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staff; people who live in convenient driving range to campus; or people who
will be visiting Wheaton's campus. Every month, this Bulletin Board will
announce a new document or set of documents that are available for
viewing and study in the Archives Reading Room on the 3rd floor of the Graham
Center. Come on over and have a look!
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[from July 1998]
July 1998: IVCF's 1st Student Missionary Convention
Poster inviting students to attend Inter-Varsity's first missionary convention in
Toronto. The poster is one of the few documents remaining from the convention.
Taken from Collection 300, Records of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.
When Inter-Varsity was established in the United States in 1940, based on the
model of IV movements in Great Britain and Canada, it launched what has become
one of the most enduring and influential American Evangelical parachurch
institutions. IVCF students and staff have presented the gospel on college and
university campuses and provided a means for Christian fellowship and nurture
for over half a century. Inter-Varsity's influence has helped shape the landscape
of Christianity in America in a number of ways:
- It's ministry to the academic world (students and faculty)
- Its publication of books through Inter-Varsity Press
- Its training of student leaders who go on to a variety of academic and/or
ministry careers
- And especially its triennial Missionary Conventions, more commonly known
now as "Urbana." The first convention, promoted in the poster above, was held
in Toronto. Beginning in 1946 and since, the meetings have been held once each three
years at the University of Illinois--Champaign-Urbana. Over the last half-century
these conventions have been a prominent platform from which to capture the
imaginations of American college students and motivate them to devote their
energies to world missions.
IVCF's records, covering the period from 1940 to 1991, consist largely of
correspondence, reports, publications, promotional materials. The materials
describe its organizational development and include the administrative files
of individual leaders, such as the files of each of its presidents from 1940 to 1984
and evangelist Paul Little. There are also departmental records, such as those
from regional offices, the Missions Department, and the Nurses Christian Fellowship.
Also included is the research data compiled for the 1991 official history, For Christ
and the University. The files include some material on the part the Canadian
branch played in starting the work in the United States.
To learn more about IVCF and find out what is in Collection 300,
click here. A valuable additional source is IVCF's history,
For Christ and the University, published in 1991.
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Last Revised: 2/4/05
Expiration: indefinite
© Wheaton College 2005