WESTMONT, IL—With nearly fifty thousand books representing nine hundred titles, InterVarsity Press will soon be hosting the largest missions bookstore in the world at the twenty-fifth Urbana Student Missions Conference.
The Urbana 18 Conference, held in St. Louis, Missouri, will include nearly sixteen thousand attendees, two hundred seminars, and two hundred sixty organizations. It starts on Thursday, December 27, and concludes at midnight on New Year’s Eve. During this five-day conference, participants engage in a variety of experiences, including sixteen thousand person worship sessions, Bible exposition, messages and seminars, manuscript Bible studies, testimonies from the global church, and prayer ministry. And IVP employees and volunteers will once again construct and serve at the expansive pop-up bookstore for Urbana.
“The Urbana Student Missions Conference has made a significant impact on global missions for decades,” Jeff Crosby, IVP’s publisher, said. “And through Urbana, we have had the opportunity to introduce hundreds of thousands of people to life-changing books published not only by IVP but by other like-minded companies who care for global missions, for the expansion of the gospel, for social justice, evangelism, and Bible study. Those books return to homes and dormitories; they are studied, applied, and acted on. As an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, we are privileged to be the bookstore curator for Urbana.”
Books will be discounted from 30 to 70 percent and also include the ever-popular Books of the Day that are just five dollars.
Al Hsu, senior editor for IVP Books, will be participating in his ninth Urbana Missions Conference this year. He said, “When I attended Urbana 93 as a college student, I was amazed and overwhelmed by the big picture of what God was doing in the world. So I found my way to the IVP bookstore at Urbana, where I bought every Book of the Day and dozens of other books to help me navigate my next steps after the conference. I literally brought two boxes of books home with me on the bus! The books students encounter at Urbana can help them discern their vocation and get them to wherever in the world God may be calling them to serve.”
“We long to see this student generation fully engaged in God,” said Ruth Hubbard, vice president for Urbana. “For many, Urbana will be a time when they say yes to God’s invitation. The journey from yes to full engagement requires intentional discipleship. I’m confident that the books they purchase from Urbana’s bookstore curated by IVP will support this journey. Part of the Urbana legacy of yes is a legacy of deep discipleship through things like Urbana’s Book of the Day offerings.”
This year the Urbana Books of the Day will include:
- Crossing Cultures with Jesus: Sharing Good News with Sensitivity and Grace by Katie J. Rawson
- Anxious: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry by Amy Simpson
- From Cairo to Christ: How One Muslim’s Faith Journey Shows the Way for Others by Abu Atallah and Kent A. Van Til
- The Power of the 72: Ordinary Disciples in Extraordinary Evangelism by John Teter
- The Power of Proximity: Moving Beyond Awareness to Action by Michelle Ferrigno Warren
- Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice That Restores by Dominique DuBois Gilliard
- Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest by Lynne M. Baab
- Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World by Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart
- Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey by Sarah Shin
Several of these IVP authors—Amy Simpson, Michelle Ferrigno Warren, Dominique DuBois Gillard, and John Teter—will be plenary speakers at the conference and participating in book signings in the bookstore. Other plenary speakers and book signings, include Danielle Strickland, author of A Beautiful Mess; René Breuel, author of The Paradox of Happiness; and John D. Inazu, author of Confident Pluralism. A complete list of plenary and seminar speakers is available at urbana.org/speakers, and plenary sessions will be streaming live from urbana.org. There will also be regular updates and chances to share on Twitter with hashtags #u18 and #urbanabooks.
Books and ebooks featured at the conference will be available to purchase online at ivpress.com/urbanabooks. The Urbana conference discounted prices will be offered between December 27 and January 2.
About InterVarsity Press: Founded in 1947 as an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, InterVarsity Press serves those in the university, the church and the world by publishing thoughtful Christian books that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of life. For more information, visit ivpress.com.
Contact: Krista Clayton | 630.734.4059 | kclayton@ivpress.com
