IFES at Urbana 09Since yesterday, the quiet streets of downtown St Louis have been undergoing a dramatic transformation. From all corners of the United States (and the world), thousands of students, staff workers, exhibitors, media and more have been arriving for InterVarsity’s 22nd Urbana Missions Conference. Among them are 40 IFES delegates – here to teach, encourage, learn and grow in God’s plans for them.

It’s hard to describe how big this conference is. Main sessions are taking place in the Edward Jones Dome at America’s Centre – a 21-storey tall arena which can seat up to 67,000 people. Around 16,000 Urbana delegates gathered there for the first main session this evening but the space felt full as God’s people joined together in worship and thankfulness after some difficult journeys.

The theme of Urbana 09 is ‘He Dwelled Among Us’ – we’re exploring the idea of incarnation, of God ‘moving into our neighbourhood’ – and what this means for mission. After a rousing introduction from Jim Tebbe (Director of Urbana 09), Ramez Atallah took to the stage to explore John 1. His message for the week about incarnation is this:

  • it is the means by which God reaches out to us
  • it is the message God wants to communicate to us
  • it is the model for how we should minister

As well as teaching and sung worship, the evening session included a fantastic word and movement piece based on John 1 by Urbana’s Theatre Arts team and film pieces by InterVarsity’s 2100 Productions. As the night drew to a close, thousands of students spread back out across the city to where they were staying with heads and hearts full of images, impressions and inspiration. Urbana 09 has begun.