When God First Widened My World:
Remembering Urbana 1996
I still remember the winter air.
It was December 1996, and I was a junior at Oakland University in Rochester
Michigan, serving as a small group leader with InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship—the ministry that had profoundly shaped my faith since my
freshman year. I was growing spiritually, serving faithfully in my local church,
and stepping into leadership on campus. Attending Urbana felt like the
natural next step.
Urbana only happened every three years, and I knew that once I graduated, I
might miss the chance altogether.
My church believed in that moment enough to cover the cost. They entrusted
me—and my campus minister—with a van full of college students, driving
from Detroit to Champaign-Urbana during the quiet days between Christmas
and New Year’s. I had heard the stories: thousands of students, passionate
worship, a clear call to live fully for Jesus.
What I encountered exceeded every expectation.
A Campus Taken Over by the Kingdom
Buses poured in from every direction, unloading students onto a snow-
covered campus. Dorm rooms filled. Cafeterias buzzed. The entire university
seemed overtaken—not by noise or spectacle, but by a quiet, collective
hunger for God.
For the first time in my life, I met students from places far beyond Michigan—
Harvard, Loyola, Wheaton. My world was expanding in real time.
I don’t remember every speaker or session. What I do remember is the
unmistakable clarity of the invitation.
God was bigger than I had ever imagined.
Not just personal. Not just local. He was King of the nations. And there were
people—millions of them—who had never heard His name.
The question was simple, but it felt weighty:
Would I commit my life, in whatever way God asked, to the Great
Commission?
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Just over a month ago, our SEND global family gathered at Harvest Bible Church and online to celebrate our 80th anniversary.
