Founded among U.S. Navy sailors in 1933, The Navigators continues to walk Life-to-Life® with service members and families across the globe.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 22, 2026 – As the nation pauses this Memorial Day to honor those who gave their lives in service, The Navigators — the discipleship ministry whose roots trace back to a small Bible study aboard the USS West Virginia in 1933 — reaffirms its enduring commitment to the men, women, and families of the United States Armed Forces.
In the early 1930s, aboard the USS West Virginia, a young navy sailor named Lester Spencer met with Dawson Trotman to study Scripture, pray, and learn how to share his faith. What began as one sailor investing in another sparked a discipleship movement that spread across ships, bases, and nations, laying the foundation for what would become The Navigators. More than 90 years later, that same Life-to-Life® ministry continues to impact service members and military families around the world.
Today, The Navigators military ministry serves on more than 65 U.S. military installations and reaches deployed personnel worldwide. Through its distinctive Life-to-Life® discipleship approach, the ministry equips service members not only with biblical grounding but also with the relational tools to invest in others, a multiplying pattern founder Dawson Trotman described as “spiritual reproduction.”
“Long before The Navigators became a global ministry, it was a few sailors meeting in the corner of a battleship, learning to walk with Christ together. That same Life-to-Life® approach still shapes how we serve the men and women in uniform today.”
— COL Shawn Hatch, The Navigators Military & First Responders Director
The Navigators invite churches, veterans organizations, and military families to learn more about ongoing military ministry resources at navigators.org/ministry/navigators-military
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About The U.S. Navigators
The Navigators is a ministry that shares the gospel of Jesus and helps people grow in their relationship with Him through Life-to-Life® discipleship, creating spiritual generations of believers. Since its founding in 1933, The Navigators has upheld the mission “to know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same®.” Our Worldwide Partnership includes around 6,000 staff of 85 nationalities, serving in 123 countries. Navigators encourage spiritual growth across life stages, serving wherever people work, live, worship, and play: on college campuses and military bases as well as in urban neighborhoods, workplaces, churches, local communities, and hard-to-reach places. To learn more, visit www.navigators.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2026
Contact: Chris Muller, Senior Vice President, Ministry Engagement, (585) 748-5697, chris.muller@navigators.org
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