Around the Ministry - The Navigators

Did you know that in the early 1950s Billy Graham asked Dawson Trotman of The Navigators to develop the original follow-up materials for the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades?

Many people say that they don’t read the Bible because it’s hard for them to understand. That’s why Eugene Peterson, then pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church, began translating parts of the New Testament and Psalms from the original Greek and Hebrew into language that was easy for his congregation to understand.

These translations caught the eye of NavPress editor, Jon Stine, who urged Peterson to translate the entire New Testament (and ultimately the whole Bible) into contemporary American vernacular. The Message New Testament was released in June 1993 followed by the complete Message Bible in July of 2002.

The accessibility and readability of The Message have made it a perennial best seller. Even for many who have read the Bible through, reading The Message is like reading the Bible for the first time as it helps people understand some passages in a way they’ve never understood them before.

For more information about The Message, visit: www.messagebible.com.

–Tom & Barbara Tompkins,
Friends of The Navigators

We’ve always been drawn to personal relationships over quick, slick answers. It’s the growth and perseverance of one’s faith that makes it real and worthwhile. The nature and make-up of the Navigators we know personally continues to draw us into partnering in this ministry that is so deep and enduring.

The Spirit challenged Vivian to leave her "comfort zone" to reach others.

Navigators intentionally reach out to others with the Gospel and emphasize sharing Christ with others in the natural context of relationships. So what do you do when the relationships you’ve built keep you away from others you need to reach?

That was the dilemma facing Vivian, a freshman pre-med student involved with Charly and Christina Sommers’ Navigator ministry at the University of Cincinnati (U.C.). “Sometimes God convicts us to change a habit and take a risk,” says Charly. That’s exactly what happened to Vivian last year at U.C.

“I came to know Christ my freshman year of high school,” Vivian shared. “Then I met a group of Christian girls here. We love one another and enjoy our fellowship.” But there was a small problem.

“We were a clique,” Vivian confessed. “Eating meals with these Christian friends almost every day was a fun, comfortable habit. But I realized that we had lost sight of God’s vision for us, which is to go and make disciples of all nations. The Spirit convicted me that change was needed.”

Vivian and her friends agreed to cut in half the number of meals together so that they could begin forming new relationships. “It was difficult at first,” admits Vivian, “but the Lord helped me. When I intentionally reached out and ate a meal [in the cafeteria] with a new student, it was a great experience! I’ve developed new friendships and want to help these new friends find Christ.

“Some other Navigators on campus made similar changes! God is using us for His glory!”

J. Jackson (third from left), shown with the band Apologetix, didn’t realize the impact Navigator Peter Udall had on his life until years later.

J. Jackson is the lead singer for a nationally touring Christian rock band called ApologetiX. Over the past 19 years, they have released 18 CDs and have played more than 1,300 concerts covering all 50 states.
Back in 1982, J. was a freshman at Indiana University of Pennsylvania when a guy from The Navigators named Pete Udall came to visit.

“Apparently,” J. says, “my friend and I were the only two people on my floor too polite to refuse a visit by The Navigators.”

J. and his friend allowed Pete to visit a number of times, although half of the time, they avoided him. “We didn’t know who Navigators were,” explains J. “Plus, we were in college with lots of much more fun stuff to do.”

One night, Pete came to visit and J.’s friend wasn’t there. J. remembers talking with Pete and feeling like he had really made some sort of commitment to God that night. “I didn’t fully understand it,” J. admits, “nor did I think too much about it.”

But the very next day something happened that presented him with a big fork in the road—a very specific temptation with the potential to make him turn back. “I had to choose whether I was going to give in to it or follow up on what had happened the day before with Pete,” says J. “I chose to give in, and it set me back about six more years.”

J. never looked back on that night with Pete until years later. “I’ve been a born-again Christian now for 23 years,” he says, “and I believe that night I talked (and probably prayed) with Pete layed the groundwork for the day when I would walk into an empty church six years later and pour my heart out to God and surrender to Christ. And from then on, there was no turning back.

“Please tell Pete I said thanks,” says J. “And thank you, Navigators! You may never realize the impact you have—even on people who may only seem semi-interested at the time.”

Peter Udall is currently The Navigators Associate Business Officer/CFO of NavPress, Glen Eyrie Group, and Dawson Media, and was thrilled to hear from J. after all these years.

Through the years we’ve used different terminology to describe the people with whom we work; lifelong laborers, disciplemakers, and stakeholders. Recently we’ve started using the term “natural laborers.” Regardless of titles, these people are Navigators: everyday people living out our calling.

Doug Nuenke
President of the U.S. Navigators

You can find everyday people like this scattered throughout the pages of Scripture. You’ll find business people such as Lydia. There are the anonymous Ephesian elders. You’ll find unschooled, ordinary people like Peter and John. Even the Gerasene demoniac who, after experiencing healing at the hand of Jesus, brought the Gospel to the Decapolis, and “all the people were amazed” (Mark 5:19,20). These “natural laborers” advanced the Kingdom of God within natural relationships.

The most powerful contribution The Navigators can make is to raise up a great host of people like this—Gospel carriers, integrated in their workplace and their communities, who will see friends and family begin to follow Jesus.

My wife, Pam, and I recently received this note:

The conference I attended at Glen Eyrie was life changing. I am now committed to becoming a disciple and a discipler. I am reading a lot, working on the Topical Memory System, incorporating discipling in my Sunday school class, and will begin working one-on-one with someone in the class.

That’s what being a “natural laborer” is all about. And that’s what makes a Navigator.