mercy that define this Central Asian land and many like it – the lands from which thousands of refugees have come and will come. We need to understand their suffering in order to express God’s compassion. First-hand exposure as well as research have qualified "MP" to partner with both governments and local communities and to speak to religious and secular audiences across America.

Student Ministries (Middle School & High School) | 9AM | Room 208
Regular (stellar) classes. Hopefully peppered with comments on what students have picked up from the conference!

KidzMin | 9AM & 10:45AM | Classrooms & Hall B
Members of our Friends of Refugees (FOR) and Friends of Refugees Kids (FORk) share what it means to explain God loves you more than anyone ever could to a refugee child whose worldview may have no room for such. This session will equip our kids to play a major role in the lives of local refugee kids as they befriend and keep up with some over the years.

Worship Service | 9AM & 10:45AM
Ministry Report - “MP” gives us the bird’s-eye view of what God is doing to love people from some of the most troubled regions of the world and bringing many of them to our communities. It’s a worshipful story.
Sermon - Kevin King helps us see God’s historical use of migration as recorded in Scripture. His passion for reaching the internationals among us is contagious and thoroughly biblical. Kevin is the president of International Project (IP), a ministry based in New York that sows gospel seeds in international communities throughout the city. Its goal is to see churches planted in those communities. Seed Week is one of IP’s training events which several from PCC have attended. Kevin’s just-released book, Living Out Loud, is available for purchase at the IP table in the foyer.

Conference Info & Connection Tables  | 10:15AM & 12PM | Foyer

• Cru Military International: Meet Gantumur Badrakh and his wife Deegii to find out how you can engage with visiting military personnel. Or how you could be used during brief or long-term cross-cultural deployments. Gantumur and Deegii from Mongolia and are part of the Chapel family. Your faith will grow as you hear their stories.
• International Project: Talk with some Chapel folks who have participated in IP’s Seed Week and consider going this year.
• Friends of Refugees (FOR) & FORkids: Want to welcome an immigrant? Our refugee friends are from relational cultures and love to have us in their homes.  Bring your kids and join us as we share a cup of tea. More at ease serving? Help us by providing a ride to the doctor, helping plant a tiny garden, delivering furniture ... or doing what you love and inviting an immigrant along. Join us. You’ll be changed!
• Bridges USA: Come and hear how individuals, churches and organizations (like Friends of Refugees) are welcoming Afghans throughout the USA.  Bridges USA exists to encourage, resource and connect anyone who is welcoming displaced Afghans into their community in the US. Learn about Afghan culture, the refugee journey and how we can serve our local Afghan friends in many meaningful ways.
• Conference Info: Got a question about some part of the conference? This table is for you. It’s also your opportunity to meet some of our Global Ministry leaders.

Global Ministry Prayer: Europe / Papua New Guinea / Americas | 10:45AM | Room 201
Join us to pray for our partner churches and workers in these regions with special attention on international students, refugees, and military personnel from these areas now in the States.

Luncheon | 12:15PM | Café
Join us for a Q/A with today’s speaker, Kevin King. Perhaps you’ve wondered if international enclaves in a place like NYC could ever be opened to the gospel? Is it worth the effort? What are the obstacles? What does a breakthrough look like? Might God be calling me to join such an effort? These and other questions are the kind Kevin loves to answer.

Peninsula Student Ministry | 6PM | Gym
“MP” meets with small group leaders before the evening’s program to prepare them for follow-up discussions. After game time in the gym, she challenges students to recognize that we share the same need for God’s saving grace as people from other cultures and faiths, and to engage the challenges and opportunities of global migration which will define much of what the Church looks like in their lifetime. Students then meet in small groups to discuss the presentation, identify areas of application, and wrap up the evening.

Following are a few steps you might take to join His work. Check out the display table, contact a pastoral staff member or one of the Global Ministry Team members for details on how you could participate. All may be reached through the Chapel office.

1. Commit to praying for and supporting an international ministry global partner you met or heard about during the conference. Find out more at the display tables in the foyer.
2. Mobilize your Home Group, Bible study, family or group of friends to make a year’s commitment to one of the partners you heard from or about at the conference. Keep informed on ways to pray, give or encourage. Host a zoom party if the partner lives out of the area.
3. Invite any of our presenters over to learn more about their ongoing work with internationals.
4. Connect with a Friends of Refugees (FOR) leader to see how your gifts can be used serving a local refugee.
5. Check out these links for more information on serving internationals in the US:

• Foreign born population interactive map: Visit bit.ly/fbmigrationmap to learn more about our nation and community by interacting with this digital map made by the University of Richmond's Digital Scholarship Lab. Use it to inform your prayers for the spread of the Gospel among unreached peoples groups.
• Bridges USA: Explore how you can be equipped and empowered through their website (bridgesusa.us) or by watching Bridges USA's video (bit.ly/bridgesusawelcome).
• International Project: Explore more at internationalproject.org or consider joining the PCC short-term Seed Week trip in New York City this summer.
• Cru Military International: Learn more about this ministry and opportunities at bit.ly/crumilitaryinternational.

Friends of Refugees (FOR) leaders:

Because we believe so deeply in God calling us to global ministry, especially in the unreached areas of the world, PCC’s Global Ministry Team strives to educate, motivate, and equip our congregation to play a part in what God is doing on a global scale. We oversee the sending and supporting of our Global Ministry Partners and our annual short-term trips. Our Global Ministry Team includes Hannah Wissmann (Chair), Billy Haselton (Director), Tom Kenney, Carol Bryant, David Lott, Lois Shaw, Ryan Bradley, Dan Sherbenski, Jessie Frayser, Mike Powell and Charlie Carmichael.

Our Global Ministry Task Forces exist to help focus the congregation of PCC on how God is calling the church to spread the good news of Jesus locally and globally among all peoples. We have three task forces with a specific focus on our three unreached people groups — the Central Asia Task Force, Kenya Task Force, and M-People Advocacy Team. The Global Ministry Partner Care Task Force is made up of all the Advocates who support our Global Ministry Partners.

Global Ministry Partners are people that we formally send out to engage in intentional vocational ministry. There are two classifications of Global Ministry Partners: Associate and Primary. Primary Global Ministry Partners receive greater levels of support from PCC and submit to more significant levels of accountability. We currently support 49 Global Ministry Partners who are doing ministry in over 13 different countries spread across 6 continental regions. About half are Primary and half are Associate. Every Global Ministry Partner has an official PCC Advocate who serves as a vital link between the congregation and the Global Ministry Partner, whether they are on the other side of the world or here locally. Due to security reasons, not all of our Global Ministry Partners can be featured on the website or in paper publications.