From across the country and around the world, more than 16,000 thousand registered attendees are braving stormy winter travel conditions to travel to St. Louis for this evening’s opening of Urbana 09, InterVarsity’s 22nd Student Missions Conference.
More than 6,000 Urbana 09 attendees are scheduled to arrive at the St. Louis airport today. Thousands more are arriving on more than 40 buses that have been chartered. They will fill more than 6,000 hotel rooms upon their arrival.
Gathering at the Edward Jones Dome, the home of the St. Louis Rams football team, attendees will be welcomed by Urbana director James Tebbe.
Speaking to InterVarsity staff before the start of the conference, Tebbe compared Urbana 09 to a cathedral, built by followers of God to showcase God’s glory. “We thank God for the privilege of serving Him by serving this generation of students,” he said. “Our desire is that they will be motivated and empowered to actively participate in God’s global mission in a way that’s suited to their gifts, interests and passions.”
Also during this evening’s opening session, Ramez Atallah, the general secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt, will begin his daily expositions on the first four chapters of the Gospel of John. He will introduce the scriptural theme of Urbana 09, “He dwelt among us,” taken from John 1:14.
Video and audio of this week’s general sessions will be posted online at www.urbana09.org shortly after each of the sessions end.
