Raised in a Navajo family in Northern Arizona, Navigator Jonathan (Jonny) Yonnie grew up about 40 miles from Navajo Nation — the largest Native American reservation in the United States.
When Jonny arrived at Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a freshman, he met The Navigators at the club fair. He had heard about The Navigators previously through his sister, an older student at the University of Arizona, and he was surprised to find how quickly he trusted and clicked with the group. As the year went on, one of the guys started meeting with him one-on-one for Bible study. Though Jonny grew up in a believing home, this was his first experience with personal discipleship.
By the end of the year, Jonny had not only grown in his faith — he had grown a desire to share that faith with others, wanting to reach other students who came from a similar background as he did.
Mentorship at Kinłání High School Dorm
By his senior year of college, Jonny started volunteering with the Native R.I.S.E. (Rising Indigenous Student Empowerment) program at Kinłání High School Dorm — a dormitory that is home to approximately 150 Indigenous students who attend public school away from the reservation.
Navigators Tom and Delphina Johnson, co-directors of the Navigators Native Nations Network, launched Native R.I.S.E. at Kinłání in 2016, offering mentorship to students and teaching life skills in a culturally affirming atmosphere that provides a natural opening to share the gospel. But Kinłání was just the beginning. God had given Tom and Delphina a long-term vision to launch Native R.I.S.E. at NAU so that Indigenous students would be supported through high school to college and beyond.
After Jonny graduated, he joined iEDGE and served with The Navigators in Hawaii. While there, he married his wife, Stephanie, who was serving at the same campus. When Jonny and Stephanie returned to the mainland, they knew God was calling them back to ministry among Native American students.
In the fall of 2024, Jonny and Stephanie partnered with Tom and Delphina’s vision, launching Native R.I.S.E. at Northern Arizona University — with no students, no official club status, and a belief that God would do something miraculous.
“Indigenous, Love Jesus, Love Culture”
For a lot of Indigenous students, Christian faith does not seem to intersect with their culture. Because of this, Jonny and Stephanie are always looking for ways to celebrate the beauty of the different Native cultures within their ministry, inviting students to express themselves through things like clothing and food.
“Our tagline for NAU specifically is ‘Indigenous, love Jesus, love culture,’” Stephanie shares. “God created these cultures to be beautiful and celebrated, but especially Native people have been stripped of their culture.”
One of the main avenues for this is Native R.I.S.E.’s biweekly community night, where they play games and make traditional foods like blue corn patties. “Food is big,” Jonny emphasizes. “It’s fun for them to say, ‘My grandma made that when I was young.’”
Sports are also a huge point of connection. “Almost every Native you meet does some sort of sport,” Jonny says. Whether it’s through basketball, outdoor activities like rock climbing and camping, or Native customs like playing string games when the first snow falls, Native R.I.S.E. provides opportunities for students to connect with one another and invite their friends.
Some students come to Native R.I.S.E. seeking community as they adjust to life away from the reservation. Others come with a desire to re-engage with their culture. Many students come from hard beginnings and difficult family situations, but family is still core to who they are.Creating a space that’s like family — or a “home away from home” — is critical.
“It’s a ministry style that’s very much for the long haul,” Jonny says.
After building trust through intentional relationships, Jonny and Stephanie then engage in faith conversations with students and invite them to Bible studies. Because many of the students the Yonnies interact with are unfamiliar with the Christian worldview, meetings are often focused on creating welcoming contexts for investigative conversations about the fundamentals of Christian faith: Who is God? Who is Jesus?
To help Indigenous students understand the gospel through their unique cultural experiences, Jonny and Stephanie have also designed some Bible studies around aspects of Indigenous culture. For example, sheep herding is an important part of Navajo culture, so the Yonnies wrote a study on that topic for students to dive into.
“Christianity has come very forcefully into Native communities before,” Stephanie explains. “So, for them to explore that for themselves is so different, and it’s fun to hear their insights and allow them the space to slowly come out of their shell.”
The Lord has been moving through Native R.I.S.E., slowly growing the program and bringing new students to the community. “Last year, we were lucky to get one student to come to Bible study,” Stephanie says. “However, this semester we’ve consistently had five to 10, many of whom have never read the Bible before.”
Jess’s Story
At the end of Native R.I.S.E.’s first year at NAU, a young Apache student named Jess* came to Bible study in response to an Instagram post. Jess told Stephanie that she was really just interested in the “sweet treat” that had been advertised — but she continued to drop in on Native R.I.S.E. gatherings throughout the semester.
That fall, Stephanie and Jess grabbed coffee on campus. The day they met was Orange Shirt Day — a day that commemorates the tragedies that happened at Native boarding schools in the past. One of the clubs on campus was doing an interactive art mural that day, so Stephanie and Jess decided to stop by.
On the mural, thousands of words were written to memorialize this dark history. One of the phrases caught Jess by surprise: Someone had written “Jesus Christ.”
“I don’t get how that could be written up there,” Jess said. “Isn’t He the reason for all of this boarding school stuff?”
Stephanie listened with compassion as Jess wrestled with the reality that people have taken the name of Jesus and twisted it for their own agenda. Eventually, Jess left frustrated, not understanding how someone could still support Christ while acknowledging the evil that had been done by Christians.
As the year went on, Stephanie and Jess continued to spend time together. Jess started asking questions about the Bible and what it might have to say about situations she was going through. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, Stephanie asked Jess if she wanted to read the Bible together. Jess agreed.
Since then, Stephanie and Jess have been reading the Bible together and having conversations about the gospel. Jess is now reading Scripture on her own, too, and Stephanie is beginning to notice a change in her. Jess has even agreed to step up as the student president of the Native R.I.S.E. club for the next school year.
Raising up a Foundational Generation
And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9 (NIV)
As they prepare for year three at NAU, Jonny and Stephanie are hopeful for the future. They see students developing genuine friendships and demonstrating excitement to take ownership of the club. Jonny is especially encouraged by one guy he’s been meeting with who is doing a Summer Training Program. “Maybe he’ll come back eager to lead a Bible study and help others grow closer to God and do discipleship,” Jonny says.
Join Stephanie and Jonny in praying for Native R.I.S.E. at NAU. Pray that students would begin and continue to lead others in knowing Jesus, laying a foundational generation of Indigenous students so that many among the Native nations might know Him.
*Name changed for privacy.
Discipleship Tip:
By listening well, building trust over time, and celebrating the beauty of Native American cultures, the Navigators who facilitate Native R.I.S.E. have created a welcoming context for Indigenous students to experience the gospel. Think about your own day-to-day experience: Do you interact with people who may come from a different cultural background and worldview? If so, how might the Holy Spirit be guiding you to develop more intentional relationships with them?
Pray for the Native Nations Network
Use this prayer guide to lift up the Navigators Native Nations Network as they establish God’s work through generations of Indigenous people living and discipling among the lost.
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