Changes at Urbana

I attended Urbana in December, 1993.  It was a bitter cold week held in Champaign Illinois.  I went with college students from my church.

Sponsored by InterVarsity, this conference held every three years, is aimed at inspiring college students into a life of service to Jesus and especially world-wide missions.

Because it is aimed at college students, it often takes on the issues and cultural matters corresponding to college and American society during those years.

For a list of all the past Urbana conferences.

This year Urbana attendance fell dramatically.  Christianity Today discusses what happened and some of the potential reasons why. Urbana had 40% less students attend than three years ago?  What has changed?

It is yet another indicator that the cultural landscape of America is changing rapidly.  Fewer young people are calling themselves “Christians.”  We have most definitely entered a post-Christian era in which it is no longer favorable to be considered a Christian, and even less so a “church attending Christian.” More people are becoming “nones.” For an excellent description of “nones,” see the article from Pew Research.

Every change represents tremendous opportunity.  Followers of Jesus have weathered many changes and cultural shifts in the past, and they will survive this one too.

Time for every Jesus follower and every church to come back to Jesus as the central person we follow, and the gospel as our life changing message.  Those two will never end.