Urbana Staff Update (October)
October is here—the most strategic month for Urbana recruitment! Let’s lead with clarity, hope, and calm urgency as we help students, faculty, and partners take their next yes.
Hey staff!
October is here—the most strategic month for Urbana recruitment!
Let's lead with clarity, hope, and calm urgency as we help students, faculty, and partners take their next yes.
What's New This Month:
1️⃣ Fall Recruitment: Urgent but Non-Anxious
2️⃣ LeadXperience: Raising Student Leaders
3️⃣ Speaker Spotlight: Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah
4️⃣ Stay Connected & Prepared
5️⃣ Prayer & MPD
1. Fall Recruitment: Urgent but Non-Anxious
Fall is full—NSO follow-up, Fall Conferences, ethnic-specific gatherings, and Urbana invitations.
But you don't need to run two campaigns—stack, don't split.
Let Fall Conference be the on-ramp and Urbana the next faithful step in the same story of discipleship and mission.
- ?Stay hopeful, not pressured. Every "yes" to Urbana is a seed of calling that can shape decades of mission.
- ?Use the new resource: Urbana 25 Fall Recruitment Cheatsheet— a 90-day guide with quick tips, sample language, and ways to save time by reusing what you already have.
- ⏰Early Bird Deadline: October 31 (includes group discounts!)
"You're not adding another event to the calendar—you're extending the story you're already telling."
2. LeadXperience: Raising Student Leaders
Urbana isn't just about global vision—it's where leadership grows.
Through LeadXperience, students will:
- Journey through the book of Jonah
- Lead three Bible studies and practice inviting faith responses
- Receive one-on-one coaching from InterVarsity staff
It's a leadership accelerator for apprentices and emerging leaders who want to return in January ready to lead with confidence.
? Nominate a student or have them sign up at: urbana.org/leadxperience
3. Speaker Spotlight: Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah
We're thrilled to welcome Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah to the Urbana 25 main stage.
A former InterVarsity staff, church planter, and now Robert B. Munger Professor of Evangelism at Fuller Seminary, Dr. Rah has spent decades calling the Church to repentance, renewal, and reconciliation.
Author of The Next Evangelicalism, Prophetic Lament, and Unsettling Truths, he brings a rare blend of prophetic courage and pastoral heart—speaking truth with grace and conviction.
We can't wait for students to experience his fearless love for the Church and his passion for God's global mission.
You're not going to want to miss this.
4. Stay Connected & Prepared
For staff serving onsite at Urbana:
- ✅ Check your Urbana assignment in Teams and start any pre-work for your team.
- ✈ Book travel and housing (arrive by 4:00pm on Dec 27)
- ?Need financial assistance? Apply for staff travel support by October 10 here.
5. Prayer & MPD
- ? Join the 40-Day Prayer Chain & Fast beginning November 16. (Learn more here)
- ? MPD Support: Use this new prayer letter template to share Urbana with your partners and invite them to pray and give.
Quick Recap
- Focus your October recruitment on your core student leaders.
- Let Fall Conference feed Urbana momemtum—one story, not two.
- Nominate students for LeadXperience.
- Register early—October 31 is the key deadline.
- Pray, prepare, and help your students take their next yes to God.
Grateful for you,
Andy Kim & the Urbana Team
The Staff Resource Hub
☎️ Contact Us
For additional questions, feel free to reach out to the Urbana team! We look forward to serving you!
- Email: urbana@intervarsity.org
- Teams Channel: Urbana 25 ? | All InterVarsity Staff
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About the authors
Andy Kim is a strategist, storyteller, and ministry leader who helps the next generation imagine and pursue their place in God’s global mission. He currently serves as Associate Conference Director for Urbana, InterVarsity’s triennial student missions conference that has inspired hundreds of thousands to say “yes” to God’s global call.Andy has helped shape multiethnic leadership development, intercultural formation, and missional innovation across a variety of roles within InterVarsity and higher education—including as a campus minister at Northwestern University, Director of Intercultural Development at Trinity International University, and Multiethnic Resource Director for InterVarsity's Multiethnic Ministries. Most recently, he served as Associate Director of InterVarsity’s Creative Labs where helped launch the Ministry Playbook, a digital training platform that has equipped thousands of staff, students and partners in campus ministry across the country. He holds an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a BA from Northwestern University. He and his wife Madeline live in Urbana, Illinois, with their three children.
Related Resources
Urbana 25 Recruitment Toolkit: Inspire, Equip, Mobilize (Updated May 2025)
This recruitment toolkit equips staff with everything they need—templates, graphics, slides, and more—to inspire and mobilize students, faculty, alumni, and communities for Urbana 25.
LeadXperience: A Strategic Opportunity for Staff and Students at Urbana 25
Equip your student leaders for transformational growth at Urbana 25 with LeadXperience. Discover what’s new, what’s familiar, and how staff play a vital role in coaching and developing the next genera
Urbana 25 Fall Recruitment Cheatsheet
This 90-day guide breaks the fall semester into clear, Spirit-led phases—so you can recruit with confidence, without anxiety, and turn ordinary invitations into catalytic moments of transformation.