“Urbana” is recognized as “the world’s largest student missions’ conference.”
It is is response to the “Great Commission” of Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” (NIV)
From www.urbana.org …
“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.”
By 2006 “Urbana” the every three-year conference outgrew Urbana, Illinois, where it had met in most of its previous years.
And now, at year’s end in 2018, it is returning to St. Louis!
The Urbana website (www.urbana.org) notes the following from the late Evangelist Billy Graham, a speaker at Urbana numerous times:
“Billy Graham has said that half of American missionaries can trace their vocational call, at least in part, to Urbana.”
I recall excitement with mission minded folks around St. Louis when we learned that the famed Urbana Student Missions Conference … already impacting the world … had outgrown Urbana, Il, and was coming to St. Louis! That was in 2006!
What an honor for St. Louis and mid-America for us to host Urbana! That first one in St. Louis was between Christmas and New Year’s Day in 2006. It continues … every three years … including the next one, December 27 – 31, 2018.
Ruth Hubbard serves as Director. Hear her vision for this great Kingdom Event first aired on St. Louis Bott Radio (AM 1320) … in her own words.
Hosting the thousands of mostly students attending were volunteers, many local. One story in my recall is that of Hazelwood (a St. Louis suburb) Mayor T.R. and wife Lucy Carr. As young adults, they served in ministry on InterVarsity’s staff. Now he is retired (somewhat!) from Mayoral duties and his professorship at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville (near St. Louis). At each St. Louis Urbana, this terrific couple rents a room in a hotel near the center of the conference location and serve as very committed Urbana volunteers.
So … Urbana 18 invites those not student participants in the conference to pray about … and take action … about becoming a mission/conference volunteer.
Just about all one needs to know about Urbana is found at www.urbana.org, including the biography of Ruth Hubbard, whom you can now hear in her own words.
Previous Urbana related Radio, 10-12 minutes each …
To hear … “Mayor T R Carr provides STL key support to Urbana 15, world’s largest student missions’ conference” … click on .. http://haroldhendrick.com/2015/12/10/mayor-t-r-carr-provides-stl-key-support-to-urbana-15-worlds-largest-student-missions-conference/;
To hear … “Tom Lin leads Urbana 15 in STL; ‘World’s largest student missions’ conference!’ See www.urbana.org” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2015/12/10/tom-lin-leads-urbana-15-in-stl-worlds-largest-student-missions-conference-see-www-urbana-org;
To hear … “Jim Tebbe, Dir ector of 16,000 plus at www.urbana09.org Missions Conference; Deb Meyer seeking 2,000 volunteers” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2009/10/17/jim-tebbe-dir-of-16000-plus-at-www-urbana09-org-missions-conf-deb-meyer-seeking-2000-volunteers/ ,,, and …
To hear … “Dr George Stulac re “Urbana 15”; rejoices in growing response of students, professors to the Gospel” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2015/06/28/dr-george-stulac-re-urbana-15-rejoices-in-growing-response-of-students-professors-to-the-gospel.
Dr. Stulac served as senior pastor of Memorial Presbyterian Church for 33 years, located just south of Washington University in St. Louis … and is the author of the “Book of James” volume in the InterVarsity New Testament commentary series. He now serves on the staff of InterVarsity in mid-America. While a student at Washington University, an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship student volunteer established a relationship with him, resulting is George’s coming to saving faith in Christ!