King's Business - 1955-03

M ission minded evangelicals of this continent had their eyes focused on Urbana, 111., from December 27 to 31, and were general­ ly heartened by what they saw there. It was a different type of missionary convention, one where all the dele­ gates — 2,000 collegians from the United States, Canada and abroad — were potential recruits for mission­ ary service, and most are definitely planning on it. The Urbana meeting, held on the University of Illinois campus, was the fourth of its kind to be spon­ sored by Inter-Varsity Christian Fel­ lowship and its affiliate groups, For­ eign Missions Fellowship and Nurses Christian Fellowship. It was the third time on the U. I. campus, the last being in 1951. IVCF operates on secu­ lar campuses, FMF in Bible schools and seminaries and NCF in hospitals. Probably there never was such a concentration of missionary informa­ tion and interest. The conference ran for five evenings and four full days, with two hours each day of reports on world conditions and service op­ portunities, two hours of Bible and the personal spiritual life and two more of discussion. Christian leaders from here and abroad, plus more than 150 missionaries representing 80 different boards were on hand to lead the sessions and counsel with inquiring students. International Flavor A unique feature was the genuine international flavor. Four of the main speakers were from abroad. Dr. Paul White is from Australia, William Na- genda from Uganda, British East Af­ rica and J. Oswald Sanders, from New Zealand. The Rev. Alan Red- path, formerly of London, is now pas­ tor of the Moody Church, Chicago. Nagenda, as well as a number of others who shared the platform, were from lands usually considered mis­ sion fields and helped convey the national viewpoint on mission work. Rev. Timothy Chao, native of China, told of doing missionary work in Indonesia, proving that the great commission, like the gospel, is for all nations. Of the 2,000 delegates, one third were from Bible institutes and semi­ naries, the rest from secular colleges and universities. NCF members num­ bered 291. Best represented states were Illinois with 270, New York with 218 and California with 140. Asiatic countries had 57, Europe had 27, Latin America and the West In­ dies 18, Africa 7, the Near East 5, Australia 4 and Hawaii 2. They came from a total of 241 secular schools, 33 Bible schools and 19 seminaries TH E KING 'S BUSINESS

MISSIONS

Corrected Viewpoint

A t this m issionary con ference 2 ,0 0 0 students got som e eg e -open ing fa c t s ---- first hand

B y Paul H . Sheetz

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