Urbana 73’s Contributions to the Cause of Missions

by James W. Reapsome

Ten Urbana missionary conventions have come and gone between 1946 and 1974. What will future historians say of them? Will they be seen as an effective stimulus to missions or not?

Ten Urbana missionary conventions have come and gone between 1946 and 1974. What will future historians say of them? Will they be seen as an effective stimulus to missions or not?

In many ways, the 1973 convention could answer that question for us, for by any yardstick you might want to apply, it was effective for the cause of missions. A number of considerations come to mind:

The exposition of the biblical basis of missions. Missionary enthusiasm is nothing if it is not based on a biblical understanding of God’s plan for the world. This plan was unveiled with careful logic by Philip Teng of Hong Kong. That God is a missionary-minded God could not be disputed. That he wants his people to be involved in his plan could not be avoided. Of such skillful exegesis are sound missionary decisions made.

The exposure of pertinent missionary issues. The commands of God must be related to the world as it is and to the people who comprise that world in 1974. Long-lasting missionary commitment arises out of an honest confrontation with real problems, not from dodging them. No four and one-half day convention, no matter how cleverly arranged, can do justice to all pertinent issues in plenary sessions, but at least several significant issues were raised:

Involvement in social programs ( Gregorio Landero, Colombia); the women’s liberation movement (Elisabeth Elliot Leitch, formerly of Ecuador); self-supporting witness overseas (J. Christy Wilson, expelled last year from Afghanistan); changing patterns of identification and acceptance with nationals (Pius Wakatama of Rhodesia, a black,. In addition, the elective seminar program (44 subjects’ and the discussion sessions (203 of them) surveyed an awesome variety of contemporary matters. Some of the electives were attended by more than 1,000 students; many others ranged from 500 to 1,000 in attendance.

The involvement of non-North Americans. Although previous Urbana conventions have conscientiously sought to avoid the image of Western missionary imperialism, the involvement of non-North Americans in roles of significant ministry was more pronounced than usual in 1973. For example, Chua Wee Hian’s nightly survey of student witness and evangelism around the world; Philip Teng’s four hours of Bible teaching; and the major addresses by Gregorio Landero, Pius Wakatama, and Samuel Escobar (a Latin American currently serving in Canada).

The involvement of missionaries. Looking at the platform in the main assembly hall each morning and evening, you would not have seen too many missionaries (Bill Thomas, Europe; J. Christy Wilson, Middle East; Samuel Moffett, Korea’, but throughout the convention there were 525 missionaries serving in various capacities. They were involved: teaching elective courses, leading discussion groups, and giving personal counsel to students who jammed the 106 mission board display centers. Students therefore could not avoid getting a clear, first-hand impression of what the missionary himself and his work are like. If they didn’t get it from the missionaries themselves, they could just as well have gotten it from one of the 600 missionary children (now students) who also were at Urbana.

The depth of missionary scholarship. Urbana conventions have never been known for a frothy, superficial, emotional presentation of missions. If anything, Urbana 73 was "heavier" than usual, to use a current student expression. But better, it seems, to err on this side than on the other, because students actually are used to digging into hard material and difficult concepts.

Elective seminars, for example, probed such weighty subjects as anthropology, theological education overseas, linguistics, ethnomusicology, Eastern religions, tie occult, and urban ministries. The morning Bible hour matched seminary-level teaching. The evening addresses forced students to grapple with deep subjects. Student hunger for missionary scholarship was also revealed in their buying of hooks – more than $100,000 worth during the convention.

The teaching of basic doctrine and principles of spiritual living. The gospel itself was expounded (at least 50 students were converted) by Paul Little, who then simply told how to find the will of God – perhaps the biggest question of all in the minds of students just starting to think about their own missionary involvement. Hand-in-hand with this basic teaching about one’s response to God went the exposition of the cardinal truths of the authority of Scripture (by John Stott) and the lostness of man (by Edmund Clowney). When all else is removed, we have no missionary mandate without these objective truths.

Personal spiritual vitality was at the core of the every-morning and every-night small fellowship groups – 1,400 such groups with their own leaders. Students studied the Scriptures ( Romans 12, for example) and prayed. They were given instruction in how to dig into the Bible for themselves, and at a morning plenary session they heard about the basic spiritual qualifications of missionary life and ministry from Bill Thomas.

The down-to-earth practicality of missionary work. Vocationally, students could follow a computer-arranged track right to a mission board in a specific part of the world that offered an opportunity matching their interest and qualifications. This was done by the Interchristo organization of Seattle. In addition, they could choose seminars on everything from nursing to the performing arty to making money for missions. Two students, Russell Weatherspoon and Donald Curry, spike to the entire assembly on two crucial questions: What’s my next step if I believe God is calling me overseas? and What if I believe it’s God’s will for me to stay home? No one could come to Urbana and escape the notion that God’s missionary plan involves everyone.

The evidence of missionary commitment. No one has ever been able to count the number of missionaries now on the field as a result of God’s work at previous Urbana conventions, although scone research into that question is now taking place. However, one dear indication at each convention that God does call out future missionaries is the number of decision cards sent into the office of Urbana Director David Howard at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship headquarters, Madison, Wis. In less than six weeks, some 5,000 cards had been received, indicating either a desire to follow God’s will should it involve missions, or a conviction that God was indeed leading that way. (The total number of cards received after the 1970 convention was 1,600.)

At the convention itself, students shared the gospel and led both fellow students and off-campus convention workers to faith in Christ. They responded to the needs of student work overseas by giving an offering of $190,000 to the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

Conclusion. InterVarsity has had a significant ministry in the U.S. for thirty-five years, reaching students for Christ and discipling them for Christian living and service. But from the very beginning the cause of missions has been a major emphasis as well— an emphasis that has served churches and missions around the world. InterVarsity doesn’t send missionaries in the traditional sense, but there are few mission agencies today – if any – that haven’t sent people who in the providence of God were previously sent to them through InterVarsity’s missionary vision and ministry.

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