in the United States, and 22 univer sities and 8 Bible schools in Canada. Delegates lived in university dorm itories, ate in the school cafeteria. They followed a full schedule, walked 5 to 10 miles a day between buildings, did their visiting in the chow line three times a day. They had to adapt themselves to new sur roundings in order to observe the morning quiet time. Many could be seen lining the stairways reading their Bibles and praying, wholly ob livious to the crowds passing by. Aft er the final session Friday night they started back home the ways they had come—by private car, bus or train. Some hitch-hiked. A few used the airlines. Larger delegations had chartered buses and trains. Not the least of the unusual fea tures was the lecture material and listener response. Most delegates agreed that many of the facts pointed up by the speakers were hard to take — closing doors in many lands, grow ing anti-Americanism, the shift of population and political power to non-Christian lands and the headway communism is making. Arthur Glas- ser, former China missionary, now on the faculty of Columbia Bible Col lege, warned delegates not to avoid facing the facts about global change. He believes “ the job of evangelizing will be finished by a suffering church.” Offsetting the dark side, speakers pointed out new opportunities due to increasing literacy, new fields, bet ter methods and the ability of na tionals to assume church leadership. Most disturbing, however, was the hearing of the fact of spiritual in adequacy on the part of the average evangelical Christian to meet the sit uation and a consideration of his dis torted attitudes toward other nations and races. Dr. Tozer’s series on “ The Man God Uses” drove home the need for a personal relationship with Christ definitely above the standard prevailing today in evangelical cir cles. Folly of White Supremacy Even an above-average Christian may have wavered after hearing the disturbing reports of world conditions or may have balked at the rigid spir itual standard set forth. But not these students. This is apparently what they came for. One could hear re ports following the nightly dormitory prayer meetings of both boys and girls who yielded to the Lord for salvation during the convention. Many others stepped from an ordin ary into a radiant Christian experi ence following interviews with speak ers and missionaries. Hundreds stood
the final night indicating their de cision to train and prepare for for eign service or whatever the Lord may choose. David Adeney summed it up in his impression of the con vention. “The real accomplishments of this convention are,” he said, “ the realization that spiritual depth is required, a real understanding of the world situation and a glimpse of the absolute folly of an attitude of White supremacy.” The emphasis of the week was supported by booth displays, docu mentary films, the sale of books and distribution of free descriptive liter ature from the mission societies. FMF chapters and one NCF group had prepared elaborate displays depict ing the spiritual situation in the main geographical areas of the world and the principal ministries engaged in by gospel workers, such as medi cine, radio, literature, schools and visual aids. The IVCF bookroom, oc cupying about 2,000 square feet of floor space in the central convention building, reported sales averaging 120 an hour between conference ses sions. Congregational singing, unbeliev ably wonderful throughout the week, reflected an ' added note of triumph the final night as delegates and mis-, sionaries, from different countries and denominations, all one in Christ, took part in a united communion service. There was no visible demon stration as the old year slipped away and 1955 began, but we believe that in the back of everyone’s thinking was the motto, “ Changing World, Changeless Christ,” and the decision that by God’s grace for him the fu ture would be more to His glory than the past. The real results of this Fourth In ternational Student Missionary Con vention are not to be found in the numbers who attended, nor even in the hundreds of “ prayer and purpose” cards signed. Only if these young people move on into further training, apply to mission boards and take up their battle stations at home and in foreign lands will the true impact of Urbana be felt. And those of us who were there—who felt the pulse of thought, who shared some of those new experiences, who were present when decisions were made—believe they will. END.
Arthur Glasser of the China Inland Mis sion was speaker along with such devotional leaders as Dr. A. W. Tozer.
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