Ivan Imes, better known as the “Jesus Talk” man in Free Speech Plaza, remembers well the moment a voice inside his head told him to follow Christ.
Imes said he was driving on Valentine’s Day in 1993 when a voice echoed in his mind.
“Your sins are forgiven. You’re washed in the blood. The scales will fall from your eyes. This is the still, small voice,” the voice said to Imes.
Imes, who at that point was divorced, lonely and searching for meaning in his life, said at that moment he knew he needed to follow God and become a Christian.
For the next 14 years, Imes learned all he could about Christianity and went to different churches, trying to find the one in which he felt most comfortable.
In April 2000, Imes was about halfway through his journey, which would end in front of the LSU Student Union. He had been asking God, and his ministers, how he could spread God’s word and make a positive impact. He had previously suggested working with college students, but his faith ministers had always shot down the idea.
Now, seven years after he first heard a voice inside his head, he heard another. This time, Imes said he knew it was Jesus speaking. Imes had been thinking of ways to bring his sons into the Christian faith.
“I wanted to save my sons, but Jesus said to redeem the 30,000,” Imes said.
Those 30,000 that Christ was referring to are, of course, University students.
Continuing his streak of seven year increments, Imes continued to take classes and learn more about Christianity and ministry until he finally started coming to Free Speech Plaza in fall 2007.
Imes’ method is noticeably different than other religious groups who come to Free Speech Plaza and loudly profess their faith or antagonize students. Imes prefers to sit quietly in a chair, his shirt emblazoned with “Jesus Talk” letting students know his purpose.
“Because I obey what the Bible says,” Imes said of choosing his unobtrusive approach.
Over 12 years, Imes has spoken with countless students. He said relationship problems, both romantic and platonic, are an extremely common topic students discuss with him. Parental issues also come up frequently, and Imes said he believes students what grow up without adequate parental supervision can lack various social skills they would otherwise have.
Imes said he tries to advise these students how to improve their lives and seek fulfillment through Christ, but if students just want to vent, he can help with that as well.
One of Imes’ favorite stories of his interactions with students is one young woman who came to interview him for an assignment. He said the woman told him she was not a Christian and did not like Christians based on her personal experiences with them. In the course of their conversation, she also said she wanted to stop doing cocaine.
Imes said he gave her a book about Christianity he thoroughly enjoyed and thought would help her, and asked her to try reading it. Six weeks later, Imes said the woman came back and told him she had converted to Christianity and stopped doing cocaine.
One of Imes’ favorite parts of talking with students is his “secret method” of getting them to hear God in their hearts. Imes refused to divulge his trade secret, however, so students will have to talk with him to find out.
When he is not in front of the union or at church, Imes, a retired engineer, said he enjoys taking trips with his wife, Patricia, fishing and playing golf. One of their favorite pastimes is to go to New Orleans and eat at the restaurant Shaya.
In 2014, Imes thought his time at he University was coming to an end, based on the pattern of 7 year periods he had observed since 1993. But he realized he had to stay once a student told him his purpose was to be on campus, redeeming the 30,000.