The large hall throbbed with activity. College students milled about, collecting swag from almost 200 booths representing various missions and educational organizations.

This was the scene at Urbana 18, InterVarsity’s year-end student missions conference, where Cassie and other Frontiers team members were sharing about God’s heart for Muslims.

“What are you guys about?” one student asked Cassie. He looked at the large yellow Frontiers sign suspended above a comfortable couch. Nearby stood a large canvas where an artist was painting a portrait of Halima, a woman who represents the face of the untold.

“We’re an organization that sends long-term teams to the Muslim world,” Cassie explained.

The young man’s jaw dropped.

“My heart is beating so fast right now,” he said. “I didn’t want to come in here—into the exhibit hall with all these missions organizations. But God told me to, and I’m afraid of what He wants me to do.”

He told Cassie that he’d just come out of a seminar about reaching Muslims with the message of Christ. “And now I’m here. I think you should take my information,” he said.

The student wrote down his details and gave them to Cassie, who would make sure a team member got in touch him. They talked a while longer about reaching Muslims and the joys—and the challenges—that go with the task. Cassie shared stories from her own experiences of serving in the Middle East and in South Asia.

He left really excited about how he felt the Lord was leading him. “He was also a little anxious,” Cassie says. “That much was clear. But he was taking a step of faith—letting God stir a new calling in his life.”

Over the five days of Urbana 18, Cassie and her teammates spoke with hundreds of college students. Some of them knew exactly where they wanted to go. They felt confident the Lord was leading them to Muslims—to those who have the least chance of hearing about Jesus.

Others—like the student Cassie spoke to—came to Urbana and found themselves stumbling into God’s exciting, unexpected vision for their lives.

Over 500 students said they wanted to learn more about Frontiers and to discover how Jesus can use them in the Muslim world. They’ve heard about the opportunities awaiting them in the least-reached places. And they’re saying yes to finding their role in God’s plan for the nations.

• Praise God for about 550 students who are learning more about how they can join His work in reaching Muslims with the Gospel.
• Pray for each of these students to take steps of faith and courage as they pursue this calling on their lives.
• Ask the Lord to raise up more young men and women to bring the message of Christ to those living in the most challenging places in the world.

Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/students-respond-to-challenge