“Take the next step—don’t take a huge one, don’t look very far. I have learned the will of God is not hidden. It’s not very far. I have learned to obey him for what he’s telling me to do today. And that becomes a stepping-stone to the next thing, to the next thing and the next thing.”

As a 15-year-old Muslim woman from North Africa, Farida heard the gospel from a nurse, who then invited her to a two-day youth camp. At first, Farida rejected the gospel. Despite having immigrated to Paris with her family at a young age, she saw her identity fully as a North African and a Muslim…

Michelle Higgins’s talk last night was powerful and challenging. For many of us who are on campus and who are familiar with the Black Lives Matter movement, the concepts she shared with us are familiar. Others of us may be feeling challenged in ways that are uncomfortable. She said some hard things.

Since 1946, Urbana has changed the way students see the world, God’s mission, and their own part in it. But, Urbana also has a history of changing people’s perceptions of the “other”—whether that’s a neighbor, an Urbana roommate, or a people group around the world—especially those of different ethnicities.

I almost didn’t become a vocational missionary. That wouldn’t have been a big deal. God uses entrepreneurs and professors to do awesome things for his kingdom. And I would have worked in one of those professions if I didn’t join InterVarsity/USA staff. It would have been okay … except for my reason why.

Iven Hauptman’s story is one of finding God in unexpected places—like Reed College in Oregon, ranked by the Princeton Review as the college at which students are most likely to ignore God. Though Iven attended church with his mom growing up, he had no intention of seeking Jesus at Reed.

Welcome to Urbana 15! The Urbana Team has been preparing for this week for so long, and we are incredibly excited you’re here! My own Urbana experience in 2006 was a game changer for me!