Around the Ministry
 There are lots of ways to pray. We can pray aloud, we can write out our prayers—we can even pray through a computer keyboard. The Navigators recently initiated a prayer blog, combining current computer technology with the timeless practice of supporting one another through prayer.  You can get to the prayer blog from our home page (www.navigators.org) by clicking the red icon at the bottom that says “Pray With Us.” Or http://pray.navigators.org takes you straight to the blog. Anyone is welcome to go to the blog and type in a prayer or request. Our prayer team, based at Navigator headquarters in Colorado Springs, pray over each request. On occasion, one of our Navigator leaders will initiate a prayer. The blog site also includes a list of articles, books, retreats, and conferences about prayer. Please join us in this fresh form of corporate prayer. We know God hears us, even when our prayers are typed into a computer! |
 For the first time, Urban Hope, an inner-city work in Durham, North Carolina, sent a group of teens to Washington, D.C., to help out with Little Lights, a ministry to children in a government housing project. Their trip lasted from April 13 to 18.“It has been very encouraging to see the teens excited about giving of themselves,” says Ed Cvelich, who works with Urban Hope. “Their conversation has been all about helping other kids rather than about how much fun D.C. will be. We are grateful to Jesus as we see the heart of a laborer emerge in these students.” Urban Hope director Bahari Harris likens the program to an anti-gang initiative. “We offer the kids all the perks of a gang without the negative aspects. We give them a place to belong, a mission, and a purpose.” |
 Lawrence, Kansas—it’s not a place immediately associated with art. But this progressive, college town is home to a monthly gathering of artists. Once a month, local artists Kevin and Sherry invite others to their home to talk about the artistic process and encourage one another in their endeavors. They also host a weekend brunch. Kevin and Sherry, who got involved with The Navigators in college, see these gatherings as a chance to build relationship with people, many of whom reject any form of religion. “We used to be involved in a lot of church-based ministries,” Sherry says. “But we sensed God calling us out of that so we could be free to become more involved in the art community.” “Our intention is to build relationships with people and let God work through this,” Kevin adds. “I see in Kevin and Sherry a couple who have sorted out how to untangle the Gospel from cultural Christianity,” says Gary Bradley, who heads a Navigator ministry called Via Affirmativa that focuses on all kinds of art makers. “They express our Navigator Calling in their day-to-day lives as artists, parents, friends, neighbors, and family. They are modeling our calling in the best way I can imagine.” |
  “We find people to be eager to enter into deeper and more meaningful relationships that involve every aspect of life,” says Navigator Kristie Monteiro. Kristie is a third-generation Navigator, wife, and mother of three who involves herself in the lives of young adults. It’s part of Kristie’s involvement in the Navigator ministry b2g, or better2gther, which seeks out those in their twenties and thirties. One young adult who has become a big part of Kristie’s life is her friend Joyce. Joyce and Kristie met at a gathering of people learning to develop spiritual friendships. The two hit it off right away. “My husband, Paul, and I started having a group of young adults in the area over for dinner,” Kristie says. Soon Joyce was joining the family for birthday parties, becoming a “regular” at family activities. “Paul and I seek to live our lives openly around as many people as we can. People are seeking relationships and we know that is how the Gospel moves—through networks of relationships.” |
  “It’s never been done that way before.” Has someone ever used a phrase like that to keep you from trying something new? Fear of the unknown can keep us tied to doing the same things in the same ways, time after time. Sometimes imaginary barriers keep us from accomplishing the real plans God has for us!Remember Paul’s words to his protégé Timothy? “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). What if Lloyd Lassiter, this issue’s cover story, had allowed fear of the unknown and the untried to keep him from seeing how he could help with Navigator ministry on his business travels? Not only that, Lloyd didn’t allow his busyness to get in the way of doing God’s business. Frequent travel, busy family life, or an intense work schedule can easily become barriers that keep us from being involved in personal ministry. But Lloyd views his frequent travel as an opportunity, not a barrier. What imaginary barriers keep us from Kingdom work? Unqualified? Too young? Too old? There really is no reason not to be involved in people’s lives. We don’t need to go out of our way to serve; we only need to see ministry as part of everyday life. God provides us opportunities to serve our neighbors, befriend the barista at the coffee shop, or listen to a discouraged co-worker. Let’s break through the imaginary barriers and look for open doors of ministry wherever in the world He leads. |
