Urbana is not some regular missions/Christian conference. I admit, I am extremely biased because I work for Inter-Varsity, but I also am serious. There is something about the decisions you make or the thoughts that you have at Urbana that stay with you for a long time.
My friend and I were talking about this back in December. She and I went to Urbana 06, and she said that the decisions she made 3 years ago totally shape the way she thinks about the world and how she makes decisions in her life.
I would agree with that. The decisions I placed on my commitment card have all become a reality, whether it's going on a short-term missions trip (Central Asia last summer, Bangladesh this summer) or that I would invest in cross-cultural relationships (cue being called to work with Korean Christian Fellowship).
So, I am excited to hear some of the commitments my students made during and after Urbana. I have seem them try new things that require a lot of faith and boldness. I really didn't expect these risks to be taken until next year, but my student leaders are constantly asking the question of why we do what we do. If it doesn't fit with our theme, they usually stop doing it.
In particular, 5 students committed to spending time with a believing and a non-believing friend this semester. When we had an Urbana follow-up meeting, all of them shared that they wanted time to process through the conference before approaching their non-believing friend. They were hoping to contact them sometime in February.
Well, God had other plans. In that first week they returned to school, all of them had the person they wanted to spend time with contact them. Out of the blue. My students didn't initiate. Their friends did.
It was crazy to hear this. We all realized that God was serious about us following through with this commitment. Slowly, but surely, all of these students have started hanging out with their non-believing friend, grabbing lunch or doing something fun because they want their friends to experience God for themselves.
I'm sure there are more stories to share from Urbana, but this is the most significant one that I have heard so far. And I am excited to see what my students and their friends learn from this whole experience.
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