InterVarsity Announces new Urbana 2003 Director

Madison, Wisconsin—Alec Hill, President
of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, announced today the selection of
Dr. James A. Tebbe as Director of Urbana 2003, InterVarsity’s 20^th
triennial student mission convention, December 27-31, at the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Tebbe holds a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Psychology from Indiana University, a Masters of Divinity from Gordon
Conwell Theological Seminary, a Masters of Arts in Near Eastern Studies/Islamic
from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from St. John’s
College in Nottingham, England.

Since 1977, Dr. Tebbe has served
with Interserve International, an interdenominational fellowship of Christians
ministering to people throughout South and Central Asia and the Middle East. 
In 1992, he was appointed the International Director of Interserve, responsible
for vision, ministries and personnel.

From 1986 to 1992, Dr. Tebbe was
an Area Director for the Western Region of Interserve’s work, with oversight
of ministries in predominantly Muslim countries.  Between 1977 and 1986, he
pastored an international church in Punjab, India, and then an international
church in Bangladesh, before working as a staff member of a Christian center
in Pakistan that studies the culture and religion of Islam as a resource for
the Church.

“My life is missions,” said Dr. Tebbe. 
“And I have always had a special interest in the Muslim world.”

Since his years as a student at Indiana
University, where at one time he was President of the InterVarsity Chapter,
Dr. Tebbe has maintained a close friendship with InterVarsity and participated
in three previous Urbana conventions.  “Jim is described by his colleagues as
being a visionary leader with a heart for college students,” said Alec Hill,
InterVarsity’s President. “And his passion for missions is evident through the
inspired way he led a diverse organization through a period of growth and accomplishment.”

The son of missionaries, Dr. Tebbe
was born in Pakistan.  Since 1972, he has been married to Elizabeth (Beth) Ann
Rea; together, they have four children, three boys and a girl.  Dr. Tebbe is
also an ordained Presbyterian minister with a strong evangelical church background
and the author of numerous publications about missions, particularly in the
Muslim world.

For over 50 years God has used the
Urbana conventions, which are co-sponsored by InterVarsity/USA and InterVarsity
of Canada, to challenge nearly 213,000 students from around the world to share
and demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. For more information
about Urbana, see our website at www.urbana.org.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA,
an interdenominational campus ministry, has 750 chapters on more than 530 college
campuses in the United States, and is a member of the International Fellowship
of Evangelical Students.  For more information about InterVarsity, see our website
at: www.intervarsity.org.

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