Urbana

17,000 college students invaded St. Louis this past December 27-31 to learn more about God's heart for the world. Urbana is a student mission's conference hosted by InterVarsity every three years and is the largest student mission's conference in the world. This was my third Urbana and it did not disappoint! I had the joy of bringing two of my seniors with me, Garrett and Alexa. They both said Urbana simply blew their minds and challenged their faith in ways they never would have expected. There are a few videos posted on the Urbana website and I invite you to check them out at http://www.urbana09.org/videos.cfm (I suggest York Moore's talk and the dance piece called "word and pictures". Below are exciting statistics from Urbana:

Decisions to follow Jesus

• 2,232 decided to re-commit, or commit for the first time, to follow Jesus.
• 250 went to receive follow-up in response to the call to follow Jesus.

Decisions to testify about Jesus

• 5,043 committed to invite someone who is not a follower of Jesus to study the first four chapters of the Gospel of John.
• 4,722 picked up a guide for leading an evangelistic Bible study on their campus, and will be followed up with by InterVarsity staff.

Decisions to serve in cross-cultural missions

• 2,676 committed to serve long-term (two years or longer). This is the highest number in the past three Urbanas!
• 4,990 committed to serve short-term (one week to two years)

A Great Reminder

I recently got some new statistics on Fraternity and Sorority students that I am excited to share with you. It was a great reminder of why I believe this ministry is so important. In 1991 the North American Inter-Fraternity Conference listed the following statistics (which have not been updated since then but we can assume are still somewhere in the same range).

• All but two U.S. Presidents since 1825 have been Greek.
• 63% of the U.S. President's cabinet since 1900 have been Greek.
• Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by Greeks.
• 85% of the Fortune 500 executives were Greek.
• 40 of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were Greek.
• 76% of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity or sorority.
• All of the Apollo 11 astronauts were Greek

Yet less than 3% of the U.S. population was/is part of a sorority or fraternity. So if these are the jobs Greek students go on to have, I can't help but think to myself, "What if these same students discover a real and lasting relationship with God while in college? What might our world look like in 20 years?" Thank you for partnering with me and with this ministry. I believe these ministries on campuses all across the country will have a lasting impact in the years to come. You are part of what makes the ministry at UVA a reality each time you give and each time you pray for us. Thank you!

Greek Conference

Hundreds of Greeks from all over the Southeast will be gathering in Charlotte February 19-21. This has been a pivotal weekend every year for each campus that attends the conference. Some students will get much needed training on how to lead an evangelistic Bible study in their fraternity/sorority, others will have a chance to explore their questions about Christianity in a safe environment for the first time, while still others will learn how to connect deeper with God and how to be influencers on their campus. I know it will be a turning point for many of my students.

I would like to invite you to pray for this conference in a few specific ways. We typically see around 10% of the students who attend make "adult" decisions to truly become followers of Christ, not to mention there are always a high number of students who "recommit" themselves to Christ at this conference. Please join me in praying that God will reveal himself in new ways to these students and that they will allow their hearts to be open to whatever God might be saying to them. I also want to ask you to pray specifically for UVA. Currently we have 17 students signed up and our goal is 30. Pray for students to have the courage to invite their friends and for UVA students to connect with God in a powerful way that weekend!

Blessings,

Allison