Urbana 2000 Convention
Urbana 2000 Convention Report:Program: "Because God First Loved Us"
One theme of Urbana 2000 was God's amazing love for all people-love that relentlessly pursues, sacrifices all and adopts sinners into the family of God. A second theme emphasized how we ought to respond to this love with worship. Delegates were challenged to worship the Lord not only through musical praise, but also by joining God's mission to love all people and bring them into God's family as sons and daughters.
Worship
Gatherings
Each of the nine Worship Gatherings included musical worship, drama,
videos, testimonies, speaker talks and prayer. Sundee and Matt Frazier
and the multiethnic worship team led times of praise, prayer and repentance
through musical worship. Many delegates shared that they glimpsed what
heaven will be like in these Worship Gatherings, as 20,000 voices were
raised to God in adoration.
In the skillful, dramatic presentations of Bruce Kuhn, Nina Thiel and Jess Delegencia, the words of Jesus, the prophets and the apostles leaped from Scripture, and the acts of the apostles came to life. Delegates experienced anew the Bible as a living text.
2100 Productions - InterVarsity's visual media team - produced short, powerful videos that highlighted Urbana 2000 topics. One video on poverty contrasted the privileged lifestyles of most students (who usually consider themselves poor) with the lives of the world's truly poor. The expendable income of most students exceeds the salary of a majority of the world's people. Many delegates were cut to the heart by this truth and committed to financial stewardship that cares for the needs of the poor. In an offering taken for the physically and spiritually poor, delegates gave generously.
Missionaries and students gave testimonies of service amidst suffering. Janet Cornwall, a medical missionary, told of her call to serve marginalized children and women in South African and Asia. Emmanuel Ndikumana shared a story of hope amidst loss: Most of the male members of his family were murdered in the genocide in Burundi, but in Christ's love he found hope to continue. Emmanuel continues to share this hope with others who are suffering, as he plants churches in Africa.
Urbana 2000 speakers included:
• Marta
Bennett, Professor at Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya;
• Diana Berrara, Executive Director of COMHINA;
• Paul Borthwick, Professor at Gordon College;
• Susan Cho Van Riesen, InterVarsity Area Director in California;
• Ken Fong, Pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church in Los Angeles;
• Barney Ford, Director of Urbana 2000;
• Steve Hayner, President of InterVarsity/USA;
• Ruth Padilla de Borst, Missionary with Christian Reformed World
Missions;
• Vinoth Ramachandra, IFES Regional Secretary for South Asia;
• Brenda Salter-McNeil, Founder of Overflow Ministries;
• George Verwer, Founder and International Director of Operation
Mobilization.
On the evening of December 30, the Worship Gathering focused on challenging delegates to choose how they would answer God's call to join God's global mission. Paul Borthwick addressed the student delegates and asked them, "Will you live out the global implications of the gospel by intentionally bringing your lifestyle, your priorities and your prayers in alignment with God's worldwide purposes? Will you be obedient to the Holy Spirit's call across cultures to bring the good news of Jesus Christ?"
Paul emphasized that each child of God has a unique role in God's mission - a role designed specifically for him or her - and he reminded students that their service to God must follow the example of Christ, as described in Philippians 2:5-11. Followers of God's call must be absolutely dedicated to the task, even to the point of being willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel; they must live as servants, leaving behind that which is comfortable to seek the good of others; and they must be willing to sacrifice all. At the end of his talk, Paul invited delegates who had decided to follow God's call into cross-cultural missions to stand. Thousands of students responded by rising to their feet.After the speaker talks, Alex Gee - an InterVarsity/USA board member and Pastor of Fountain of Life Church in Madison, Wisconsin - led the Assembly Hall in prayers that responded to the challenges presented.
Please browse our webcast for summaries of all the Worship Gatherings, speaker talks and testimonies.
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