Regina Chan showed the greater Tribeca Summer Project 2010 a video called Avenue Q. This video is PG-13 and not for little kids ears. Avenue Q is a remake of Sesame Street characters who explain how everyone is a bit racist. Where am I going with this? Regina Chan explains how New York City is a microcosm of the world if it was to be in one place. Campus Crusade for Christ goal is to build multi-movements everywhere as they equipped us with cross-cultural ministry based on ethnicity.
Why ethnic ministry? Or EMS as referred to Crusade?
Definition of ethnic is basically a large groups of people with a common racial, national, tribal, or culture. So by this definition everyone should belong to at least some kind of ethnic background. We saw how diverse the greater Tribeca Summer Project 2010 is with different geographical background our project has people from the midwest, west coast and east coast regions. Revelation 5: 6-10 This passage gave us a vision for the future when all God's people unites in God's kingdom. Another key word that we learned today is the word "liminal". The word means being on intermediate state, phase or conditions in-between, transitional. Diversity within ethnic minority students varies. Simplest example for me is what does it mean to be "asian"? Are you talking about asians from Southeast Asia where I am from? Or are you talking about East Asia where the country that looks like a hen and where everything is cheap? Or are you talking about South Asia which is where curry was invented? Here where the word "liminal" comes into play not everyone is a New Yorker a majority are from out of town or in transition to New Yorker lifestyle. Some are not even American they are from out of the country trying to assimilate into majority culture. Not everyone who looks different than you is a F.O.B. Maybe they're second generation or so forth. Often I make the assumption as well talking to people who look like a particular race and judge where they come from. What we learned today is "assumption is not our friend" this summer. Coming from an ethnic college fellowship contextualized ministry is nothing new but being in an urban ministry is new.
Today we went out in groups and I was partnered with Joseph. In 2 groups of 2 we partner up to venture out to Washington Square Park on 4th Street and Avenue of Americans by New York University. The remarkable thing was Sunny, a students who goes to the New School on 66th and 5th avenue help us get to where we need to be. While there already two girls approach us with some kind of new social networking promotion for those who live in the "city". Afterwards we split up and spread out in the park where Joseph and I came by a New York University film student on his sophomore year waiting to talk to another students about how to create his own camera mounted structure. The conversation went far into the KGP booklet and after point 3 we stop and he asked more questions. Truthfully I felt ill prepare to give an answer to his disbelief of lack of validity of the Bible and creationism. I just feel this nineteen-years-old bright kid was completely "lost". As smart as he was, he wasn't spiritually as open to the thought of God although he claimed to researched a lot of different religion on his own because his parents came from two different faith father raised Jewish and mother raised Orthodox Christian. The student was the only one we had time to talk to but he gave us good feedback on our presentation and had skeptic doubts other New Yorkers would have the patience for us to go through the presentation which seemed to him one-sided. Witnessing was Joseph first time and as nervous as it was, Joseph explain how great we made a good impression on the student of Christians.
That night we debriefed and had delicious chinese food chicken and sweet and sour sauce with yellow and white rice with beef and broccoli thanks to Robin. Our time of debriefing we found out most of the people our project talked to were Europeans and artists. Show you how compatible people intersect. I was pretty proud of hearing how well the students did in initiating conversation today. A lot of stories came across each other as we continue this intersection theme with our guest speaker LeighAnn Dull who spoke about the history of Tribeca's legacy and how the students are part of this history. I won't go in-depth with the history but what I got from LeighAnn speech was initial evangelism doesn't stop there but starts a relationship initiating of multiple times a person encounter spiritual growth and maturity and exposure to the gospel. The gospel is not the KGP but us as God's living and breathing proof of His story of grace and love. I will leave you with some interesting quotes and "intersections" of project. Favorite quote of the day:
Adam- "Does it say 'golf'?"
"No. It say 'gift'."
Caleb- "A cube can relate to a square but a square can not relate to a cube. "Analogue for cultured Christians.
Intersections:
Joseph raised in New Orleans. I been to 5 different NOLA mission trips.
Mike and Larry received a brownie from a devout Muslim Moroccan after their spiritual conversation.
Piper and Jayson ran into a Spaniard dancer who speak little english but by their witness see how passionate American christians are about their spirituality.
Adam and Jonathan conversation with a Lutheran Finland male artist who they talked to about spirituality for quite awhile.
Caleb and David talked to an artist who is culturally sound in Christian theology but does not have a personal relationship with God.
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