The somewhat controversial The WORD (or “Jesus Mural” as the students call it) was covered with a black tarp by Student Missionary Union (SMU) staff this year as a part of the theme for Missions Conference. This took place just two days ahead of the 95th annual Clyde and Anna Belle Cook Mission’s Conference and remained there for the entirety of the week.
While this bold move sparked much conversation among students, it actually was not the first time the mural has been veiled. 2016 Missions Conference “Proclaim” donned the original sign with the very same question, “What if you had never heard?”
Caroline Grace, this year’s SMU president, explained that one day she and the Missions Conference Directors found pictures of the original sign that covered the mural in 2016 when they were looking through the staff drive for something else.
“We just happened to click a file that brought up this picture of this huge poster from ten years ago,” said Grace.
The discovery sparked the inspiration to cover the mural for this year’s conference. Grace did not see the 40-foot-tall sign before its reveal. When she saw it for the first time with the rest of the student body, she realized just how much of an impact it had.
“It was honestly really gut-wrenching for me to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, what if I never heard?’ My life would be completely different,” said Grace.
The theme for this year’s conference, “Called,” was an exhortation to students to view the Great Commission as something that is not optional for believers. The theme verse, 1 Timothy 1:8-9 starts out by saying, “Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”
SMU is completely student-run, and its leadership changes from year to year. With so many leadership changes, each conference can feel entirely unique. However, this also means that not many ideas get repeated from year to year. Recreating this sign and covering the Jesus Mural was a chance to do two things: bring back something impactful from a conference nine years ago and make students stop and consider what their lives would look like without Jesus in it.
The 2025 Missions Conference Directors Isaac Owen and Abraham Chu were excited to do just that. They wanted students to reflect on the importance of verbally sharing the gospel with others by evaluating the impact it has had on their lives.
“Upon seeing the picture for ourselves, we realized how solemn it can feel to reflect on a world without Jesus and consider the darkness found outside of the Biola community where Christ is not present; but also the immense joy in remembering the abundance of life found in our unity with Christ,” said Owen and Chu in a written communication.
While Missions Conference wrapped a week ago and the massive sign covering the mural has since been taken down, the SMU staff hope that the call of the Great Commission will continue to echo in the hearts of students long after this conference.
