Urbana (convention)
| Urbana | |
|---|---|
Urbana 2006 motto
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| Status | Active |
| Genre | Christian, Missions, Evangelism, Social justice, College/University/Seminary |
| Venue | America's Center (since 2006) |
| Location(s) | St. Louis, Missouri (since 2006) |
| Coordinates | 38°37′56″N 90°11′27″W / 38.63222°N 90.19083°WCoordinates: 38°37′56″N 90°11′27″W / 38.63222°N 90.19083°W |
| Country | United States (since 1948) |
| Inaugurated | 1946 |
| Most recent | 2015 |
| Attendance | 15,745 (Urbana 15, as of December 21, 2015) |
| Organized by | InterVarsity Christian Fellowship |
| Website | |
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Urbana is a major Christian student missions conference sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The event is designed to inform Christian students about global issues and issues around the world that missionaries face. The conference also encourages students to explore the biblical mandate for cross-cultural missions and encourages them to participate in missions.
Each Urbana lasts for 5 days at the end of December and ends with a final communion on New Year's Eve. In addition to the main speakers, participants are offered a choice of dozens of seminars offered throughout the week, relating to specific topics within the general theme of the university and international missions. Worship is also a major highlight of the conference; special attention is paid to incorporating diverse worship styles, even including songs in foreign languages.
The first Urbana was held in 1946 in Toronto, and since then, it has generally been held every three years. From 1948–2003, Urbana took place at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, with the primary venue after 1963 being the Assembly Hall (now State Farm Center), the school's basketball arena. Because of insufficient space at the University of Illinois campus, Urbana 06 was moved to St. Louis, Missouri, at The Americas Center and the Edward Jones Dome. Urbana continues to be held in the same location. The most recent Urbana Conference was held December 2015.
Each conference is filled with a variety of activities and seminars for students to engage in. Highlights include an exhibit hall in which students are encouraged to network with leaders from 250+ missions organizations and seminaries. Furthermore, each morning and evening all participates gather in the Edward Jones Dome to hear from engaging and relevant world mission speakers and worship, with a focus specifically on multi-ethnic worship. The conference concludes with the conference participants welcoming in the New Year and participating in communion. Students are also encouraged to participate in a variety of seminars and "tracks", which specialize in specific topics. For example, topics are known to include Business and technology, global issues, healthcare, justice, proclamation, and world religions. Students participating in a "track" allows them to complement their experience by focusing on particular issues during the afternoons at Urbana. Topics have been known to include the role of technology, business, International Students, Poverty, and Pastors/Church Leaders. In addition to the seminars offered, students are encouraged to participate in Bible Studies.
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