Thanks for your note. I congratulate you on being a leader of InterVarsity on campus. This says something about you: your spiritual experience, your dedication to Christ, your gifts of leadership having been recognized by your peers, and your willingness to serve the Lord involving the sacrifice of time, in spite of being "economically challenged."

You mention God's call to missions. Now there's a powerful statement! It means that the sovereign Creator of the universe has specifically selected you for a task no one else can accomplish. It also means that in calling you He is committed to meet your needs, and, in my experience, is very creative in doing so. Your immediate concern is that you have been encouraged to go to Urbana, but quite frankly, don't have the resources to do so, and beyond this expense looms the cost of next year's study.

You specifically ask two questions:

Is there a way to go to Urbana on a scholarship? To my knowledge, no, at least not from Urbana (or InterVarsity) itself. Scholarship funds that are raised are usually used for Third World students who (believe it or not!) are poorer than you and have to pay a huge airplane fare to boot.

A more fundamental question would be, "If God wants me to go, can He provide for me, and if so, how?" Thus, just as you have experienced God's call to missions, I would encourage you to seek Him and ask Him if He wants you to go to Urbana. If He gives you a clear positive answer, then you have a basis on which to pray for His provision. And in the process, you will learn new lessons in the area of faith, which the Lord will use to mature your Christian experience. You say, "I don't think my church would support me." You know the situation and I don't, but if you do think the Lord is calling you to go to Urbana, share your sense of call with your pastor, the reasons why you think that the "Urbana experience" would be of help to you, and ask him to pray for you. Perhaps your church needs this kind of opportunity to stretch their own faith. But you may well discover that the Lord will use a source totally unsuspected to meet this need. Put the matter before Him, remind Him of it frequently, ask Him what He wants you to do, and you will live an adventure.

There are lots of organizations you could "check out" without going to Urbana, and if you share with me the specific areas you think the Lord might be calling you to, I could suggest some. However, the benefit of Urbana is the opportunity to interact with literally scores of agencies that are links to an amazing variety of opportunities of service.

May the Lord guide and bless you, Becky. Urbana is more than a conference. I think for you it may be an opportunity to grow in your relationship to God, increase your faith, and widen your horizons. If He does lead you there and provides for you, look me up when you get there!

Jack

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all gtimes, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8). Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few (1 Samuel 14:6).