Over the years, he’s watched as the young students he discipled have grown up, some even serving alongside him on Navigator staff today. Through persistent discipleship, mentorship in crucial life skills, and walking with these boys after they’ve graduated, Henry has witnessed the gospel move from one generation to the next.

However, in 2007, God placed Mathew 28:19 on Henry’s heart — a calling to make disciples of all nations. Having spent his whole life within the borders of Grand Rapids, Henry had a hard time picturing what that calling would look like.

But the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Since then, God has brought the nations to Michigan, and Henry has had the chance to minister to students from all over the world. Many of these students have later returned to their home countries with a vision for disciplemaking, while others have chosen to advance God’s Kingdom by making a home right where they are — in Grand Rapids.

Through this commission, Henry met and discipled Patrick Gakuru: a student turned avid disciplemaker who is now lighting a fire for Christ among the young Rwandan community in Michigan.

The “Yes” That Sparked a Movement

In 2016, Patrick moved with his family from Rwanda to West Michigan, a high schooler at the time. 

One day while he was eating lunch in his new school cafeteria, Patrick came across Jon Blahnik, who led a Youth for Christ ministry at Patrick’s high school. As Patrick got more involved with the ministry, Jon started bringing him to Sunday evening Navigator Bible studies led by Henry. Jon and Henry frequently partnered up like this — connecting students from Jon’s after school program to the Sunday night group so that they would continue to have an encouraging Christian community post graduation.

Through Jon, Patrick was also introduced to Henry’s RISE (Relational Influencers Spiritually Equipped) Urban Youth Leadership program where Henry’s team would meet weekly with high schoolers, share a meal with them, assign mentors, and model what a healthy community looks like.

Tagteaming ministry, Jon and Henry started discipling Patrick throughout his high school years, meeting with him one-on-one and showing him what it means to be rooted in Scripture and live out his faith as a man of God.

“They supported me and loved me, and in hard times, they always were there for me,” Patrick recalls. “In everything they do, they glorify God. So whenever I have a problem, I go to them. If I have a question or a doubt, they have created a space for me to be vulnerable and safe with them.”

As Patrick continued to grow in his faith and graduated high school, Jon and Henry encouraged him to pass along what he’d learned to others as a young leader in the ministry. Patrick, naturally shy and introverted, was hesitant at first.

“It was really hard to say yes — I didn’t want to do it,” Patrick recalls. “But something inside of me knew I should say yes. And I saw God’s goodness in how He used me to reach other people.”

Over the past few years since, the Lord has taken Patrick’s “yes” and faithfully used it to start a chain of generational disciplemaking, specifically among the next generation of youth arriving in Grand Rapids from Rwanda. Coming alongside these students as they adjust to life in the United States, Patrick invites them to read the Bible with him. Now, he leads a dynamic cohort of over 20 young people among various Bible studies.

“Even as an introverted person, I kept going out to share the gospel, and I focused on Romans 1:16, which says that we should not be ashamed of the gospel because the power of God is sufficient to everyone who believes,” Patrick explains. “So I would pray, and as I moved around, I felt Jesus using me. The fear was gone, and I felt more confident to share the gospel with others.”

From leading Bible studies and prayer groups to walking around downtown Grand Rapids and sharing the gospel with strangers, the Lord has worked through Patrick to create a community of believers centered around discipleship.

“Jon and I equipped and discipled Patrick, and now he has four key guys that he’s discipled,” Henry says. “Those guys are now leading others, and some of the guys they are leading are already catching that vision too. So we are talking four, maybe five, generations of disciplemakers. The Holy Spirit is working mightily through Patrick — and he’s only 23!”

A Mission for the Light of Christ

Patrick has now followed the Lord’s calling to join The Navigators I:58 ministry in Grand Rapids. He and many of the other students from Rwanda meet in groups every night of the week. Several of them gather for prayer on Fridays — and they pray all night. Through boldness in the midst of fear and submission to God’s calling, the Lord is using Patrick’s hunger for the gospel to advance His Kingdom into all nations.

“My mission statement is to listen to hurting people, build their faith, and bring healing to the hurting and the lost, helping them grow close to God,” Patrick says. “I want to bring the hope of Jesus to the hopeless. Our world isn’t perfect, but I want people to know the perfect man, Jesus, and experience His peace. There are people stuck in the darkness — I want them to experience the light of Jesus.”

Please join us in praying over Patrick and Henry’s ministry in Grand Rapids, as they reach and shepherd students and their multicultural community to know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same^®.

Discipleship Tip:

Do you ever feel scared to say “yes” to God? Patrick didn’t think he would be a good disciplemaker because he was shy — and yet, the Lord has used him to impact dozens of lives in his city. If you are feeling hesitant or fearful to go where God is leading you, pray for the Lord’s peace and wisdom so that you can proceed with confidence, knowing that He has the power to move through you, even when you don’t feel qualified.

During those trips I learned how to read a state road map. I still carry an old-school atlas with me in the car, just in case. But today we can open an app on our phones or on the car dashboard to provide us with cues for our travels. The GPS tells us when to exit, merge with traffic, and change lanes. It can provide alternate routes based on traffic, suggest the closest coffee shop, or exclaim “Recalculating route!” when you miss your turn.

But what’s the one thing necessary for a GPS system to function as it has been designed?

A Destination.

When it comes to raising disciples, we should set our eyes on the destination.

I believe that one of the reasons parents and caregivers struggle to disciple children well is that we haven’t clearly identified the destination for their discipleship and the directions that guide them toward that goal.

How would you describe a child who is entering adolescence as an active disciple? Would you choose words that describe their character: loving, joyful, obedient, self-controlled? Or would you choose words that describe behaviors: reads the Bible daily, asks spiritual questions, worships God? Perhaps you would choose words that describe their depth of knowledge and understanding about God and His Word.

Public and private education systems have stated objectives when it comes to student expectations. Lists of student learning outcomes articulate the goals for students at the conclusion of each grade level. Each child is unique and develops at their own rate, so there are those who will exceed the expectations and others who will struggle. But teachers begin each year knowing the goals and guiding students along the path toward achievement. Like a GPS, they might have to find alternate paths for some or help others get turned back around, but with a clear goal and markers on the way, teachers are able to guide their young disciples.

This is what we’ve been missing in our homes and churches — a discipleship map that states the goal for raising disciples and provides directions toward that goal.

In some Christian traditions, the goal for children has been a public confession of Christ; in others, submission through the act of baptism. In yet other traditions, it has been the completion of confirmation classes. Regardless of our tradition, our goal for raising disciples should be the same as the goal for all disciples: to become more and more like Christ every day.

For three years, Jesus taught the crowds, His enemies, and political leaders, but most often, He was teaching twelve ordinary men from various backgrounds, vocations, and experiences. When He chose the Twelve, He had a goal in mind. Jesus knew that at the conclusion of His earthly ministry He would redeem the world through His death, return to God the Father, and equip His followers with the Holy Spirit to disciple others. He needed a core group of leaders who would follow Him daily (Luke 9:23), continuing His mission “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10) and to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

As Jesus prepared to leave the Twelve to continue His mission, He met with them to give them some final encouragements and admonitions. Woven through Jesus’ conversation in the upper room (John 13–17), we find descriptions of what it means to become like Christ:

• Follow His example (John 13:14-15),
• Love others (John 13:34),
• Believe in God (John 14:1),
• Keep God’s commands (John 14:15), and
• Remain in Christ (John 15:4).

These descriptors provide some direction toward the goal for all disciples.

With the destination of becoming like Christ as our goal, we can utilize childhood development information from the fields of social science, learning theory, and psychology to create a map for discipleship from infancy to adolescence.* Beginning at birth, there are seven directional discipleship markers — approximately one for every two years of life — that parallel the biological, cognitive, social, and moral development of children. Just as Jesus discipled the Twelve from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity, we can use this map to raise disciples who become increasingly more like Christ.

Did you like this article? Check out Teresa Roberts’ full book, Raising Disciples, as well as the accompanying free 8-week parenting curriculum today!

Discipleship Tip:

When discipling someone, consider verbally setting discipleship goals. With a destination in mind, you can orchestrate milestones and implement accountability, making sure that you both are progressing forward in their discipleship journey.

*The faith research of James W. Fowler (Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1981) and insights of spiritual development from John H. Westerhoff III (Will Our Children Have Faith?, 3rd. ed., Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse, 2012) has also informed this discipleship map.

Meet the Author

Teresa Roberts is Professor of Ministry and Christian Formation, Program Director of Children’s Ministry, and a vice president at Ozark Christian College. She is an expert in children’s spiritual formation training with more than 25 years of ministry experience.

Dr. Roberts holds a Master of Arts in Family and Youth Ministry, a Master of Divinity, and a Doctor of Ministry. She serves in children’s ministry at Carterville Christian Church where she attends with her husband and step-daughter. Learn more at discipleshipguides.com/.

The Holy Trinity is a mystery to me, with its three in oneness and its oneness in three, and I can just barely grasp the deep relational nature of how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit touch and spin and dance off each other and with each other. Hospitality — that generous making room for others and giving and receiving to and from each other from our plenty and sometimes from our scarcity but we do it anyway — seems to flow out of that communal and relational and so generous nature of God. Being holy as God is holy, if we can believe it, catapults us into relationship with others and the practice of hospitality. Holiness is relational, and that is why hospitality fits holiness like a soft leather glove.

Hospitality involves the holy practice of gratitude.

All of this is made easier alongside the holy practice of gratitude. I have this place, this food, this book; please take it and enjoy it as well. We try to believe that everything we have comes from God, and so it is ours not to own but to share. So hospitality is almost always best when it is gratitude adjacent. However, the discipline of hospitality can happen also while you are still a grouchy, miserly mess. Disciplines take discipline. Not everything is easy or feels good right away, but that might mean it’s even more worth doing, and not less.

Hospitality invites humility.

In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus tells us how to throw a dinner party. Dinner parties are, after all, what most of us think of first when we think about hospitality: “‘When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,’ he said, ‘don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you’” (NLT). In Luke 14:8-10, He even discusses seating plans: “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor … Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table” (NLT).

Jesus knows me so well. He predicts my thirst for status. When we practice hospitality as part of our holiness, we will come face-to-face with our desire to invite first our friends, the people we especially like or those whom we want to especially like us, along with the relatives we are most comfortable with, and, of course, our rich neighbors. We might strut around like a peacock in our own dining room and not even realize we are doing it. Again, our intentional moves toward holiness will show us how far we have yet to travel. Our efforts to do good on the outside will show us how far we are from good on the inside, and in that gap, we learn again of our need for the forgiving, restoring love of God in our own lives and hearts, and how much we need him, even when we are serving macaroni to friends.

We learn something about ourselves — and therefore move deeper into our holiness journeys — when we pay attention to whom we want to welcome in and how we want to welcome them to our homes, our tables, and our lives.

Hospitality helps us to examine our hidden motivations.

As we consider ourselves, we can confess ourselves to God and ask for help. Why am I making this so fancy? we can ask our inner hostess, in an examination of motivation that is a daily part of pushing into our holiness. What is my motivation? Also, Why am I talking about myself so much? And why can’t I stop?

Our honest answers do not bring the dinner party, the coffee date, or the open house to a screeching halt, but instead provide us another opportunity to be honest with ourselves and with God — who is the ultimate and gracious host of heaven and earth now and the new earth that is to come. Make me holy in my hospitality, we might pray. Kill off my show-off-ness, we might ask. Help me listen more than I speak, as my blunt spouse has said I need to work on.

Help me not to be so needy, I can pray as I juice blood oranges for udon noodles with fried tofu and orange nam jim from my expensive hardcover Ottolenghi Flavour cookbook propped open on the counter. Perhaps for a little while, as part of our own healing, we will make a simple spaghetti Bolognese, accept the offer of our guest to bring store-bought garlic bread and let Maureen help with the cleanup, like she always wants to do. We will resist the temptation to offer our guests a tour of our new barbeque and satisfy our thirst for thanks by turning it outward to gratitude to God. What if whenever we yearn for someone to say, “Thank you, you are marvelous for all you have done,” we accept that as a prompt to whisper, “Thank You. You are marvelous for all You have done.”

Hospitality exercises a variety of spiritual disciplines.

Food is just one expression of hospitality. Conversation is another. When we practice holiness through hospitality, we create a space in which other pursuits of holiness can be practiced, such as listening well and not interrupting, putting others first, and offering encouragement and companionship to the person God has placed and we have invited in front of us. From the way Jesus tells us to invite, and the humility presumed in His recommended seating plan, we can assume that we don’t invite people to our table so we can imprison them to hear all and only about us. We don’t tie them to their chairs with our story and our glory.

We can stretch our ability to put others first, and to forgive.

We can practice patience, a fruit of the Spirit we get to work with, toward friends who arrive late (or even worse, early) and those who stay too long. We practice not biting off the heads of those with whom we disagree. If we do bite their heads off at dinner, we can practice the art of unequivocal apology. Apologizing is a holy act. I’m sorry are holy, healing words. Through hospitality’s gift of space opened up and time slowed down, we can “be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep,” which Paul told us to do only two verses after he reminded us to “always be eager to practice hospitality” in Romans 12:13-15.

Discipleship Tip:

Hospitality isn’t about impressing others — it’s about making space for them. This week, invite someone into your home or life with gratitude and humility, focusing on listening and encouraging rather than showcasing. Ask the Lord for opportunities to be hospitable in your community in order to point others to Jesus.

About the Author

Karen Stiller is a senior editor of Faith Today magazine and writes frequently for magazines like Reader’s Digest, Ekstasis, In Trust, and other publications across North America. Stiller is a three-time winner of the prestigious A.C. Forrest Memorial Award from the Canadian Church Press for excellence in socially conscious religious journalism. She is author of The Minister’s Wife (2020, Tyndale Momentum); co-author of Craft, Cost & Call (2019), Shifting Stats Shaking the Church (2015) and Going Missional (2010); editor of The Lord’s Prayer (2015) and coeditor of Evangelicals Around the World (2015). She lives in Ottawa and has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Non-Fiction from University of King’s College, Dalhousie.

This article was originally published on the DiscipleMaker Blog by NavPress. You can also hear more from Karen Stiller through her book Holiness Here and NavPress’ new podcast, “Good Books, Big Questions,” where Karen hosts bold, loving, and sensible conversations about faith.

“I was in prison, and you came to visit me. . . . whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” Matthew 25:36,40 (NIV).

In a juvenile detention center in Virginia, two teens were having a meaningful conversation centered around an unlikely topic: faith.

At the time, 17-year-old Chris* was feeling directionless, and was considering following another world religion to give him purpose. His friend, Ron*, cared enough about him to speak truth in love.

“You don’t want to go down that road, it’ll ruin your life,” Ron said. “The Bible will straighten you out!” 

A Calling for the Incarcerated

About a year ago, Navigators Disciplemakers for Life (D4L) staff Brent Anderson met Ron, just 19 years old, in his weekly visits with juveniles (generally ages 15–17) at a juvenile center in Augusta County, Virginia. Brent has been ministering among incarcerated men and women since 1981, when an elder at his church asked him if he would consider visiting a prison with him. Since then, he’s also worked with international students at the University of Virginia, but he’s continued to serve in prisons to this day.

Brent started specifically getting involved with juveniles around 19 years ago, when he formed a connection with some young gang members who had been put into a juvenile facility. Over time, Brent became friends with the teens, as well as their families, watching as the Lord brought a couple of them to Christ.

Over this past year, Brent has formed a friendship with Ron. When Brent first walked into Ron’s center, Ron told him that he had been waiting for someone to come and give him spiritual guidance. Since then, Brent has watched as Ron has grown from an immature believer to one who eagerly shares the gospel with other juveniles in his pod, like Chris.

What has made the difference in Ron’s life? The Lord has used Brent to offer weekly encouragement to Ron to center his mind, heart, and life on the Word of God — and it’s transformed Ron’s life dramatically.

“Ron comes from a home with an alcoholic mother,” Brent says. “No one ever told him that sleeping around with girls is wrong, so he gave himself to that empty pursuit. I shared with him that God calls that ‘sin,’ and how instead we are to seek to live holy lives that honor Him.”

Ron eagerly received Brent’s instruction and began reading some books on purity and memorizing key Bible verses to help him in his battle with lust. One key verse has been Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV).

“Next time something on TV pops up that’s impure,” Brent advised, “turn your head away.”

“The Little Evangelist”

As Ron began to fill his heart and mind with God’s Word, his zeal for the Lord blossomed so much that he became known as “the little evangelist” in his pod. His influence upon Chris has been powerful.

One day Brent walked into the pod, and Chris came up to him. “Brent, I’ve decided to believe in and follow Jesus,” Chris said. Now Chris and several other young men meet with Brent weekly in the pod, Bibles in hand, eager to discuss God’s truths for their lives.

“We have these Bible studies with the kids, and some of them are extremely eager to delve into the Word,” Brent says. “I was talking with one young guy, and he’s reading 10 chapters a day! He’s really excited about what God’s doing.”

In recent months, Ron has been transferred to a short-term placement facility with several other young men to prepare for life out in society, and he’s been living out the gospel where he’s at. Please pray that Ron will continue to shine as a diamond for Christ and that Brent will be able to help him.

“Disciples aren’t born; they’re made,” Brent says. “These kids can be very eager to come to Christ, but they need to be grounded in the Word. So they need to connect, and when they get out, connect to a church, family, or group home. Discipleship is important because they need to stay plugged in, surrounded by people who are willing to embrace them, accept them, and walk with them.”

*Names changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

Are there juveniles in rough places in your community like Ron and Chris who need someone to lovingly share the truths of God’s Word with them? For further information about pursuing this kind of ministry in your area, feel free to reach out to Brent Anderson at brent.anderson@navigators.org

“We saw a lot of youth wandering around the community, and the last place they wanted to be was home,” Jim recalls. “As we got to know them, their stories, and their homes, our hearts broke for them.”

Jim had been serving on staff at a local church, but as he continually received promotions, he realized that he was getting further removed from hands-on interaction with youth and their families. As Jim and Jodi prayed about their path forward, they felt a strong calling from the Lord. “It was almost an Abrahamic type calling to go, not to a land, but to the students,” Jim says.

Jim and Jodi resigned from their roles at the church and walked in faith to where the Lord was calling them. As they began to connect with youth workers in the community, Jim and Jodi connected with Navigators Henry and Jacque Bouma, and they were introduced to The Navigators I:58 ministry vision.

As Jim and Jodi heard the Boumas’ story, they became convinced that Navigators I:58 was how they would be able to reach the youth in their community long-term and joined staff in February 2020.

Building a Ministry to Youth in Grand Rapids

Over the years, Jim and Jodi have made lasting connections with local schools and students in their community. Intentionally opening their home as a safe, hospitable place where youth can feel like they are loved, cared for, and seen, Jim and Jodi and their three children have put into practice a Navigator I:58 value of whole-life discipleship, turning their backyard into a mission field.

Every Tuesday afternoon, Jim and Jodi host a time for snacks, playing basketball, and reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible with local elementary students.

As their group grew, they invited a local organization called Urban Transformation Ministries to provide leaders to help with discipleship. Now, Jim and Jodi continue to devote their Thursday evenings to equip leaders and disciple students through the organization’s high school Bible study program called Thursday Night Hype, and many of the students they had discipled in middle school are now a part of this high school program. Pursuing Life-to-Life® discipleship, Jim and Jodi regularly meet up with students, grabbing a milkshake, breakfast, or opening their home.

Reaching Families Through Kids

While spiritual generations are often thought of as older generations pouring into younger generations, the Bartels are seeing what could be called reverse generational impact as they make connections to families through the kids in their community.

One example is a 10 year old boy named Jay who has been coming regularly on Tuesday afternoons for backyard basketball and Bible study. As Jim poured into Jay’s life and helped him with his struggles with anger, Jay’s brother saw their love and care and began to connect with Jim and Jodi. Since then, Jay’s older brother has been coming to Thursday Night Hype and church with his brother to learn more about the love and care of Jesus.

While discipling students through real-life lessons on things like conflict resolution, forgiveness, purity, and anger management, Jim and Jodi have not only seen youth grow in their interest for faith, but they have also seen the parents of these students begin to express an interest in spiritual conversations, learning about the gospel, and even coming to church with them.

As the Bartels continue their ministry in their Grand Rapids neighborhood, pray for more opportunities to reach the youth and their families.

Discipleship Tip:

The Bartels’ ministry is unique in that through focusing on children and youth in Grand Rapids, they are in turn building relationships and reaching parents, siblings, and the community at large. Their story is proof that those who are young can be disciplemakers too, leading those around them closer to Christ! Look around to your community, family, and networks. Are there any ways that you can be engaging with a younger generation, building them up in their faith or introducing them to the Lord?

It was New Year’s Eve of 2016 when Navigator Craig Parker first stepped foot in the Suffolk County Jail in downtown Boston to help lead an inmate Bible study. The jail was about 300 yards from TD Garden, the arena where the Boston Celtics play. As he walked past the busy sports arena, he remembers hearing the distant sounds of another basketball game — the inmates playing within the caged jail next door.

Now, over seven years later, leading prison ministry initiatives has become one of the core passions of Craig’s life and ministry. This has included hosting an online micro church every Sunday on incarceration and injustice and launching the Boston Reentry Collaborative — a network of churches serving those affected by incarceration as they reenter society.

The Navigator City Director for Boston and part of the Navigators I:58 (Isaiah 58) Prison Ministry Network, Craig has seen firsthand how mentoring inmates can be transformative, having walked with men in the highs and lows of their journeys and personal walks with the Lord — both in and out of prison.

One of the men Craig meets with is Michael, a believer who spreads the gospel in prison as he serves his life sentence in MCI-Shirley, a state prison in Massachusetts.

A Passion for Discipleship in Prison

When Michael was 21-years-old, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Incarcerated for the first time in his life, he felt hopeless and was planning to take his own life when another inmate invited him to attend a church service. In the service, the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” started to play, and it struck a chord in Michael’s heart.

“I started weeping bitterly,” Michael recounts. “It was at that point that God intervened in my life, and he filled me with a peace that I can’t explain. So my faith is something that literally saved my life.” 

That church service in December of 1991 started a faith journey for Michael that has carried him throughout his 32 years in prison. Today, Michael is a core leader of MCI-Shirley’s chapel community and discipleship groups. He has dedicated his life to sharing the gospel and discipling other inmates, often building relationships through the prison workout program he teaches called “Transforming the Temple.”

“I love meeting with these men one on one, where I can really spend time with them, disciple them, and build the things of God into their life,” Michael says. “God has used the fitness arena for me to reach guys I normally wouldn’t be able to reach.”

Michael originally met Craig a year and a half ago when Craig’s church was attending a chapel at MCI-Shirley. Since then, Michael and Craig interact weekly through phone calls, letters, and visits. While Michael never had someone disciple him at the beginning of his faith, Craig now diligently walks alongside him in mentorship, supplying him with spiritual encouragement and Navigator resources to help Michael disciple other inmates more effectively.

“I often wonder what I have to do to improve how I disciple these men,” Michael says, “so having the information I’m getting from The Navigators is helping me to become better in the ministry God has called me to do. I told Craig I want to be the first person in prison to be a Navigator.”

Having a man like Craig support and invest in him from the outside has had a meaningful impact on Michael’s life and ministry. “I’m really thankful that God placed Craig in my life,” he says. “He’s done tremendous work in my life, and he’s helped me grow in my walk with Christ and feel value again.”

How Outside Support Impacts Inmates

Michael is just one of over 1.8 million people who are incarcerated in the U.S. Though 90 percent of inmates will be released at some point in their lives, most are likely to return to prison if they lack a support system in the outside world.

“In our state alone, there are 13,000 people incarcerated, and about 2,000 of them are released into the Boston area every year,” Craig explains. “The question is, what kind of citizens do we want them to be — and how can we walk alongside them? Our vision is to mobilize more volunteers to walk alongside those who are incarcerated — to awaken, educate, and engage the church on a wider scale.”

Whether it’s something as small as writing letters to inmates or as large as committing to be a consistent mentor, Craig encourages churches to meet inmates while they are incarcerated and continue to support them as they reenter into society, connecting them to service providers as well as a community of believers.

Craig has lived this example through his mentorship of a man named Daniel, whom Craig met in prison and helped get into a Christian residential program for his parole called Place of Promise. “I’ve seen Daniel take pride in who he is and his work for the first time,” Craig explains. “This is a man who has been in prison for 31 years, and I’ve seen true transformation happening.”

For Michael, who has watched numerous inmates be released and return to prison over the years, the work Craig is doing isn’t just important — it’s vital in order for these men and women to successfully leave the prison system once and for all. “To know that there’s a community of people who love you and find value in you, who say, ‘We’re family, we’re here for you, we’re here with you,’ is so important,” he says.

How the Gospel Transforms Lives

For many, prison is a place that is entirely devoid of hope. “I’ve seen men who are absolutely broken at their worst,” Craig explains. “Their hope is completely stripped away from them.”

However, through men like Michael, prison can be a place where the light of the gospel can shine with brilliant clarity. “You’ve never heard the gospel proclaimed until you’ve heard it from someone like Michael,” Craig reflects, “who can say, ‘I was convicted of murder a long time ago. But that’s not who I am. And I want to tell you about God’s love and forgiveness and care.’ It puts the gospel in a whole different light for me.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Through supportive believers like Craig and dedicated disciplemakers like Michael, the hope of the gospel is alive and making new hearts in the darkest of prison systems. Join us in praying for the prison ministry in Boston, that the Lord will continue to transform the lives of inmates and inspire believers to come alongside those who are incarcerated to fight with them for a better life.

Discipleship Tip:

Michael seeks opportunities to disciple the men that are already around him. Look around — who is currently in your circles that you can disciple? Think about how you can intentionally deepen your relationships or spark a conversation with someone new!

The glow of thousands of faces lights up the room, a powerful testament to the spread of the gospel from generation to generation. 

This was one of the many special moments from The Navigators 2023 National Staff Gathering.

Last month, over 1,300 Navigator staff came together in Irving, Texas. The theme of the weekend was Heartbeat: A Vital Movement of the Gospel, focusing on 2 Timothy 2:1-2: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (NIV).

The gathering held five plenary sessions, which were designed to inspire, uplift, and challenge staff attendees to continue the work to which they’ve been called. Staff heard insights on the Lord’s vision for grace, necessary aspects of prayer, and how He works through each and every one of us to reach the nations and spread His mission.  

Staff members also enjoyed times of fun and laughter, along with encouraging ministry stories from new and old friends, breakouts to equip and multiply disciplemakers, precious times of prayer and worship, and motivational messages from fellow Navigators and international leaders. 

For many, the National Staff Gathering was a reminder of why they became Navigators — to be a part of a vital movement of the gospel by connecting, resourcing, and developing everyday disciplemakers. 

Though this conference looked back over the past four years since our last National Staff Gathering, we also took time to look forward to the work that is ahead of us as a ministry. You can partner with us as we continue this work for years to come! 

Pray that the Lord works through The Navigators to reach the unreached and create new disciplemakers. Come alongside us to spread the gospel and disciple those in your circles, from family members to coworkers to neighbors and beyond.

Whether you serve on staff or through your everyday life, we are excited to see how the Lord moves through this next season of ministry!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV).

Discipleship Tip:  

Pull out your phone and find a photo of someone you’re discipling or have discipled. Pray for that person and reach out to offer them encouragement.

When we read the gospels and observe Jesus’ life and ministry we most often notice what he did for the crowds.

He taught them, fed them, healed them, and even John noted that if every work Jesus did while on this earth was written down, the world could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). There’s no question that Jesus had and still has a heart for the world! 

Because of that, it comes as a surprise to many that amidst all that Jesus did for the masses He spent approximately 85% of His time with just 12 men.

It wasn’t because of a lack of care for the masses that Jesus focused on the few…but rather quite the opposite!

Jesus focused on the few for the sake of the many! His method for reaching the world was through building deeply into a select few and teaching them to do the same.

Jesus loved everyone, helped many, but invested in just a few. If we hope to take the gospel to the ends of the earth His method must also become our method.

“Ask God to give you one.” The same challenge that Dawson Trotman gave to Les Spencer in 1933 that started The Navigators can be our starting point today.

Reverend Maurice Winley is a third-generation minister who serves as Associate Minister at the Soul Saving Station church in Harlem, NY. He has been active as a youth development specialist for over 25 years helping youth and families in Harlem and in cities throughout the U.S. such as Washington DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, San Diego, Chicago, New Jersey, and throughout the Greater Capital Region of New York.

Maurice’s passion for helping at-risk youth came from a vow he made as a young adult when he received a second chance that turned around his life forever. His turning point came at age 17, when he chose a path that would lead to either death or life in prison. But God gave him a second chance.

Maurice grew up in a Christian home. His goal during high school was to attend medical school to become a doctor and he received numerous academic scholarships to fulfill his dream. However, a series of life-changing incidents and circumstances changed the course of his life—leading him to enroll in “Street University” instead of accepting the scholarships and attending medical school.

This critical life choice led Maurice, at the age of 17, down the path to the State Department of Corrections. Maurice had been afforded an employment opportunity to manage two stores selling compact discs. But one day, during an attempted robbery at one of the stores, the assailant was killed and Maurice found himself facing a grand jury with a new charge that carried a sentence of twenty-five years to life.

On the day he appeared before the grand jury, his father prayed a simple prayer over him that God would judge his heart. With his father’s prayer fresh in his mind, Maurice stood before the judge. In his testimony to the grand jury, under heavy conviction recalling the impact of the words the victim’s mother spoke to him, Maurice expressed deep remorse for his actions and made a life-changing vow. “If you give me a second chance, I will dedicate my life to seeing that other young men do not come down this path!”

What happened next changed the trajectory of Maurice’s life. Miraculously, after his testimony the grand jury and the judge decided to throw out the case. Maurice’s surrender to God launched his call to impact vulnerable young men, particularly of African American and Latino descent, who were the most at risk to take that destructive path.

This moment of surrendering his life to God led him to becoming the man he is today, faithfully serving God and fulfilling his vow. Since then, walking by faith, God has opened many doors enabling him to help those in need of the gospel to find hope.

Fulfilling His Calling

Later down the road, Maurice met Andy Puleo the former New York City Director of The Navigators who intentionally mentored Maurice. The Navigators Life-to-Life^® discipleship model had a profound impact on him, his call, and his ministry. Maurice credits Puleo’s discipleship and influence on his ministry philosophy to his successes in ministry, youth, and community work. Puleo’s mentorship helped him crystalize the vision for the movement God had placed on his heart. The fruit of Puleo’s discipleship is further evidenced in Maurice’s recent launching of Living Redemption Youth Opportunity Hub.

The combination of Puleo’s discipling and mentoring, and the relationships he formed through The Navigators became a source of encouragement Maurice needed for the next stage of his ministry.

Maurice shares, “Puleo’s mentorship and my training with The Navigators through the emphasis on deep relationships and Life-to-Life discipleship, seeing discipleship as a leadership paradigm, are the footprints Puleo left on my heart.” Puleo modeled discipleship to Maurice, “The Navigators became an oasis in my wilderness of discovering, hearing, and responding to God’s call.” Being in this environment of grace enabled Maurice to continue the healing process in a healthy way, having his call affirmed as he continued to work through internal feelings of guilt and shame.

The Navigators I:58 ministry is part of Maurice’s team’s work today, as they intentionally disciple and mentor those youth who come through the doors daily at Living Redemption Youth Opportunity Hub, which is housed at the Soul Saving Station church where he was raised and rededicated his life to the Lord.

“Our Redeemer is opening doors through His mighty power in our personal testimonies—we work with youth, school systems, government, and ministries to help stop the cycle of brokenness. Our ministry focus is Life-to-Life discipleship for young people. We are there to give kids hope, speak truth into their lives, and walk alongside them as mentors and advocates.” Maurice shares.

But now, in the midst of the global pandemic where NYC became the COVID-19 epicenter—the normal, everyday needs of the Harlem community escalated—now many need emergency resources such as food, cleaning supplies, and encouragement.

Maurice shares how his team partnered with other parts of the community to provide food and supplies. “Our church and ministry has partnered with a local food pantry to help provide food and basic essentials to those in the community twice a week. The team serves an average of 1,000 people each week. Since we started, we have fed a total of 15,554 souls, and the need continues to grow.”

Coming out to serve in a high risk area, such as NYC is a risk their team is willing to take in order to reach those in need of hope. Beloved, who works for Living Redemption Youth Hub as a Credible Messenger shares, “My daughter is worried when I come in to serve, because of health issues, but I trust that God will protect me and will help me to do His work. We provide more than just food, we provide hope and love that God shows through acts of service.”

“We serve those who are in our youth program but also, kids and families,” shares Maurice “We deliver food and supplies to elderly folks who can’t leave their homes. This has expanded our outreach into the community to care for those who are most vulnerable.”

“In an effort to adapt and expand our ministry during COVID-19, we have developed our website to share information about when food supplies are offered, provide encouraging content and resources. Our plan is to continue partnering with those in our community to help not only with COVID-19 issues, but also continue helping at-risk youth to overcome the hurdles of growing up in harder times. Our prayer is to show them that they can succeed and they are not alone. “

God has called us to be disciplemakers, to make a way for those in need and be the catalyst that transforms lives by serving others as Christ loved us.

Watch a snapshot of serving others in Harlem:

BIO:
Rev. Maurice Winley is Founder and Executive Director of Living Redemption Youth Opportunity Hub, a community-based initiative launched in 2017 in Central and West Harlem funded through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Initiative in affiliation with The City College of New York (CCNY) and is housed at the Soul Saving Station For Every Nation. Living Redemption Youth Opportunity Hub provides one-stop, comprehensive support for justice impacted youth and young adults, specifically African American and Latino males age 10-24 to prevent them from becoming involved in the criminal justice system. The Mission of Living Redemption Youth Opportunity Hub is Saving Lives and Healing Communities One Relationship at a Time. Maurice also serves on staff with Navigators I:58 in Harlem, NY.

The ability to move from face-to-face relationships to digital discipleship is based on a deep foundation of Life-to-Life^® disciplemaking that Henry and Jacqueline Bouma (Navigators I:58) have invested in their Grand Rapids neighborhood over many years. They authentically share life and Jesus, holding Bible studies and growing generations of disciples among young adults in their community.

“We have more than 40 young people who regularly participate in Bible study,” says Jacqueline. “We break into small groups, led by those we have discipled. We are always looking for those who have leadership potential.”

Investing in the next generation is key to creating disciplemakers who then invest in the next generation and on and on to grow more disciples. Henry says, “We invite those with potential to learn about their spiritual gifts and life abilities. They write a mission statement for their life and invest in young people, receiving training and mentoring along the way.”

Bible studies and discipleship training continue in this season of COVID-19 and physical distancing, with regular check-ins via text, conversations, and online video conferencing. “Initially there was a little hiccup in our connections,” says Henry, “until we got into the stride of using social media and virtual tools. Now there is as much opportunity for Life-to-Life discipleship as there was before the coronavirus pandemic.”

The high school leadership training continues twice a week. A recent meeting featured a guest speaker who encouraged the young leaders to be a voice for justice in their community. The concern for their community during this COVID-19 crisis includes both physical and spiritual needs, as Navigators inform and help their neighbors find local resources for food, educational services, and city programs.

The spiritual fruit of the investment in young leaders is seen in graduates who are now disciplemakers. J.P. and Mario have gone through the discipleship program and are now investing in Life-to-Life discipleship with the next generation in their community. As college students, they are now growing in their vision for how God can continue to transform lives!

“Ultimately, I want to return to Asia and be the director for the Christian mission school I attended,” says J.P., “but for now I am reaching out to students in America. I don’t have to figure out the next step of my plan—my job is to obey what God tells me to do today.”

Mario shares how he has grown. “Henry taught me how to spread the Word of God no matter where I am. He invested in me, studying the Bible with me, and teaching me how to pray. Now, I mentor someone else, pouring what I have learned into another person. I do not know what God has in store for me, but I know that He has been faithful, and His grace is why I am alive.”

Through a foundation of prayer, the Boumas humbly and faithfully pour the love of Christ into those they disciple. This prayerful stance is reinforced during the pandemic, as Henry and Jacqueline get up in the morning and ask God how He wants them to serve and who they should connect with each and every day.

Pray that God will show you how you can invest in the people living in your neighborhood, just as the Boumas. You too can make a difference! Pray for your neighbors, be observant about what they may need, pray for God to open a door for relationships.