United States of America: Repenting together and saying ‘yes’ to the call of Jesus

Matthew picked up his brick. Lit up above him was a huge sculpture depicting Babylon. But it wasn’t old Babylon – it was today’s Babylon. At the top of the sculpture were pictures of the comforts and luxuries of modern life – wealth, technology, fashion, food… Below them were pictures depicting the reality – the exploitation and enslavement of the many people in our world who pay the cost to make the luxury possible.

This was part of Urbana18 – a mission conference for students from the USA and Canada.

Engaging with the book of Revelation, 10,000 students were invited to take a brick to represent their own complicity in Babylon and commit to making choices that say ‘yes’ to Jesus. Each brick was printed with the words:

“Come out of Babylon, my people.” Revelation 18:4

This was just one of many ways students were asked to respond to the book of Revelation and step into mission during the week. Matthew commented:

“Hearing the stories of everyone being convicted to listen to and act on God’s callings has been so immensely encouraging. It’s made me think about how I can turn my faith from acknowledgement into repentance and action.”

Pray with us for students returning to their universities after attending Urbana.

• Pray for courage to make decisions that say ‘yes’ to Jesus on their campuses.
• Pray for many to respond to the call to mission – in their universities, workplaces and to the ends of the earth.
• The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

See more from Urbana missions conference, including most of the plenary sessions at: urbana.org

Thanks for praying with us!