A Taste of Heaven on Earth

We know how the story ends – a heavenly multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before God’s throne and before Jesus the Lamb, proclaiming: 

“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
(Rev 7:9-10)

We believe that we don’t have to wait to experience this kind of heavenly, Revelation 7 worship. We can partner with God to live out this reality, on earth as it is in heaven. Right here, right now.

That is what Urbana Worship is about.

Worship & Mission

Urbana Worship is a collective of artists and campus ministers who are passionate about global, multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual music that draws people deeper into the heart of God and God's love for the nations. We’re rooted in InterVarsity's Urbana Student Missions Conference, one of the largest missions conferences in North America. Generations of students — more than 300,000 — have found their place in God’s global mission as Urbana participants.

And it is with that heart for God’s mission that we join with Christians around the world in praising God in every language, through every genre, and with every instrument. Worshipping with us, you just might hear your favorite song, but you will also be introduced to new songs, styles, and ways of praising our Lord. It may not always be familiar, it may not always be comfortable, but it will always be centered on God and God's global mission. 

Worshipping in the Midst of the Pandemic and Beyond​

In February 2020, COVID-19 began spreading throughout the US with stay-at-home orders quickly being issued.  Universities closed their campuses, and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship had to face with an existential question: ​

"Can campus ministry still happen during a pandemic?"

​It was in this moment of crisis, that God showed up. Over the next three months, over 10,000 people gathered online for InterVarsity LIVE!, a national large group for the students, faculty, InterVarsity staff, alumni, and donors. Over 200 people made first-time decisions or recommitments to follow Jesus. 
​
​Urbana Worship served as the house worship band, leading multiethnic, multilingual, global worship, even while staying at home.

​Under the leadership of Imer Santiago and Eric Lige, Urbana Worship produced 35 unique videos of songs and hymns from a diverse range of styles and genres and in over a dozen languages.

​And as the pain and reality of racial injustice gripped the United States and the world, Urbana Worship was ready to respond, leading original, historic, and global songs about God’s justice and our response. 

InterVarsity Live! Worship Vol. One is a collection of some of the best loved songs from the first half of the InterVarsity LIVE! season, and stands as a reminder to all of us that, even as our world rapidly changes, the God that we worship does not.

​Urbana Worship is committed to a lifestyle of worship and mission in the days and months ahead, no matter what comes our way, as we prepare for the next Urbana and beyond. So, will you worship with us?​​