About 1,000 young people pledge missionary commitment at UBF world conference

By CDI Staff
Attendees worship and hear Scripture at the 19th UBF World Mission Conference at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, reaffirming their commitment to global mission.
Attendees worship and hear Scripture at the 19th UBF World Mission Conference at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, reaffirming their commitment to global mission. UBF Korea

University Bible Fellowship held its 19th World Mission Conference last Saturday at KINTEX convention center in Goyang, drawing roughly 4,000 members from across South Korea and more than 700 missionaries from multiple countries.

It was the organization's first in-person global gathering in approximately 10 years, following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Christian Daily Korea.

About 1,000 attendees — most of them university students — responded to a mission commitment call during the event, filling out pledge cards indicating their intention to serve as long-term or short-term missionaries, the report said.

The conference centered on Isaiah 6, using the passage's question "Whom shall I send?" as its theme. UBF World Representative Rev. Ranward addressed the gathering, saying that "God is calling people even today for the work of world mission," and urged young attendees to respond to that call through campus evangelism and missionary service.

Ron Ward, UBF world representative pastor, delivers a sermon titled Who Will Go for Us? at the 19th UBF World Mission Conference at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on May 17.
Ron Ward, UBF world representative pastor, delivers a sermon titled "Who Will Go for Us?" at the 19th UBF World Mission Conference at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on May 17. UBF Korea

Four young adults from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mexico and the United States gave testimonies during the event. Each described lives they said were marked by aimlessness before encountering the gospel through Korean missionaries, and all four said they are now engaged in evangelism among university students in their home countries.

The conference also featured a drama and dance performance drawn from the Book of Isaiah, choral and orchestral music, and a video marking UBF's 65th anniversary that reviewed the organization's history and ministry trajectory.

Young college students and missionaries gather at the UBF World Mission Conference — the first in-person convening in roughly a decade since the COVID-19 pandemic — to share their vision for campus evangelization.
Young college students and missionaries gather at the UBF World Mission Conference — the first in-person convening in roughly a decade since the COVID-19 pandemic — to share their vision for campus evangelization. UBF Korea

Following the conference, UBF planned a Missionary Shepherd Retreat at Alpensia Resort in Gangwon Province from May 18 to 20, with roughly 800 participants expected, including missionaries and Korean members. The retreat's agenda includes presentations on continental ministry direction and strategies for developing the next generation of missionaries, Christian Daily Korea reported.

Separately, a K-Mission Camp for about 100 overseas young people and university students was scheduled to run concurrently at a facility in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, giving participants exposure to Korean church and campus ministry contexts.

UBF was founded in 1961 by the late Rev. Samuel Lee and American Southern Presbyterian missionary Sara Barry, beginning with Bible study groups at two universities in southern South Korea. The organization now operates through roughly 90 chapters across more than 120 campuses nationwide and says it has sent approximately 2,000 missionaries to 94 countries.

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