For Immediate Release
(Madison, WI) --- The leadership team for InterVarsity’s Urbana Student Missions Conference has chosen the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, as the focus of the next Urbana, which will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, December 27-31, 2018.
“We are praying that God will give this generation fresh eyes to see the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain, in all his power and glory,” said Úna Lucey-Lee, Urbana Program Director. “We are eager for God to use this biblical vision to compel Urbana 18 participants into deeper trust, wholehearted discipleship, and enthusiastic involvement in global missions.”
With this selection, Urbana renews its commitment to making Scripture the foundation and framework integrated into every aspect of Urbana. “In the development of the Urbana program, we select Scripture first and build the program out of it rather than pick topics and find Scripture to support them,” said Lindsay Olesberg, InterVarsity Scripture Engagement Director and Urbana 18 Scripture Consultant.“This approach is an expression of our belief that the Holy Spirit is orchestrating God’s global mission of redemption and of our desire to cooperate with the Spirit.”
Since InterVarsity’s first student missions conference in 1946, more than 285,000 Urbana participants have heard the call to join God’s global mission. Billy Graham has said that half of American missionaries can trace their vocational call, at least in part, to Urbana.
“This generation of North American students may be more globally aware and connected than any before them. They long for justice as they carry the hurt of a world in crisis in their pockets,” said Ruth Hubbard, Director of Urbana. “Our desire is to provide a space for as many students, recent graduates, and faculty as possible to find or renew hope as they grow in their love of God, God’s Word, God’s people of every ethnicity and culture, and God’s purposes in the world.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an interdenominational ministry working with more than 40,000 students and faculty on 667 campuses nationwide. InterVarsity is a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, which advances Christian student work in over 160 countries.
Urbana 18 is InterVarsity’s 25th student missions conference, co-hosted by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada, and Groupes Bibliques Universitaires et Collégiaux du Canada.
