International (MNN) — The six-month search is finally over–InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has found their next vice president of Missions and director of the Urbana Student Missions Conference.
Jim Tebbe, former vice president of missions for InterVarsity and director of the last three Urbana conferences, announced last December at Urbana09 that he would be stepping down. Tebbe has accepted his appointment as rector (president) of the prestigious Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan, and will step down from his post at InterVarsity on June 30, 2010.
As the search for a replacement began, InterVarsity president Alec Hill asked for prayer that they'd find the right person to fill the role.
Those prayers have been answered in the form of Tom Lin.
Tom Lin will be taking over the position as vice president of Missions and director of the Urbana Student Missions Conference as of February 1, 2011.
Lin's history with InterVarsity and international missions runs deep. After serving with InterVarsity from 1994 to 2001 planting chapters at Harvard and Boston University, raising funds and leading student mission trips, Lin left the States to do missions in Mongolia. In Mongolia, Lin helped establish an evangelical student movement and served as the country director for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students in Mongolia.
When Lin returned to the States, he became the InterVarsity regional director for undergraduate campuses in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. Lin is also a board member for Wycliffe Bible Translators and has served as a missions consultant for various ministries.
"Tom is an entrepreneurial leader with rich experience in student ministry and missions, both in the U.S. and abroad," says InterVarsity president Alec Hill.
It's easy to see how Lin will be instrumental in the missions realm at InterVarsity, but he also seems the perfect candidate to direct Urbana. Urbana is InterVarsity's triennial student missions conference that has so far challenged over 250,000 students since 1946 to take on the responsibility of bringing the Gospel to the nations. This appears to be right up Lin's alley as well.
InterVarsity is excited to have Lin aboard and will surely benefit from his experience. Please continue praying for Lin and for InterVarsity as they make this transition.
