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Ramez Atallah, general secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt and program chair for the Lausanne III World Congress, has been chosen as the Bible Expositor for Intervarsity’s 22nd Student Missions Conference.
The Bible studies at Urbana 09 will focus on the first four chapters of the New Testament book of John, which is “a powerful example of missionary communication,” said Urbana director Jim Tebbe according to the first Urbana 09 news release.
Atallah, who has a background with Intervarsity, “has a passion for inductive Bible study,” said Tebbe. “He has been practicing it and teaching it all his life.”
He is “an ideal expositor for Urbana 09,” the director concluded, and he will join a distinguished tradition of Bible teaching and mission at the conference.
Historically, the Urbana student missions conference has had a large impact on North American mission as “one of the longest-running institutions of North American evangelicalism,” with the first conference held in Toronto in 1946, according to the release. Urbana is one way in which Intervarsity has been able to express their purpose to “transform students and develop world changers,” according to the Urbana website.
Bible study from the Gospel of John is fitting, given the conference’s mission-oriented tradition. Regarding the scriptural focus, the Urbana director said, “John … is explicitly evangelistic and intends that those who come to believe through his witness will in turn become witnesses,” which is exactly what many participants did right after the previous triennial conference in 2006.
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“Following an intense five-day Urbana 06 missions immersion, the 20,000 returned to their homes, their campuses, and their careers, stirred to respond to the Urbana theme, 'Live a life worthy of the calling,'" reported Intervarsity news in 2007. Director Tebbe said, “We worked hard and gave you a five-day convention, but the real story is yours — what you do with the calling you have received.”
Rick Warren is also among previous Urbana speakers who encouraged the group to focus on sharing their faith through mission. “It takes unselfish people to grow a church,” he said at the last meeting. “It is only when you start sharing with others that a church becomes a missional church. Churches often fail this goal,” he concluded.
The impact of previous Urbana conferences continues on today, and will continue into the future, according to Intervarsity news. “The five days of Urbana 06 were like a pebble in the pond that sent out ripples which will be felt across the globe for months and years to come.”
Previous expositors included Ajith Fernando and John R.W. Stott.
Urbana 09 will be held at the America’s Center and the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo., December 27-31, 2009.
