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Around the Ministry
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In 1933, before The Navigators even became an organization, Navigator founder Dawson Trotman used to disciple a group of sailors in a garage behind the Texaco station were he worked. When a customer arrived at the gas station, Dawson’s discipleship group would quickly service the car and then get back to their Bible study.
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This past summer, Navigator students and staff were honing their discipleship skills at a Navigator Summer Training Program in Jacksonville, Florida. Preparing for campus ministry were 165 college students and 26 Navigator staff who invested eight weeks in the program. Did these students regret not being able to “kick back and relax” this summer?
“The evangelism training was awesome! I grew tremendously in my grasp of evangelism. My mindset changed from sharing Christ being something I have to bring to pass to something God will bring to pass. I just have to be obedient.”
–Andy, University of Kansas
“In the past I’ve been consistent in my time in the Word, but it was always about what I could get out of it. This summer I discovered that it’s about enjoying the time I get to spend with God. It’s a way to get to know more about Him, His character, and His promises.”
–Patrick, University of Northern Illinois
“The best part of my summer was doing ministry the way Jesus did: life-on-life. Every week as I met with my team members, I loved seeing the unchanging, powerful Word of God speak uniquely to their hearts. I’ve never been more excited to go back to campus and share not only the Gospel—but my life as well!”
–Jill, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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Evan Griffin (shown with his son, Tyler) continues to meet with
a young student who is on a journey toward the Kingdom of God.
We always rejoice when someone enters the Kingdom of God. But many times that journey is a long one of many small steps. Navigator Evan Griffin teaches at the University of Cincinnati and sees evidence of this among the students there.
“Paul*, one of my former Communication students, is a bright, opinionated, edgy, and irreligious young man,” says Evan. “He was shot this last fall after a party just a few blocks from campus.” The doctors treating Paul were astonished that the bullet did no major damage. After Paul revealed this incident in class, Evan invited him out for a cup of coffee to learn more.
After hearing more of Paul’s life story (including what led up to the shooting) Evan asked, “Doesn’t that make you wonder if someone might have some bigger plans for your life?” That triggered a fun, dynamic conversation that included Evan sharing his “God-story” and inviting Paul to take a look at Jesus for himself. Over the next months, Paul dived into the Gospels of Mark and John with Evan.
“Paul showed up with five full pages of questions and observations from the Gospel of John alone!” remarked Evan. “He was perceptive and open and voiced an opinion that Jesus was cool in His analogies, His actions, His courage in exposing hypocrisy, and in His care for ‘unworthy people.’”
Has Paul entered the Kingdom? Not yet, but he wants to meet again. In fact, he recently called Evan to arrange to go to church with him to meet some more of these “Jesus followers.” Evan keeps telling him, “This is a journey. You have a lot to think about and wrestle with here. If I can help, great, but there’s no pressure.” Paul keeps responding with, “Dude, I’d tell you if I thought this was lame or if I didn’t want to hang with you. I’m not ready to be religious or anything, but this is really interesting. Thanks so much for being willing to hang with me and talk about this stuff!”
*Not his real name
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Zach Cochran works with The Navigators EDGE Corps at the University of Tennessee. Recently he flew to Colorado for a conference and was having lunch with his friend Dan Boryla, who works with EDGE Corps at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins. They saw a driver bump Zach’s rental car in the parking lot and went out to talk with him.
Zach and Dan chatted with the young man, Dave —a student at CSU—and saw that there was only superficial damage to the car. Because it was a rental, Zach phoned the rental company. “They told me to get a police report,” said Zach, “so I went back to tell Dave.”
Dave got upset about having the police involved. He explained that his family had just been through a really tough time—including the death of his cousin.
Zach and Dan continued to talk to Dave, who shared that at his cousin’s funeral, a friend’s mother had told him that she had a strong feeling that God was about to do something significant in Dave’s life. Zach and Dan silently looked at one another and began talking to him about Jesus.
A few days later, Dan met with Dave again, gave him a Bible, and encouraged him to start reading the Gospel of John. Dan and Dave continued to meet and talk about what Dave was reading. After a while, Dave told Dan, “I want to follow Jesus.” Dave and Dan still meet weekly and Dave is growing in his faith.
“Dan and I weren’t out looking for someone to share Christ with,” says Zach. “We were just having lunch. But it was no ‘accident’ that Dave ran into us!” |
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–Jeff & Margaret Jones Friends of The Navigators
Margaret Jones describes her first encounter with The Navigators as “overwhelming.” Her husband, Jeff, had been mentored by a Navigator, but the newly married Margaret was young in her spiritual life. When she attended a Navigator conference, she found the level of interest these strangers showed her a little intimidating—but also appealing. “They were asking me deep spiritual questions,” Margaret says, “but I could tell they were sincere and that I was safe.” And now? “It never ceases to rock our world when we visit Navigator ministries,” Margaret says. “We meet people who have given up so much, yet they’re gaining so much by spreading the Gospel. It’s these people that keep us coming back for more.”
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 Many followers of Christ live in a bubble— busy with life and with little time to give to relationships (let alone friendships) with people who have yet to embrace Jesus. Yet this doesn’t change Jesus’ admonition, “You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13,14). Salt and light, however, are only effective when we are rubbing shoulders with the people around us.
 Doug NuenkePresident of the U.S. Navigators
A term that’s surfaced among marketing executives provides us with a bit of insight: third place. First place for people is their home. Second place is where they work. Third place is where they hang out in their spare time. It’s where people are most open to friendships and connecting with others.
A coffee shop manager friend of mine told me her company strives to be the third place for their customers. Third place is where we need to be “salt and light.”
For my wife, Pam, and me that means focusing our activities in a smaller area. Instead of frequenting five coffee shops, three supermarkets, and seven restaurants, we show up as regulars at fewer places.
The workers and people who frequent those places have gotten to know us. We’ve begun to know them and connect with them, their families, dreams, and challenges.
Are you aiming for third place? That’s where salt and light can have the most impact.
Find more of Doug’s insights in his new book, Making Waves. See the resources section. |
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