Proxe Stations

Boba Jesus—Creating a Visual, Invitational Witness for iGens

AD-18513 — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 19:50:16 +0000

Nathan Peterson

Boba Jesus—Creating a Visual, Invitational Witness for iGens

“Jesus, what bubble tea would you drink?”

Even though this sugary, tapioca-pearled blend of milk and tea (often just called “boba”) was invented long after Jesus walked the earth, students really want to know what his favorite flavor would be. Honeydew? Strawberry? Or maybe something more unique like cotton candy or crème brûlée?

With dark brown skin, a welcoming smile, and a cup of bubble tea in hand, the image titled Boba Jesus prompted these unusual questions. And wherever Stephan Teng has set up this cardboard cutout on Cornell University’s campus, students have been quick to follow.

Contextualized Creativity

Not only is Stephan the creator behind Boba Jesus, he’s also a prolific artist, burgeoning T-shirt designer, and ��ñ�� campus minister. Growing up on a steady dose of Lego-building and out-of-the-box thinking, he originally created Boba Jesus for a T-shirt design competition. Though he didn’t win, the encouraging feedback he received prompted him to keep toying with the image.

During New Student Outreach in the fall of 2019, the Boba Jesus image resurfaced in Stephan’s mind. He was struggling. As he tried engaging with more students, they walked straight past him, often dodging his questions. He needed a way to grab their attention.

Given iGen students’ passion for visuals, Stephan suspected Boba Jesus might be just the thing—and inviting enough to help them overcome their anxiety about in-person conversations. This resonates with what researchers and journalists like New York Times writer Laura Pappano are discovering about the new generation on campus: “They are not always good at live social interaction, but they crave it.”

Invitational Witness

Inside Cornell’s dining hall, Stephan had just finished setting up his new Boba Jesus Proxe, including a board with a speech bubble asking, “If Jesus wanted to sit down and drink bubble tea with you, what question would you ask him?”

It didn’t take long for a student to walk by. She froze, her head swiveled back toward Boba Jesus, and she started backpedaling.

“Would you mind if I shared why I made this?” Stephan asked, continuing after the student nodded. “I designed this because I believe Jesus loves Cornell students. He would want to spend time with you, to drink bubble tea and hear about your life, what you’re going through. That’s what our organization is about. We make space for you to come with all your questions—no matter what background you’re from—and get to know who this Jesus is who wants to know you.”

As the young woman nodded and walked away, more students started coming up, grabbing Boba Jesus stickers and taking selfies next to the cutout. Many of them appreciated the image’s darker skin tone, saying it seemed more historically accurate. And even if students didn’t stop to chat with Stephan, he often overheard them ask their friends what they’d talk to Jesus about over some boba.

Many students took the time to jot down their questions on sticky notes. Besides his bubble tea preference, they wanted to ask him things like, “Why did I have to get sick?” and “What would you say about our current political climate?” A cafeteria worker even came up to check out the display and shared with Stephan that she was a Christian. “Why did my child have to die?” she wrote.

In the weeks that followed, word of Boba Jesus spread across campus. More than once, students came up to Stephan saying, “I came all the way across campus to get one of those stickers!”

“I think iGen students are very aware about how they represent themselves to the world,” said Stephan’s supervisor, Carrie Moorhead, an Area Ministry Director in New York. “Boba Jesus is a way to declare something about incarnation—Jesus came to identify with us in our humanity. It points to something greater.”

Building Trust

“Most people at Cornell are really kind. They don’t want to offend anyone,” Stephan observed. “So they say they trust Christians or are curious but just not curious enough because of busyness.”

This new Proxe has started breaking through that busyness to stir up genuine curiosity. Around campus, Stephan’s Asian American ��ñ�� chapter has become well-known for the Boba Jesus stickers, generating more openness and positive rapport.

“My hope is that Boba Jesus actually [portrays] an image of Jesus who wants to meet with everyone from every background and faith,” Stephan said. “The fact that I’ve seen Christian and non-Christian, Asian and non-Asian [people] like Boba Jesus opens that homecoming invitational door. So when they see our fellowship, see our invitation, they go, ‘Okay, maybe I can come check this out too.’”

And even though students may never know Jesus’ favorite bubble tea—this side of heaven—Boba Jesus is helping them learn just how inviting and approachable he is.

Find an AAM Chapter

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Nurturing Crucial Relationships

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 12:26:00 +0000

News

Gordon Govier

Nurturing Crucial Relationships

While many college students have spent part of the summer diligently pursuing Pokémon, now is the season when they arrive on campus with a similar determination to seek and find new relationships. The people met on the first days on campus typically define a new student’s relationships for the next year, four years, and sometimes a lifetime.

That’s why relationships are crucial. And Crucial Relationships is the name of the new ��ñ�� outreach tool appearing on many campuses across the country as the fall semester begins.

Crucial Relationships is an artistic display called a Proxe Station, set up along campus walkways. ��ñ�� students and staff use the display to initiate conversations about the desirability of relationships. The students they talk with are invited to upcoming ��ñ�� events on campus and, in some cases, invited to begin a relationship with Jesus.

The first three days the display was set up at San Diego State University (SDSU), two students made decisions to follow Jesus. “This Proxe is bringing people right into awareness of a core need for relationship with God,” said SDSU campus staff member Julie Day.

At Shepherd University in West Virginia, four students made decisions to follow Jesus the first day the display went up on campus. At the University of California–Merced two students responded positively the first day to invitations to begin a relationship with Jesus.

At Macomb Community College in Michigan, a woman walked up to the display and said she wanted a spiritual connection as her crucial relationship. “She had never read the Bible before and loved hearing the story of the four friends who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus,” reported ��ñ�� area director Ann Beyerlein, who prayed with the woman. “She kept thanking me for telling her the story and explaining the gospel to her.”

At Chapman University in Orange, California, where the ��ñ�� chapter is just in its second year, ��ñ�� campus staff member Daniel Allen said, “We have seen more students engage with this Proxe than any Proxe I have previously been involved with."

When a student at California State University–Fullerton was asked which of the many relationships illustrated on the first Proxe panel he was most wanting, he responded, “Honestly, I would take any of these if I could have just one friend.” Now he has a dozen new friends in an ��ñ�� Bible study.

On other campuses, such as the University of California–San Diego and the University of Utah, creative staff have also been using Pokémon Go to connect with new students and invite them to ��ñ�� activities.

Becoming a follower of Jesus is the beginning of a journey. Helping students learn how to grow in their faith is another important part of ��ñ��'s campus mission. A new resource for new believers has been developed, called GROW: Learning to Follow Jesus.

Some relationships that begin on campus last longer than a lifetime.

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Relationships

Proxe Stations

New Student Outreach

Fruitful Conversations on Campus

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 16:59:41 +0000

Press Room

Fruitful Conversations on Campus

(Madison, WI) – ��ñ�� Christian Fellowship students are starting the 2015-2016 school year by quizzing fellow students about their bucket list. Conversations about goals and aspirations are not new among students on the college campus but ��ñ��’s queries are aimed at helping reveal deeper motivations.

At the beginning of this semester, on more than 100 campuses across the country, ��ñ�� students are asking, “What’s on your bucket list?” (Watch the video here.) These conversations are taking place around what ��ñ�� calls Proxe Stations, artistic displays designed to encourage deeper conversations about spiritual topics. Students who are interested in further discussions about purpose and meaning in life will be invited to participate in small group Bible studies, a hallmark of ��ñ��’s campus ministry.

Campus conversations can be trivial. They can also be life-changing. This past year, many ��ñ�� chapters engaged in conversations and activities as a part of the national dialogue in response to events that have highlighted social and systemic issues affecting the Black community. ��ñ�� values racial reconciliation and multiethnicity, and as we deal with questions that students have, students open up to spiritual change in their lives because they want to make a difference in the world.

In a major study released ten years ago by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, 75 percent of responding students said they were “searching for meaning and purpose in life” and they expected their college education to help them with their emotional and spiritual development.

��ñ��’s experience in the past year has been that more students than ever are finding meaning and significance through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A total of 4,269 first-time professions of faith were reported by chapter leaders in 2014-2015, up 21 percent from the previous year and up 172 percent from the same number ten years ago. ��ñ�� has more chapters (985) on more campuses (649) than ever before.

Jim Lundgren, ��ñ��’s interim president, noted, “College students are the leaders of tomorrow. We hope that they will lead with the skills they gain in college, but also with a purpose that comes from discovering Christian values that aren’t always taught on campus.”

��ñ�� Christian Fellowship has been active on U.S. college and university campuses for 74 years. ��ñ�� is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, ranked as a 4-Star Charity with Charity Navigator, and a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

For more information:
Gordon Govier
ggovier@intervarsity.org
608/443-3699

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"I Want to Be Involved"

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 20:52:48 +0000

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Amy Hauptman

"I Want to Be Involved"

“On the first day of school, when I saw ��ñ��’s Proxe Station What Do You Want to Accomplish This Semester? I walked right up to the students running the station and said, ‘I want to be involved,’” recalled Lindsay Young.

Even before Lindsay came to college, she had heard about ��ñ�� from her childhood friend Stephani, who was five years older and was involved in ��ñ�� at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

“Stephani was so passionate about ��ñ�� and the Urban Plunge that she had been a part of,” said Lindsay, “that by the time I got to Central College, I knew that I wanted to get involved in ��ñ�� too.”

Kelsey Welcomes Lindsay

At the Proxe Station, Lindsay met another ��ñ�� student, Kelsey. Kelsey was a warm and welcoming student, and incredibly cheerful. So when it was announced at ��ñ��’s Large Group meeting that Kelsey was leading a small group Bible study for first-year females, Lindsay knew she wanted to join.

“The first week, there were over 20 first-year women in Kelsey’s little dorm room, and she loved it!” said Lindsay. “But the next week that we got together, Kelsey and her coleader explained that they really wanted closer relationships with us—so they decided to split their 20-person small group Bible study into two smaller groups. It showed me that Kelsey and her co-leader really did want to have relationships with us, not just to teach us.”

Every week, Kelsey prioritized asking the women in her small group about their lives and would let the group share about their weeks before they focused on studying Scripture.

“Through that Bible study, Kelsey made us feel so comfortable on campus,” said Lindsay. “We shared life together, we were vulnerable together, and we learned about Jesus’ love for us and all people. Kelsey was and is an amazing mentor.”

Share Your Story Week

This last year—her third year—Lindsay continued growing in her own faith when she attended Urbana 12. She also was invited to serve as her chapter’s Special Event Coordinator. She and a team of students planned an outreach event—a weeklong, campus-wide event called Share Your Story Week—aimed at helping people tell personal stories about disbelief, mental health, body image issues, and other tough topics.

“As we planned for this event, there was a lot of stress and frustration, and at times I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it,” said Lindsay. “But when the event finally happened, I remember talking to people I never would have dreamed of talking to and being vulnerable by sharing my story with them. This experience really required me to step out in faith.”

During Share Your Story Week, Christians and non-Christians gathered together, and people were invited to get up before an open microphone and simply share their stories.

“I was amazed by students’ responses during the week,” said Lindsay. “Many shared stories of abuse, bullying, hope, and love—people were so vulnerable and everyone involved in this event felt so close by the end of the week.”

Every night, ��ñ�� students offered prayer to anyone who wanted it, and on the last night of sharing, ��ñ�� students shared their stories and shared about the hope and love that Jesus offers the world. Then students were invited to start following Jesus if that was something they wanted. Lindsay was amazed to see one of her friends accept this invitation.

A Spiritual Shepherd Sent Into the World

Over the past few years, Lindsay has learned about the importance of stepping out and inviting others to follow Jesus—and inviting people to grow in their own relationship with Jesus. This summer Lindsay is going on a Global Project with ��ñ�� where she will build relationships with college students and learn to share the gospel cross-culturally.

“I was very reluctant to go on this trip,” said Lindsay. “When my staff worker asked if I would consider going, I said no; I was scared to be away for that long in an unfamiliar place.”

But she decided to take a risk and sign up anyway because of how she sensed God leading her through prayer.

“I hope that through this trip, God will show me his provision and also teach me more about his love for all people,” said Lindsay. “I am already praying that I will be stretched in ways that I’ve never dreamed of. I know that I will truly need to trust Christ to take care of me while I am overseas.”

As Lindsay continues to follow Jesus overseas this summer, she will take with her the things that she has learned through ��ñ��—like being missional wherever she is, even in another country.

News Keywords

Proxe Stations

Global Projects

Central College

Students Excited About Evangelism

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:11:42 +0000

News

Students Excited About Evangelism

On campuses across the country, students this fall are excited about how easy and fun it is to do evangelism because they have a great message and they are well-trained, using effective tools developed by experienced ��ñ�� staff members.

Transformation is happening in two ways: ��ñ�� students are being transformed into more effective witnesses, and students who receive the message of the gospel are also being transformed.

��ñ��’s twentyonehundred productions recently visited the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse to document a Choices Proxe Station in action. The video explains what a Proxe Station is, and how it’s being used to meet new students on campus at the beginning of the fall semester.

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University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse

"What Are You Thirsty For?"

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:59:45 +0000

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Kevin Boyd, Campus Staff Member, Wake Forest University

"What Are You Thirsty For?"

In John’s Gospel, chapter 4, Jesus enters into an unlikely conversation with an outcast Samaritan woman who has come to draw water from a well. He deftly connects her immediate thirst for something that temporarily satisfies with the deeper truth of Who he is – the only One who can quench our hidden thirsts.

By the end of the conversation, she has come to faith in him and becomes an evangelist, going back to her village and inviting others to “Come and see.”

At Wake Forest University and across the country, ��ñ�� students are out to do the same thing – engage their peers in conversation and, when possible, share about Jesus’ offer to give us “living water,” the only kind that truly satisfies. We engage students with a tool developed by ��ñ�� called a proxe station.

A proxe station is a guided experience used to clearly explain the gospel and help people respond accordingly. It uses interactive art and provocative questions, and the resulting conversations, to enable participants to discover realities about God, themselves, and their world, which inspire them to respond to Jesus.

The Red Cup Question

We set up in a high-traffic area outside the Pit (Wake’s dining hall) and started conversations by asking passersby, “Can I get you a drink?” while offering them soda or water in a red Solo cup (usually known for other types of beverages on a college campus). If they had time, we asked them to tell us which thirst they thought was most important at Wake Forest: Love, Purpose, Success, or Fun.

Participants voted by putting colored stickers on a collage, so we could see the cumulative votes over time. We then asked which thirst was most important to them and how they planned to quench it this year.

This, along with Jesus’ quote about living water opened the door to talk about the deeper thirsts we all have and how we in ��ñ�� invite Jesus to satisfy those thirsts. “Can I draw you a picture of what that looks like?” often led to sharing the gospel and inviting a response.

New Chapter Vitality

While I’m not aware of any on-the-spot decisions to follow Jesus, over 30 students indicated a desire to learn more either through an ��ñ�� Bible study or having a follow-up conversation that would help address their questions.

Starting off the school year with an evangelistic outreach has given a life and vitality to our New Student Outreach that we haven’t seen before. And not only were our leaders stretched by having these conversations, they also learned some important lessons.

“Talking to others about Jesus is not as scary as I thought it would be. It was actually exciting getting to share the gospel and talk about how Jesus quenches our thirsts. I am so thankful that we took this leap of faith and followed through with this proxe station because I believe it was a growing experience for everyone involved.” - Hannah, senior

“We had a group of students praying simultaneously during the time that the proxe station was being run. After my first shift at the station, I entered into the prayer time extremely frustrated with myself, feeling like I had failed miserably in my attempts to interact with people. As I began to pray, I remembered the section of 1 Corinthians that describes the Church as a body and realized that God was affirming my gifts of design and construction (I helped Kevin build the station).” - Perry, senior

“My favorite part of the proxe station was this one guy who was willing to talk more but didn’t want to give us his contact information. He walked away like he was going to leave but continued to stand around watching us talk to people. Then he started grabbing people and making them participate. He would stop his friends and say, ‘Hey, hey do this thing. What are you thirsty for? Hey, who’s got the stickers?’ I was struck with how natural it is for someone who has encountered the gospel to tell the next guy about it.” - Brittany, senior

Even as we celebrate the great conversations we had, my heart also breaks for some students who heard the gospel message but as far as I know haven’t responded. I’m grateful that the Lord is allowing me to be a part of this work. It’s exciting to see how he pursues people, whether 2,000 years ago at a well or right now on a college campus.

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