(Photo Courtesy of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship)

USA (MNN) — The Missio Nexus conference held last week in Florida provided an opportunity for MNN to talk more with Tom Lin, director of the Urbana Student Mission Conference and vice president of missions for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, about what is happening at North America’s largest student missions conference in December.

Urbana is held every three years to connect college students who want to use their degrees for global change. “Most of what we do at Urbana is to point the direction where we see missions and…[where] missions is going in the future,” says Lin, director of the Urbana Student Mission Conference and vice president of missions for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA

It seems lately this future is found in the Persecuted Church.

“I think [it is] a significant theme. I think because it is dominating not only global mission headlines, but global headlines…. At Urbana, we’re focusing on it because one of the traits of this generation…is this sense of global citizenship. They are global citizens; they understand they are apart of a global family. We want to continue to reinforce that.”

Lin also sees how the unique gifts of the millennial generation will help them to work and connect globally. “I think one of the unique giftings that they have is this entrepreneurial spirit. So if you look at statistics, I think research shows maybe half of them want to be business owners or entrepreneurs and start their own organizations. The technology tools available to them [and] their ingenuity is just amazing.”

Students now have opportunities open to them because of the technology available.

(Courtesy Photo from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship)

They’re able to do more than ever before and believe they can make a difference. “There’s this sense that they can do those things, they’re capable they’re at an age where technology and other things enable them…They’re going to tackle a lot of significant challenges using technology,” said Lin.

However, even with these unique generational gifts, Lin still sees challenges facing the millennial generation. “Their attention span we know is shorter. They move on to thing to thing to thing quickly.” While it may be hard to refrain from laughing about a short attention span, there are more serious challenges this generation faces.

He points out, “statistics also show they tend to be younger in their faith on average in college. So you’ve got more people who become Christians, come to Christ while in college, so their journeys have just started and sociologically you have delayed adulthood so you have students who are perhaps less mature than generations earlier who are in their twenties.” Urbana is helping these students invest in their future and the future of the great commission.

Lin says they’re adding new things to follow up with students in efforts to keep their attention in their missions journey. “We’re partnering with the Perspectives, the Perspectives movement and offering scholarships for them to continue studying and engaging in a course with missions.” Urbana partners are hosting follow up events shortly after the December event, too.

However, this unique generation still needs its prayer warriors. Lin asks for people to pray for the spiritual protection of this generation. “I think there’s so much adversity that this new generation faces. It’s a serious generation, a serious time. They worry about unemployment; they worry about what’s going on in the world. There’s a lot of brokenness they see and a lot of fast changes…and all of these things can derail them.”

To learn more about Urbana, click here. 

Urbana 15 establishes Matthew 7 as the foundation for the next conference.

USA (MNN) – In the final section of our Preparing for Urbana 15 series, York Moore of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship discusses one of Urbana 15’s driving themes: social justice.

It’s tough to think about kids being exploited, especially since the crime is often kept secret for years. But that’s why people like Moore, and the team behind the Price of Life program, are speaking up.

“There’s something insidious about human trafficking.

“When we look at a child, we know that there’s something holy there. We know that there’s something sacred there,” notes Moore.

“And so, it’s beyond our imagination to think that we could commoditize a person for profit or for pleasure, that we could exploit somebody.”

Millennials and social justice

Social justice issues–from civil rights to human trafficking–have become a driving force for many Millennials.

(Image courtesy PriceofLifeNYC.org)

“They care about the world, they care about the poor, they care about the exploited,” Moore observes.

“It seems like college students care about pretty much everything.”

As they plug Millennials into transformative solutions to social justice issues like human trafficking, InterVarsity staff also point college students to the only One with power to redeem social evils: Jesus Christ.

Millennials and missions

Through Price of Life and Urbana 15, InterVarsity gives college students the tools they need to fight human trafficking.

(Photo courtesy Merced College)

Ready to erase the scourge of human trafficking? Join forces with like-minded Millennials at Urbana 15.

(Read Preparing for Urbana 15: Part One)

(Read Preparing for Urbana 15: Part Two)

(Photo courtesy Urbana 15 via Facebook)

USA (MNN) — A lot goes into preparing for Urbana 15.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staff has worked tirelessly for months, lining up a theme, speakers, and more.

Urbana 15 speakers are finalizing presentations and have practiced time and time again.

Students have been researching Urbana 15 seminars, making travel arrangements, and spending time in prayer.

And yet, preparing for Urbana 15 doesn’t stop here. There’s still work to be done, and that’s why InterVarsity’s York Moore is on the road.

Preparing for Urbana 15: awareness

Getting the word out is an important part of preparing for Urbana 15. Toward this end, Moore is currently visiting several Christian campuses.

At his first stop this week, Moore spoke at the morning chapel service of Cornerstone University.

In this photo, Moore is speaking
at a conference in New York.
(Photo courtesy InterVarsity)

“One of the things that I preached on today was Revelation 11:15, which in my mind is the epicenter of the story of God,” says Moore.

“It’s a turning point in the story of God. What comes after that is this incredibly violent, volatile period of time where God begins to make all things new.”

Moore and InterVarsity are helping the Next Generation engage in missions as part of that story.

“If you want to inspire young people to be a part of something larger than themselves, if you want to inspire them to be a part of God’s great story, you don’t say, ‘Hey, go to this great conference. You’re going to have a great time,’” says Moore.

“You invite them into something larger than themselves.”

Preparing for Urbana 15: the invite

(Photo courtesy Cornerstone University via Facebook)

Along with introducing CU students to Urbana 15 in chapel, Moore met with them individually in a separate follow-up session.

“We had a small room full of staff and students,” shares Moore via e-mail.

“They had questions mostly about how Urbana was different from other conferences, [and] my main answer was that Urbana attracts delegates (conference attendees) who–more than most conferences–are looking for direction in God’s calling and are open to God’s global mission in atypical ways.”

The group told Moore they’re expecting to take “about 2 vans full,” all the way from Grand Rapids to St. Louis for Urbana 15.

“I also shared that one of the major goals of Urbana is to help delegates see the tapestry of Kingdom issues and struggles and how they interrelate,” shares Moore.

“Instead of ‘cannibalizing’ each other, missions organizations and their specific areas of emphasis should be seen as parts of a larger, holistic way the global Church is engaging systemic needs, injustices, and mission.”

(Graphic courtesy InterVarsity)

If you want to be part of God’s story, it’s not too late to sign up for Urbana 15. Find the details & links you need here.

(Read Preparing for Urbana 15: Part One)

(Photo courtesy Urbana via Facebook)

USA (MNN) — For most students, college life is full of difficult questions.

What do I major in? Should I transfer schools, or finish here? What will I do after graduation?

Even in a flurry of unknowns, one constant rings true for a majority of college kids: they want their lives to make a difference.

But, how could college kids possibly change the world? InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is directing students to the answers they need.

“If we challenge them to enter into the historic mission of God, [we are] tapping into who they were made to be and what God’s story is all about,” says InterVarsity’s York Moore.

Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing more about how Moore and InterVarsity are engaging the Next Generation in global missions.

Today’s focus is where mission-minded students can take their next steps: Urbana 15.

Urbana 15

(Graphic courtesy InterVarsity)

As stated here, Urbana 15 is InterVarsity’s 24th Student Missions Conference co-hosted by InterVarsity/USA, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada, and Groupes Bibliques Universitaires et Collégiaux du Canada.

The end goal of Urbana 15 is getting college students plugged into missions. But, Urbana 15 and global missions in general are about something even higher.

“When we think about missions, [it’s] more than a conference, it’s more than an event. It’s more than, even, what we do with our lives,” says Moore.

“Missions revolves around the story of God.”

Find your role in God’s story at Urbana15.

God’s story is not always an easy one to hear.

“The Church has always been persecuted,” Moore shares. “For the last 2,000 years, we [Christians] have largely been the minority, the marginalized, [and] the oppressed.

“I think we’re coming into a time in Western civilization where that’s likely to be the case.”

Each tri-annual Urbana conference has a theme, and Urbana 15’s focus is the Persecuted Church.

(Graphic courtesy Urbana via Facebook)

“Learning from the Persecuted Church is part of our way of challenging students–to say, ‘Look, this is the way forward. As the darkness grows in the United States and around the world, this is the way forward,’” says Moore.

“We are entering an era in the United States where Christianity is no longer the dominant voice of culture…. That’s kind of where we [are] already, and I think it’s going to accelerate.”

(Photo credit Cary and Kacey Jordan Via Flicker)

Students for Life applied to be an exhibitor* at Urbana, Intervarsity’s triennial student missions conference, and was denied for failure to meet the criteria requirements.

One of the major requirements for exhibitors is to be able to affirm InterVarsity’s Doctrinal Statement.

It’s clear in the doctrinal statement, which Students for Life could not affirm, that InterVarsity is pro-life and believes in the value and dignity of all people.

“InterVarsity believes Scripture is clear. We believe all life is sacred. We believe that pro-life organizations are doing an admiral work that reflects Gospel values,” says Greg Jao with InterVarsity.

Students for Life is not the first organization to be denied for being unable to meet the specific exhibitor criteria.

But, the accusations don’t end there.

Many have also had concerns about comments made by a speaker invited to the triennial student missions conference. Some have felt her comments dismissed pro-life activism.

“Our speaker challenged Urbana participants to engage in the hard activism of sacrificial lifestyle change, rather than just the easy activism of speaking,” clarifies Jao.

“My sense, from talking to her, was she wasn’t attempting to say pro-life activism or pro-life activities are unimportant or not valuable. But what she was saying is if everybody engaged in those activities went yet another step further to do the hard work of adopting children who are currently uncared for, we’d have a much more comprehensive and convincing witness to the world.”

The speaker wanted to draw the same line James does with the idea that faith is shown through works.

“The example she gave was there are 100,000 children in foster care right now. There are 300,000 protestant churches in the United States. If our churches just decided to deal with that problem, we could solve it tomorrow,” explains Jao.

The speaker in no way meant to dismiss the need to protest organizations like Planned Parenthood. But instead, she tried to urge listeners not to stop with protest but to act on those protests in love. An example of this is adopting a child, who has not been aborted and desperately needs to be loved.

Finally, the last concern regarding the speaker is whether or not she was invited to represent the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Jao clarifies saying, “We invited her because she’s a minister working in St. Louis [where the conference is held] — often alongside #BlackLivesMatter activists, but not as a representative of that organization. What she would say is she’s gotten involved in caring about the safety and dignity of black life because it’s consistent with her overall pro-life ethic: All lives should be protected. All lives should be safe. And all lives should be given dignity and respect.”

InterVarsity welcomes any comments, concerns, or questions about their pro-life stance. Just contact InterVarsity through its website or by calling 608-274-9001.

*The Urbana exhibition hall is designed for students and graduates to explore opportunities in cross-cultural missions work. It hosts organizations, seminaries, and training programs that can help prepare attendees to serve overseas.

(Photo courtesy Urbana 15)

At the top of the list: salvation. Last week in Missouri, nearly 700 young people put feet on their new faith by trusting in Jesus for the first time at Urbana 15.

In addition:

• 9,416 said yes to serving in a global or cross-cultural setting—short-term, mid-term, and long-term combined.
• 9,254 said yes to regularly praying and interceding for the global church.
• 5,418 said yes to continuing with others their Bible study of Matthew’s Gospel that began at Urbana.

“At Urbana 15, we challenged this generation to tell the Jesus’ story with their lives, and to learn from stories that are different than theirs,” Urbana director Tom Lin stated in a press release.

“I pray that this generation will give their whole hearts to Jesus and surrender their lives for God’s global mission.”

With roots in North America and abroad, 16,000 Urbana attendees spent the last five days of 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri — studying the Gospel of Matthew, praying for persecuted Christians, engaging with over 200 mission-focused seminars and more than 200 mission agencies and seminaries, and worshipping God through music and drama.

Participants also contributed more than $940,000 to the Urbana offering. The offering goes to 12 organizations that support indigenous Christian leaders and missionaries, persecuted churches, intercession ministry, refugees and diaspora communities, and evangelism efforts.

Along with calling Millennials to the foreign mission field, speakers addressed topics close to home.

(Photo courtesy InterVarsity)

“We chose to address #BlackLivesMatter at Urbana 15…because it is a language and experience of many college students,” InterVarsity staff said in a recent press release.

“Many Black InterVarsity staff and students report that they are physically and emotionally at risk in their communities and on campus.”

About one-half of those who attended Urbana 15 are people of color, including more than 1,200 Black participants. InterVarsity chose to participate in this conversation because they believe Christians have something distinctive to contribute in order to advance the Gospel.

“The need for reconciliation is obvious in the Middle East and other global mission fields. It is just as obvious in the United States.”

Urbana 15 can still be experienced in this summary video here. More videos are available online at https://urbana.org/urbana-15/general-sessions. Audio is available at: https://urbana.org/seminars-tracks.

Additional resources, such as Paul Borthwick’s helpful article on “5 Ways to Process Urbana” are featured on the Urbana blog: https://urbana.org/blog.

(Photo credit: Urbana)

Find out why in this report.

And yet, obedience is exactly what Gillian Edube advises. Edube is co-founder of Global Link Africa, and she also spoke at last week’s Urbana 15 conference.

In a recent blog, Edube issued the following “words of wisdom” to Urbana 15 participants:

“Take the next step—don’t take a huge one, don’t look very far. I have learned the will of God is not hidden. It’s not very far. I have learned to obey him for what he’s telling me to do today. And that becomes a stepping-stone to the next thing, to the next thing and the next thing.

“Maybe it’s something small in your campus, to walk with your neighbor, or do a short-term mission, or write an article. Do what you need to do now. But obey today.”

These are Gillian Edube’s words of advice for Urbana 15 participants as they head into the final day of the conference. They are words she has lived by since first becoming a Christian as a high school student in Kenya. They are words she still lives by today as one of the founders of Global Link Afrika, an indigenous mission organization based in Uganda.

Gillian describes herself as someone who says yes to God. “I don’t say no. It’s very hard for me to say no. I will doubt. I will fear, but I will follow.”

Ironically, her very first yes, the one that ignited her faith, had a condition attached.

“God called me through my gifting of a good voice. In high school, the Christian Union had no one who could sing, so they asked me if I would come and lead worship. I said yes, provided you don’t pursue me to become a Christian.”

Usually, Gillian would lead in worship and then leave the meeting. But one day, a speaker insisted the worship team sit and listen to his teaching. “That’s when I heard the truth. I gave my life to Jesus,” she said.

In university, Gillian became a leader with the Fellowship of Christian Unions (FOCUS) in Kenya. “I was mentored; I was really helped by FOCUS staff to grow. They took me to conferences, provided Bible training. I was really, really growing.”

When she graduated, FOCUS invited her to a one-year term as a student worker. Her answer was yes.

At the end of that year, Gillian intended to find a job in business, putting her university degree into practice. But she was invited by FOCUS to do student work in Norway for one year.

She said yes.

In Norway, Gillian met the man who would become her husband, a Ugandan student on the same mission. After they were married, they returned to Uganda and Gillian intended to find a job in banking. But, once again, she was invited to join FOCUS.

And once again, she said yes.

Gillian Edube is co-founder of Global Link Africa, and she also spoke at last week’s Urbana 15 conference.
(Photo credit: Urbana)

Part of Gillian’s assignment was to organize mission conferences for students. And that’s when she encountered an obstacle. Many students were eagerly responding to God’s call on their lives, saying, “Here I am, God, send me.” But Gillian and her colleagues had nowhere to send them. They could place a few on month-long missions, but that was not enough. They needed more.

So Gillian began approaching mission agencies in Uganda, asking them to accept students to serve with them. Time and time again she was told, “We don’t recruit Ugandans.”

“We wanted organizations on the ground, places where we could send our young graduates who were so passionate about mission,” she explained. “But there was no particular organization that could help. We kept telling each other, we need to do something. We are the only people who can do something.”

Gillian was just 30 years at the time. “We boldly decided we would start connecting young people who wanted to serve the Lord to opportunities. We would train them to be missionaries, equip them, and send them. How, we don’t know, but we will do it. And we started.”

Three years later, Global Link Afrika is doing just that. Focusing on healthcare, they are placing young graduates in small communities where there is great need, spiritually as well as physically.

“It’s very risky to be indigenous. It’s very tough but it’s important because the Global South must wake up,” she said.

“The Global South has waited for missionaries for as long as we have lived. And missionaries have come and churches have been built, but the African church is not engaging in global missions. We are trying to work with churches to help them understand they need to stop parking people in churches. We are trying to say it’s time to send.”

(Photo credit: Urbana)

As she prepares to leave Urbana, Gillian offers the same message to everyone at the conference.

“God is still sending. Be keen to know where God is sending you. It’s not mysterious. If you are obeying, he is there. He will help you.”

Pray students at Urbana will take this message to heart. Organized by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Urbana 15 is the largest student missions conference in North America.

More reports from Urbana 15 here.

Urbana 15

The student mission conference wrapped up with participants ringing in the New Year together, but it doesn’t mean the lessons learned will be left behind.

The event, which takes place every three years, assembles mission organizations and speakers to inspire and give advice on options for serving Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission.

This year saw over 250 exhibitors and 180 speakers offer much-needed answers anywhere from picking a college to attend, to picking an occupation.

“When I first got there, it was pretty overwhelming. There were a lot of people there. I was only expecting a few thousand people and it turned out to be 16,000 people, which was great because it was an experience to be able to worship and learn along 16,000 other people,”says Will Lipscombe, a high school senior from Spring Lake, Michigan who attended the event after hearing about it from friends who’d been to it in the past. He described the experience as ‘incredible’ and noted that ‘there was something constantly going on’.

In the past, Lipscombe served on the mission field for two summers in Costa Rica. He hoped to use Urbana as a way to find answers on where to go next.

“I do believe Urbana has been a good learning experience of whether I want to go into the mission field or not.” He explains that if he does end up going back into the mission field, it will be in Costa Rica because that’s where his heart is. “I’ve talked to a few of the exhibitors in the exhibitor hall, and I like some of the options of where I can go.”

With all the events and people to talk to crammed in a 5-day period, it’s hard to think about which was the favorite. Lipscombe says the event that stood out to him most was when he and other students learned about and prayed for the persecuted church.

“I knew that there was persecution going on, but the speakers that came up and explained what had happened to them because they brought in people who were persecuted, interrogated in other countries, and beaten because of their faith. It really opened my eyes to how serious of a thing it was. And then, to be able to pray for those people, it was cool to be able to do that.”

As students re-adapt to their everyday lives, pray that they will remember the lessons and advice they’ve been given at Urbana. Pray that they will trust God and be guiding lights wherever they go.

(Photo courtesy of Urbana 15 via Facebook)

International (MNN) — It’s midweek at Urbana, and the topics keep getting deeper and deeper.

Urbana, a student missions conference in St. Louis, Missouri, is held every three years by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

On the third night of the conference, speakers opened up about the Persecuted Church. Some speakers talked from experience. However, for security purposes, no information about these speakers will be released.

Emily Johnston, the Global Opportunities Coordinator at Cornerstone University, was able to fill in Mission Network News a little bit.

“One thing that was mentioned over and over again when we spoke about the persecuted church was that they are part of our family. And as members of our family, of the Christian family, we have a responsibility to them, to pray for them, to not turn away,” says Johnston.

And in this responsibility, Christians are not left empty handed.

“This is a big theme throughout the conference, that one of the greatest tools we have is prayer. And the other tool we have is solidarity,” says Johnston, paraphrasing speaker Evelyn Reisacher.

God commands Christians to bring everything before Him in prayer including prayer for brothers and sisters.

And it’s through prayer and solidarity that Christians are most helpful to their persecuted family. Prayers for support and endurance so that Christ might shine through the persecuted really do make an impact.

“One thing that really struck me was to hear the love and compassion that they [the persecuted] have for those who persecuted them…to say that the men and women that persecute Christians are as worthy of the grace of God as Christians,” reflects Johnston.

(Photo courtesy of Urbana 15)

She was impacted by he way that “pastors and church leaders, as they’re being interrogated and tortured, respond with such grace, and such compassion and such love that people’s lives are being changed.”

Through this love and compassion, a lot of the people who’ve disliked Christians have come to know Christ.

For example, Reisacher spoke about the Muslim-Christian relationship. One of the things Johnston relayed from Reisacher is “one of the biggest reasons why [Muslims come to Christian faith] is that they met and knew and were befriended by a Christian that loves them.”

For Johnston, the fact that just being welcoming can change a life is a huge responsibility. As she said before, this responsibility comes with tools. So use prayer and solidarity to shine like Christ and spread the Gospel.

For those unable to make it to this year’s Urbana Conference, there are still ways to be involved. Urbana is offering streaming services for the evening seminars.

To stream, click here.

(Photo courtesy of Urbana 15 via Facebook)

International (MNN) — On Day 2 of Urbana 15–a student missions conference in St. Louis, Missouri held by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Francis Chan dug into a hard topic: Living under the authority of Christ.

“Those early years of college, just trying to figure out God, ‘Where are You sending me? What do You want me to do?’ And there was so much of me that was afraid of that question. There was so much of me that was afraid of the authority of Jesus Christ,” said Chan.

Emily Johnston, the Global Opportunities Coordinator at Cornerstone University, says, “The perspective that he brought is this idea that the world tells us we don’t want to live under authority.”

And it’s understandable why many people shy away from living under Christ’s authority.

Living under Christ means letting go of our desire to live a comfortable life. It means things may not always be the way we want them to be. But it also means we might face suffering.

“We’re not going to get to the nations if we’re not willing to suffer. We can’t be sent out by Christ if we’re not willing to suffer,” explained Chan. After all, in John 3:30 we’re told we must decrease so He may increase.

(Photo courtesy of Urbana 15 via Facebook)

So what does this mean?

Johnston says, “When we live under the authority of Jesus, there’s a sense of security, but it doesn’t always mean safety. It doesn’t mean the authority of Jesus protects us from everything…but we have the freedom within the authority of God to enter into the suffering of the world…. We have the opportunity to enter into that with the security that God is with us.”

And what greater security can anyone ask for than knowing God is present. God’s invitation to live under Christ’s authority isn’t one of oppression, it’s one of incredible freedom.

“I don’t have to feel like I have to change the whole world. That’s not my job,” says Johnston. “And the authority of Christ gives me the ability to say, ‘Okay, that’s God’s job. And I just want to be a part of whatever that little piece that God’s called me to.”

Take today’s opportunity to challenge yourself to live under God’s authority. For all you know, it might be the most freeing thing you do all year.

For those unable to make it to this year’s Urbana Conference, there are still ways to be involved. Urbana is offering streaming services for the evening seminars.

[Read more about Urbana Day One here.]

To stream, click here.