On Thursday, March 5, ���ĺ�������’s School of Divinity hosted its annual Church Leaders Conference. Pastors, lay leaders, and ministry workers gathered for a day of biblical teaching and encouragement. 

Dr. Jared C. Wilson, assistant professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor at Liberty Baptist Church in Kansas City, MO, served as this year’s keynote speaker, addressing the topic of “Recognizing, Resisting, and Recovering From Gospel Drift.” Wilson drew from his recent book, Lest We Drift: Five Departure Dangers from the One True Gospel, as he explored the importance of gospel centrality over three keynote sessions. 

In the first session, Dr. Wilson emphasized that the gospel is not advice or instruction but the announcement of what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ. In the second session, he identified three common obstacles that keep pastors from preaching Christ from every text of Scripture. Turning to Isaiah 40 in the final session, Dr. Wilson reflected on the heart of pastoral ministry, establishing the shepherd’s primary task is to proclaim the good news of Christ’s finished work. Together, the sessions encouraged church leaders to remain anchored in the gospel as the central message, confidence, and hope that sustains faithful ministry. Times of worship, fellowship, and a Q&A session rounded out the day’s schedule and provided refreshment for all attendees.

Dr. Keith Plummer, Dean and Professor of Theology for the School of Divinity shared, “We enjoyed a day of making new friends and reconnecting with old ones, singing heartily to our Savior, and being nourished by sound biblical teaching. A major takeaway for me from what Jared shared is how easy and perilous it is to assume that we are so well-acquainted with the gospel that we no longer need to hear it. It was refreshing to be reminded that we will never outgrow the message of salvation by grace through faith.”

Dr. Wilson’s conference sessions will be made available on Faith & Truth Media. You can watch the first session here: .

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s conference on March 4, 2027!

“To have a heart for the nations, one must first have a heart for the lost.”

This is what Kevin King ’90 shared with me, as he sat next to his wife, J*, in the office of their Brownstone apartment building in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. It is a singular sentence that serves as an effective summary of what they shared over the two interviews I had with them. Among the whos, whats, whys, wheres, and hows that the Kings shared regarding International Project’s 30-year history, it is evident that “a heart for the lost” has driven every decision.

A Campus Love Story

Kevin and J met as students at ���ĺ������� in 1989 while running on the cross country team. J, a freshman, chose to study at Cairn because she had desired to be a missionary since she was a young teen. Kevin was a more recent believer, and in his senior year, he was looking to attend seminary after graduation to become a pastor. The two began dating shortly before Kevin graduated and continued while he earned his Master of Divinity from Missio Seminary in Philadelphia. Over the course of those three years of biblical study, it became clear: Kevin and J were both called to be full-time missionaries, and they were called to do so together. The day after J’s last class at the University, they were married on campus in a pond-side ceremony off of Pine street—the last ceremony to be held there, as construction of the president’s residence began immediately after.

An Unmet Need and a Timely Mission

Kevin and J both had a strong desire to be missionaries among an unreached people group. They began praying and asking God where he would have them serve in the 10/40 window. It was during this same time that a friend invited them to see the ministry potential in New York City. What they found shocked them: Over 90,000 international students, 100,000 West African Muslims in one neighborhood, 80,000 Bangladeshi Muslims in another neighborhood, and 60,000 Arab Muslims in yet another neighborhood. Rather than living among one unreached people group across the ocean, the Kings realized the potential to live among the dozens of unreached people groups that were already converging in NYC. While, thankfully, many missions organizations have recognized and are participating in this diaspora ministry in the US, that was not the case in the early ’90s. The Kings had a vision for a new kind of missions that didn’t follow the typical playbook of crossing saltwater. Rather than moving halfway across the world to establish themselves in an entirely new culture, the Kings wanted to minister to the stranger next door. To be full-time financially supported missionaries who stayed stateside was nearly unheard of, which made it difficult to find an organization to support their work. They prayed and patiently waited for God to bring them to an organization that would support them—and that’s exactly what he did. The Kings found stateside missionary support from WorldTeam, giving them the opportunity to lay the foundation for what would become International Project.

For the first 10 years, they focused their efforts on campus ministry. English conversation groups, discovery Bible studies, and invitations to leave cafeteria food behind in exchange for a home-cooked meal were the order of the day. They built relationships with international students, shared the gospel, and discipled those who could then return home to share that same message with their families and communities. They were amazed at what God was doing. Over a five-year period, they saw seven house churches start in other countries as students returned home to make disciples.

As they continued to build relationships and establish themselves in the city, they expanded their focus to more broadly cover diaspora, including international students but also immigrants, refugees, and diplomats. Their vision with immigrants and refugees was the same as that on campus: To see the gospel spread through these new diaspora believers and see the gospel carried through relational lines to start churches in closed countries. Through International Project teams, they have seen churches begin in Iran, West Africa, and Bangladesh.

A Sending Agency of Their Very Own

For years, Kevin and J were International Project—two supported missionaries with a heart for internationals living in New York City. They were eager to add more missionaries to their team, but that process was slow-going. They started to host missionary trainings while they waited for full-time team members. The Equip Missionary Training Program, a one-year program focused on training cross-cultural church planters to start simple multiplying churches, is something they began in 2010 and continue to do today. Missions organizations from all over the country would send their new missionaries to the Kings for training—but then they would leave, continuing on their journey to do missions across the globe. The Kings came to the realization that as long as they were missionaries sent by a larger agency, they would never have the focused support they needed for their unique missions strategy of reaching diaspora communities in the US. They needed all of the resources “in house” to recruit, train, and retain a team of missionaries committed to their same mission.

In 2012, International Project officially became a sending organization. This move brought renewed focus to their diaspora ministry and streamlined their ability to serve these communities in the ways in which they felt the Lord leading.

This decision opened the door for incredible opportunity and growth, but it also came with considerable challenges. Training, mobilization, HR, finances, and pastoral care are just a few of the time-consuming and weighty responsibilities that must smoothly run behind the scenes in order for missionaries to be well-supported to do their jobs well. The Kings’ schedules were already full with the ground work of missions, so in order to succeed as an independent ministry, they needed a lot more help. But where the workload increased, God provided the workers. International Project grew from just Kevin and J to about 40 missionaries in an eight-year period. In addition to these missionary workers, they have a ten-person operations and mobilization team to support this work.

Opportunities to Expand

Campus ministry is still a significant part of International Project’s strategic plan to reach unreached people groups in NYC and, by extension, around the world. They have an average of 15 different discovery Bible studies every week across two college campuses. But the campus ministry team, led by J, is only one of eight teams that International Project now sends out. They have five teams in New York City: the campus team, two teams reaching Arabs, a team reaching South Asian Muslims, and a team reaching South Asian Hindus. They have also expanded their ministry footprint past NYC. They have a team reaching the Hindu population in Dallas, TX, and they have two teams in Rome and Central Asia to minister to the immigrant and refugee populations entering Europe.

In addition to the missionary teams, International Project also runs two thrift stores and community center in Brooklyn, staffed with another 35 employees. Both of these locations offer practical resources to the community while serving a greater, spiritual purpose. They provide a no-cost public space for ministry to happen. They offer specially designed groups and programs for immigrants and refugees, as well as a wider number of services to the broader community such as food distribution and various communal groups like kitting and art groups. Physical space in New York City is costly, but this ministry platform has proven to be a worthy investment in the extension of International Project’s presence and impact in the city.

Serving as International Project President, Kevin works with all of these teams—setting organizational vision and goals and providing training and support to the workers. For a time during their ministry expansion, Kevin was running most of the internal operations of International Project, which pulled him away from the direct ministry. But now a 10-person operations team has taken up the majority of this work, allowing Kevin to lead the organization while continuing to do the work of ministry that he desires to spend his time on—missionary training, dinner table conversations, and walking side by side with those who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

Challenges to the Mission

International Project has had many causes for celebration in its three decades of operation—both in terms of organizational growth and its participation in the spread of the gospel throughout the world. They have also faced significant challenges. Attrition is one of these challenges. This challenge is not unique to International Project but one which all missions organizations face: Missionaries leave. The work is hard, expectations are not met, family dynamics change priorities, and the list goes on. What makes attrition for International Project especially difficult is their location. Choosing to minister in a city means choosing to live in a small apartment with a lot more noise, a lot more trash, and a lot more people—all at a lot higher of a cost.

“Reaching unreached people groups used to mean going to live in a jungle or a village,” said Kevin. “While these situations still exist, that paradigm of missions has quickly changed because the majority of people—including the unreached—now live in cities. The new sacrifice of missions is being willing to be stacked on top of each other.”

Politics have also proven to be a continuing challenge to International Project’s mission. The Kings believe that God, who sovereignly rules over all things, is “divinely orchestrating global migration.” But too often, the politics of immigration cloud the conversation of gospel ministry to the foreigner among us—occasionally resulting in angry emails from those who conflate International Project’s mission to minister to the foreigner with their endorsement of any particular border policy. International Project’s focus is not on lobbying immigration policies but effectively building relationships and sharing the gospel with those God has brought to their neighborhoods, no matter what policies are in place. As Kevin said, “This is an opportunity to reach the nations, regardless of politics. Our focus is not on one’s government status in the country but one’s spiritual status in the Kingdom of God.”

A Continuing Work

It is hard to tell the story of International Project apart from the Kings. In many ways, it is their story. It has been 32 years since their pond-side wedding on Cairn’s campus, and for 30 of those years, they have worked side-by-side in a ministry that they built from the ground up. It’s a story they get to share, a legacy that deserves to be celebrated. But at the same time, we recognize that this is, ultimately, God’s story. Lord willing, International Project will continue to reach unreached people groups around the world long after the Kings are gone. And even if International Project, the 503c, were to end before the Lord’s return, the International Project—the Great Commission of bringing the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth—would continue, because the Lord has said it to be so.

If you are interested in serving with International Project, visit .

*Identity hidden due to the sensitive nature of her ministry work.

On Thursday, March 6, ���ĺ�������’s School of Divinity hosted the annual Church Leaders Conference, welcoming pastors, laypeople, and ministry leaders for a day of encouragement and learning. Keynote speaker Dr. Joshua Chatraw, the Billy Graham Chair for Evangelism and Cultural Engagement at Beeson Divinity School, spoke on “Helping the Doubting, Disillusioned, and Deconstructing,” drawing from his co-authored book, Surprised by Doubt: How Disillusionment Can Invite Us into a Deeper Faith.

In three sessions, Dr. Chatraw explored the personal nature of apologetics, using the metaphor of a house to illustrate the progression of faith to deconstruction.

 In his first session, he examined the current cultural moment, particularly how social influences shape the faith of younger generations. He emphasized that those struggling with doubt often wrestle with past interpretations of Christianity that feel inadequate in addressing justice and suffering. Rather than solely needing a path forward, they also need to make sense of their Christian past.

Dr. Chatraw then identified four truths that inevitably shape one’s journey of faith or deconstruction:

1. The big questions of life can’t be strictly proven or disproven.
2. Our background and history shape our interpretation of faith.
3. Everyone must choose where they will “live” in terms of belief.
4. This choice is influenced by intellectual, social, emotional, and existential factors.

In his second session, Dr. Chatraw outlined four common destinations for those who feel unsupported in their doubts:

• New atheism (outright rejection of faith),
• Optimistic skepticism (uncertainty but openness),
• Open spirituality (embracing alternative spiritualities), and
• Mythic truth (viewing faith as metaphor rather than reality).

As he focused on the second point, optimistic skepticism, a key theme prevailed: how Christians respond to those questioning or experiencing suffering—a major driver of doubt. He cautioned against overconfidence in explaining suffering, which can alienate those in pain. Instead, he urged believers to embrace and share the Bible’s complex, nuanced approach to suffering, recognizing that its different perspectives are complementary rather than contradictory.

In his final session, Dr. Chatraw encouraged a renewed vision of faith through the metaphor of “Main Floor Christianity.” This aimed to help those struggling with doubt move beyond intellectual arguments to experiencing faith as a lived reality. He distinguished between looking at Christianity (analyzing it) and looking along it (experiencing its light). He stressed that faith must not be reduced to institutional structures but should be centered on Jesus Himself.

Ultimately, Dr. Chatraw concluded that doubt, rather than being feared, can be used for good. It allows God to deepen faith, strengthen understanding, and ultimately bring believers into a more mature and resilient faith and, in turn, that way of thinking can be shared with others struggling with doubt.