What Happened at Urbana— its Meaning for Missions

by David M. Howard

Missionaries at Urbana 76 found a new mood among college students regarding missions. The convention’s director looks at reasons for the trend and tells what it means for the future of mission boards.

Missionaries at Urbana 76 found a new mood among college students regarding missions. The convention’s director looks at reasons for the trend and tells what it means for the future of mission boards.

To discuss where students are today in relation to missions, it seems reasonable to ask what happened at Urbana 76.

Urbana is the largest single event among students related to missions, so it provides a good cross-section of how students are reacting to missions today. Second, it is recent enough to give some up-to-date picture of where students are. Third, the reactions we are getting since Urbana from mission boards help us understand how students are responding to them, and vice-versa.

It takes nearly three years to prepare for an Urbana convention. In the planning processes the real cornerstone which is laid is prayer. It is encouraging to see people across the country who back us up in prayer. It is always exciting to see students praying many months before the convention that God would be preparing them and calling the right students from their campuses to attend.

I have a special prayer partner in Massachusetts who called me every morning during Urbana and did three things over the phone. First, he gave me something from the Scriptures as God’s word for me for that day. Second, he asked what were my personal needs and the needs of the convention for that day. Third, he prayed with me over the phone. I thank God for people who pray for us that way.

After the convention I received a letter from a young man in Korea who wrote:

Urbana 73 was the first time I definitely remember considering the Lord’s will beyond the USA. Well it almost took three years but here I am … Though I didn’t get the sheet of prayer requests in time for Urbana 76, I was in prayer for Urbana 76 as many others in Korea were also.

Each day of the convention began with students having their own personal devotions, using materials provided at registration. Following breakfast, small-group Bible studies based on that same passage were held in the dormitories. This became the backbone of the convention. Then came the plenary sessions with Bible exposition and presentation of other topics.

Afternoons were spent in elective workshops and interaction with mission board representatives. There were 125 missions present with their displays and most of them were overwhelmed with student interviews. One mission had 961 personal interviews with students and was following them up afterwards. Then, in the evening, plenary sessions were held again with major speakers.

HOW STUDENTS RESPONDED
How are students responding to what they learned at Urbana? First, there is an encouraging response to the emphasis on Scripture. One girl wrote saying:

What I learned at Urbana stimulated me and made me exceedingly thirsty for the Scripture and already I have delved into it and am excited about how much better I can come to know God. For this revelation alone, the necessity of searching Scripture on my own and incorporating it into my every hour here on earth, I owe Urbana a deep debt of gratitude.

How are students responding in personal commitment? On the fourth night Billy Graham issued a call for students to commit themselves to God for whatever he has for them in terms of world missions. It was impossible to get any real calculation of how many stood, but some newspaper reporters suggested 15,000. I do not quote that figure as being authentic, but at least it was many thousands.

We do have one accurate figure. On that same night students signed the World Evangelism Decision Cards indicating one of two things: First, that God is leading them into overseas service and they will pray and plan accordingly, or, second, that they are not yet sure of God’s will but are actively seeking his will and are ready to go wherever he leads them. We now have in hand from the convention, out of 17,112 students, 8,604 of these cards: 2,103 signed the first option, that they believe God is leading them overseas; 6,501 signed that they are not yet sure but are seeking God’s will. How does that compare to other conventions?

In 1970 out of 12,304 students, 7 percent signed the World Evangelism Decision Card at the convention. More came in during the year, so that it came close to 15 percent. At Urbana 73, with 14,158 students there, about 28 percent signed this card, with about 1,500 more coming in later, raising it to 38 percent. In 1976, 50 percent of the convention signed such cards.

Personal commitments are being expressed in letters such as the following.

A girl from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia wrote:

Urbana didn’t so much show me where I was going as it showed me where I was. As I listened to the speakers talking about God’s will, I heard everything in me say, "No, God, I’m not willing. I am not willing to turn all my plans and dreams and security over to you. And if that is what it entails, I want out." That really made me feel filthy and ashamed. I wanted to crawl under a rock or something. As soon as I had seen my spiritual condition for what it was, though, God blessed me with an experience of his love that was so real that it was as if someone had turned on a heat lamp. He spoke to my heart and said, "No, you are not willing. That’s right. Now that you know where you are, let’s go on from there. " That taught me more about the glory of God than all the rest of the convention."

Another girl wrote that she couldn’t put into words what happened, and then promptly put it into some of the best words I have read.

To translate to paper the struggle I had with God is beyond my capabilities. I wrestled well with God, holding God to a standstill, despite some unfair (I thought) tactics on his part, until Thursday evening. Then as the angel of the Lord did to Jacob, he lightly touched the thighbone of my heart and put it out of joint. I had no recourse but to surrender to him; and in surrender, again like Jacob, I besought his blessing upon me. He gave it. God is an incredibly gracious winner. It will very soon be time to leave, and as I leave, my head is full of new knowledge, my heart is full of a new and quiet joy, and my spirit, Oh, my spirit, is full again of the presence of the glory of God. I will declare his glory for there is nothing else that I can do.

Commitments were also expressed in practical ways. When the needs of world hunger were emphasized, opportunity was given for students to give up their noon meal, with the savings to be contributed to help alleviate hunger. The university returned to us $15,000 saved through this sacrificial meal. An additional offering of $8,000 was received in cash from students, making a total of $23,000 that we were able to contribute to three agencies engaged in hunger relief around the world.

Another night an offering was received to help reach students for Christ in other parts of the world. Urbana students gave $247,000 in cash, plus enough pledges that brought the offering up to $300,000. As far as I know, that must be the largest student offering ever given anywhere in history. Some students were unable to give much cash that night. So we got a lot of other things in the offering. One envelope contained 35 cents and a note saying, "That’s all I have."

Someone else put in some Burger Chef coupons. Someone else gave a diamond ring, with a note saying, "I haven’t any money, but I believe that this ring is worth $120." Two pair of shoes were received. Someone gave a guitar saying, "God told me to give it." Commitment in action was also seen as students bought well over $200,000 worth of books for their own personal development.

HOW MISSION BOARDS RESPONDED
Mission boards and missionaries have also been writing to express how God has been working in them as a result. One mission leader wrote:

We were completely inundated at our booth. There were so many students who wanted to talk that I personally lined them up five at a time, talked with them as a group, dismissed them, and took four to seven more.

Sometimes mission boards misunderstand what the results of Urbana ought to be. They expect a great influx of candidates immediately following the convention. We know, however, that it may be five to seven years, or more, before some of these to whom God spoke at Urbana are ready to go overseas. Last fall I received a letter from a missionary in Bogota, Colombia, who traced his pilgrimage from Urbana 64, Urbana 67, and then Urbana 70. He wrote:

Now, 12 years from the time that God first spoke to us at Urbana 64, here we are finally in Bogota, Colombia, ministering to upper class people.

Mission board recruiters may be tempted to ask, "Where are all those 8,500 who signed decision cards?" They are on their way. Missions leaders need to give them time, pray for them, work with them, be patient with them, and encourage, advise, and counsel them. But recognize that they will not all be heading this year for the mission field.

HOW PASTORS RESPONDED
Pastors are also responding in encouraging ways. The wife of one well-known pastor from the East wrote:

Since arriving home there has not been a morning that my dear husband has not popped out of bed at 5:30 to spend his first hours with the Lord fruits of Urbana; God at work.

Both of us had once again forgotten the bigger picture of this mighty God that has mercifully called us. Our burdens had, in some ways, blotted out his might and our burdens taken his place and power – fruits of Urbana; God at work.

Another pastor from California wrote:

We’ve all returned deeply touched by God, both in our spiritual lives and in our vision for the world. We are most pleased that our young people were not put on a high from which they would slide down very rapidly, but seem to have been touched right to the depths of their spirit and are sharing significant struggles and concerns as a result of the exposure they had to Urbana and to the ministry that was accomplished there.

This pastor’s evaluation has been confirmed by students who have commented on their response to Billy Graham’s invitation. They report: "This was not an emotional time. We were not manipulated. We were making definite commitments before God. This was being done clearly, intellectually, on a level that we understood."

HOW FACULTY RESPONDED
Faculty members around the country are likewise thankful for what God has done for them. One professor wrote:

Having seen and heard such people as Edmund Clowney, John Stott, Elisabeth Leitch, Helen Roseveare, and the rest, I experienced people who knew God and grasped his glory in such a profound yet simpler way than I had ever known. You see, I deal every day with very complex issues and I find myself making simple things more complex out of habit. My Jesus had become something of an inaccessible bureaucrat, the type of authority figures I deal with every day. I thank God that my eyes were opened with Dr. Clowney’s talk…. Here was a man who knew, not just had seen, he knew God’s glory. During his talk, light literally invaded my mind and heart as I saw what I had been doing. I saw the subtle process that had occurred and how it affected my relationship with Jesus and consequently with everyone else.

THE MEANING FOR MISSION SOCIETIES
What does all of this mean for mission societies today? First, prayer is needed for these young people. The missionary outreach of the church has always been grounded in prayer. Today is no exception. We need to uphold in earnest prayer these potential candidates.

Second, students need encouragement in every way possible. There is nothing more discouraging to a student ready to follow the Lord than to go to a mission board, ask questions, and then get turned off by a negative attitude. Being told, "Well, we are really not that interested in what you have to offer, " is a very deflating experience. Board personnel need to be as positive with them as they possibly can.

Third, as a result of what God is doing today in the student world, some mission boards may need to re-examine their policies. They may have to do some updating. They may have to rethink their entire outlook. For example, missions executives need to realize that these students are very sensitive to the needs of others. They want to help; they want to work; they want to minister to the needs of people.

Another thing they want is to be accepted as people. They recognize that they have some rough edges that need to be knocked off. But they want to be accepted, not turned off. They want to be a part of what God is doing. This new attitude may require some re-evaluation of where individual missions are headed.

Fifth, mission boards must rethink the entire relationship with Third World brethren. How do they view the upsurge of interest among North American young people in getting involved in world outreach? How can they help us maximize this potential to help finish the task before us?

I am excited about what God is doing in these days. This is a new day, vastly different from six or seven years ago. Today students are wide open. Billy Graham was asked in his press conference, "What do you sense about these students here?" He said, "They are not asking the hard questions they used to ask. They are asking the practical questions, ‘What can I do? I am ready to move. I want to do something for the Lord. I want to be in on what God is doing. How can I get with it? What can you tell me to do?…’" Mission boards need to be prepared to encourage and help them along at this crucial time.

Following Urbana, the editor of The Tartan, the Gordon College student newspaper, wrote a beautiful editorial. She went to Urbana with high ideals, expecting some special revelation about where she was headed. She ended the first part of her editorial by saying this:

My revelation never came. I did, however, learn one small lesson. I faintly noticed it the first evening I arrived at Urbana and began to browse through the convention handbook, hymnal and other literature that had been given to me by IVCF. I was quietly taken aback by what must have been years of work organized on the pages before me. I noticed it during the first press conference I attended, when David Howard, director of Urbana, stated before the press, "I pray that the glory of God will be seen here this week." I noticed it again during TWENTYONE-HUNDRED’s multi-media presentations.

As the week progressed, I noticed it more and more as I … listened and was captivated by men and women around me who were intelligent and capable and endearing individuals. It became an enormously liberating feeling … What I felt was Christian pride . . . I was proud of the Christian achievements that were real at Urbana. But more than that, I was proud of the 2,000-year-old, yet boundless achievement of Jesus Christ. I was proud that I, too, like those around me, could unashamedly call Jesus Christ my Lord.

That represented the thinking of students who were responding to what Jesus Christ is doing. I hope missionaries all over the world will be ready to respond with them.

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