Cornell University

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.

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Mission Field - Fashion

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:28:36 +0000

News

Amy Hauptman

Mission Field - Fashion

“I’d say at best, the church ignores the fashion industry,” said Amos Chiou, graduating senior at Cornell University. “I’d say at worse, the church is the one lambasting the industry for any number of reasons—body image, sexualization, materialism, etc. It’s not that these reasons are not areas of concern, but fashion and retail are more visible in today’s culture than, for example, the legal field or medicine; thus the sins of the fashion world are unfairly magnified compared to other industries.”

After graduation, Amos Chiou, former ��ñ�� chapter president at Cornell, is starting his new job post-graduation, working for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York city, where he is joining their prestigious merchant training program for future buyers and planners.

Amos didn’t expect God to lead him into the world of fashion. As a freshman, he was determined to become a lawyer and had made plans to transfer from Rutgers University to Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations because of its focus on the humanities and social sciences—great backgrounds for law school. However, by the end of his freshman year, Amos decided to pursue business instead of law school. It was during this time of transition to Cornell that Amos decided to check out ��ñ��.

Leadership Development through ��ñ��

He went to Cornell’s ��ñ�� chapter already a Christian but nervous and in search of a spiritual community. In the end he connected most with the vision of Cornell’s Asian American ��ñ�� chapter to renew the Asian American community at the college. After attending an Asian American ��ñ�� Bible study for one semester, Amos was invited by one of his leaders to think about serving as a co–small group leader his second semester.

So over the next year, Amos learned to lead a Bible study small group with the help and coaching from his original small group leader. Over the next couple years, Amos continued to find ways to serve in his chapter—as NSO coordinator, Large group coordinator, and lastly as chapter president.

“The skills that I’ve learned from ��ñ�� are so valuable,” said Amos. “I’ve gained the experience of working with and leading people, planning for unforeseen circumstances, dealing with conflict, learning better ways of communication, vision casting effectively—all things that come handy for the workplace.”

Finding His Calling: Fashion Industry

As Amos graduates this year and prepares to embark on the next chapter of his life, he goes out prepared to be a world changer in the fashion industry.

“Two years ago, Andy Stearns, a Cornell ’04 graduate and son of Richard Stearns [Cornell ’73 graduate and World Vision president] spoke at a Cornell-wide missions conference,” said Amos. “At this conference, he exhorted the participants to find our calling and our own mission statement. I see my calling as spreading the love of Christ to the luxury retail and fashion industries.”

Amos is thankful to God for the ways he’s helped him see the fashion industry as a mission field that God is sending him into.

“God has given me not only the gift of his salvation and Christ’s love, but also an appreciation for the world of fashion and retail and now a heart for all who work in it,” said Amos. “Christians are rare in this kind of industry, and as a result their influence is even rarer. I feel that God is using my interest in fashion retail, as well as my Christian faith, . . . to serve him in this new world he’s placed me in.”

Fashion: A Tool for Renewal

Amos also sees how God is already using the fashion industry to bring hope and renewal to countless people around the world. A number of ministries, for example, advocate various social justice issues through fashion, such as jewelry or clothing made by freed sex slaves.

At the same time, Amos’s heart breaks for the lack of outreach to the existing fashion and retail industry at large: the models, designers, photographers, buyers, planners, fashion editors—the very people Amos will be working with and essentially being in community with for the foreseeable future at his new job.

“Issues in the fashion industry are many, and Christians should be aware of all of them,” said Amos. “There are a very small number of minority models who walk the runways for major designers. There are also issues of social justice in the manufacture of clothing—most poignantly in the recent Bangladesh garment factory tragedy. There are issues of overt sexualization of younger and younger aged clothing, as well as less than ideal marketing techniques. These are all basic issues that plague the industry . . . but I want to have a positive, Christ-bearing impact on my coworkers and in the greater fashion/retail industry as a whole.”

News Keywords

Cornell University

Cornell University

Boba Jesus—Creating a Visual, Invitational Witness for iGens

Boba Jesus—Creating a Visual, Invitational Witness for iGens

Contextualized Creativity

Invitational Witness

Building Trust

Mission Field - Fashion

Mission Field - Fashion

Leadership Development through ��ñ����

Finding His Calling: Fashion Industry

Fashion: A Tool for Renewal

Leadership Development through ��ñ��