For Immediate Release
All Saints Day, November 1st, is the Christian holiday that commemorates those who throughout history have faithfully responded to God’s invitation to join his global mission. InterVarsity’s Urbana Student Missions Conference renews that invitation every three years in a dynamic way for each college generation. Urbana 12, InterVarsity’s Twenty-third triennial conference, will be held in St. Louis, MO, December 27-31, 2012.
“One of my favorite Urbana memories is singing ‘For All the Saints,’” says Urbana Program Director Nikki Toyama-Szeto. “It reminds us that those who have gone before us wrestled with Gods call. But they were faithful to respond, and God was with them.”
Urbana 12 will be similar to previous Urbana conferences in some basic ways:
- The invitation to people to say yes to Jesus for the first time (for those who haven’t done so).
- A call to this generation to give their lives fully to Jesus, and the invitation to cross cultural missional living.
- A commitment to the full expression of the family of God, by men and women of many cultures.
- A commitment to indigenity, learning from our global sisters and brothers how God is at work in their culture.
But each Urbana is different. The unique focus of Urbana 12 reflects the uniqueness of today’s college generation.
“Today’s college generation loves the world,” Nikki says. “They are service oriented and volunteer oriented. At Urbana 12 we will challenge them through Bible studies in the Gospel of Luke to move beyond charity to identification with the needy. We will challenge them that both demonstration and proclamation are needed for the gospel to be effective.”
Urbana 12 will offer more experiential activities to a generation that is more experientially oriented.
- The Launch Lab offers innovators a chance to receive coaching from consultants for their ideas.
- A Join-In conference-wide hands-on learning experience.
- An Arts Lounge for artists to process their Urbana experience artistically.
- An Exhibit Hall featuring more than 260 missions organizations and seminaries.
- InterVarsity’s hands-on Manuscript Bible Study is a part of each day’s beginning.
“As the saints of previous generations have discovered, following Jesus is not a soft endeavor,” says Nikki. “He invites us to drop our nets into the deep, to take a step outside of the boat. And when we respond, He gives us incredible opportunities to advance His kingdom in new and exciting ways. There’s nothing else like it.”
For more information on Urbana 12 go to http://urbana.org/urbana-12. The next Urbana 12 registration pricing deadline is November 12, 2012.
Media Contact:
Gordon Govier
ggovier@intervarsity.org
608-443-3688
