A group of Calvin students attended Urbana, a prominent Christian, student-focused missions conference in Indianapolis, IN, thanks to financial support from Campus Ministries. From Dec. 28 to the start of the new year, students from colleges across the U.S. participated in worship and workshops relating to local and international missions and campus outreach. 

Created in 1946, Urbana provides a forum for college-age students to voice their opinions and engage in missionary work. Over the decades, they have had many famous speakers, such as V. Raymond Edman, fourth president of Wheaton College, and Chai Ling, one of the student leaders of the Tiananmen Square protests. The conference is held every three years and is considered an enriching experience in religious ministry at the university level.  

“Urbana is a wonderful and inspiring conference for young adults that includes worship, speakers and workshops that invite attendees to consider how to weave explicit mission into their lives. They hear from missionaries who serve around the globe and are introduced to many mission agencies that support those people,” University pastor Mary Hulst said. 

Though in the past Calvin University provided limited support for students who desired to participate in Urbana, this year Campus Ministries funded students’ registration fees through donor contributions. “Due to generous donors who explicitly want to invest in students’ discipleship, we were able to offer financial support when these students reached out,” Hulst explained.   

Sessions at Urbana included addressing issues like poverty. “It was hard to hear about the people living in urban slums in Jakarta and how disproportionate the distribution of wealth was over there,” said Sean Ebenmelu, a senior studying computer science. “What really stood out to me was that the people were often subjected to eviction by the government or people of power. Sometimes their houses were burned in order to force them to move.” Ebenmelu first learned about Urbana through a friend and was encouraged by his family to join. He believes that Urbana is a great place to forge connections and told Chimes that “depending on your major, there are many opportunities in Urbana such as missions work involving arts and technology. If you want to experience the things God is calling you to do, you’ll really appreciate going there.”