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.

For many postgraduates, the years after leaving college are disorienting. Between moving cities, entering the workforce, or getting married and starting a family — suddenly, life gets busy. With so much change, it can be hard to form deep relationships, and it is easy to slip into loneliness, anxiety, or burnout. Between juggling new responsibilities and navigating the shifting waters of adulthood, oftentimes the priority of making disciples takes a back seat.

That’s why, in the bustling city of Nashville, Navigators are finding new ways to connect those in their 20s to mentorship and community, as well as re-engaging them to be disciplemakers right where they are. Hosting weekly meal nights and pairing young adults with spiritual mentors across the city, the Navigators 20s ministry provides a space for like-minded believers to connect, grow, and be equipped to share the gospel in everyday life.

“We are hoping that they can connect with friends in this community who aren’t just focused on survival, but who see their role in the larger story that God is writing,” Dave Bachman, the Nashville Navigators city director, says.

“We’re not lowering the bar — we are challenging them to all that God has called them to. We are asking them to not just think about themselves and how they are doing, but to press on, considering how to invest in others.”

This past year, Nashville Navigators have discovered a new and innovative way to invite postgraduates to pour into those younger than them: the Disciplemaking Volunteer (DMV) group at Belmont University — a team of postgraduates who commit to mentoring college students one-on-one.

Creating Discipleship Opportunities at Belmont University

Isaac Haight first joined The Navigators when he was invited to a Navigators 20s night after moving back to Nashville post college. A young professional working in a corporate environment, Isaac was involved with the 20s ministry for over three years before feeling called to leave his job to serve in a ministry role.

“When I was in the workplace, I was wrestling with a conviction that I felt like I was wasting my time,” Isaac remembers. “I felt like the Lord had been calling me into vocational ministry and that I wasn’t doing what I was made to do. So I ended up quitting my job after I came home from a mission trip — the rest is history.”

Having connections with The Navigators, Isaac ended up on staff and re-pioneering a campus ministry at Belmont University in Nashville — a collegiate ministry that took a hard hit during the pandemic. Over the past couple of years, Isaac and his wife, Caitlin, have been building up the ministry, and Isaac now serves as the campus director.

As the ministry at Belmont started to grow, Isaac realized that he needed some help — and an idea struck him. What if he could mobilize the young adults in The Navigators 20s ministry to step up, volunteer, and help provide one-on-one discipleship for local college students?

“Because I used to be a participant in Navigators 20s before I came on staff, I knew what the ministry was about, and it felt like a natural connection,” Isaac says. “Navigators 20s isn’t a youth group for young professionals — it’s a space for emboldening, encouraging, and giving them opportunities to actually serve and disciple others. So I knew that offering them a chance to disciple college students would be a ‘hand in glove’ type of situation.”

Presenting his idea and need for help at a Navigators 20s meeting, Isaac asked if anyone would be willing to volunteer to disciple students. Suddenly, he had a team of seven volunteers — all full-time workers who were ready and excited to give their time to mentor those younger than them. This was the beginning of the Disciplemaking Volunteer (DMV) group at Belmont University.

The Disciplemaking Volunteers’ Impact

This past year, Isaac paired up his DMV team with individual students and watched as the Lord grew their relationships with each other and their faith. Each DMV volunteer is paired and meets with at least one student, and then the group comes together once a month to gather and share how their disciplemaking journey is going.

For one volunteer, Jaden, the DMV has been an opportunity to not just disciple one student, but two. A young professional with an 8-5 corporate job, Jaden has been intentionally pursuing Jack and Zach in the midst of a busy work schedule, meeting with each guy every other week.

Over the course of a year, Jaden has walked both students through the book of Titus, and he has watched as their lives have been transformed by the gospel. Jack and Zach have each caught a vision for discipleship, becoming more involved with the campus ministry and developing a heart for passing on their faith to others. Zach has even taken the additional step to join The Navigators leadership team at Belmont, accepting the challenge to disciple someone else.

Jaden’s story is just one example of how the Lord has worked through the DMV group at Belmont, and it is a glimpse into the bigger picture of how young professionals can have disciplemaking impact in spaces where there is a need — on college campuses and workplaces alike.

As the DMV team moves into their second year, Isaac and Justin McCoy (the director of Navigators 20s in Nashville) is looking to recruit 20 more young professional volunteers to disciple college students, expanding the impact at Belmont.

“We might only ever have 10 volunteers — but if we have 10 every year, we’re teaching disciples to make disciples,” Isaac says. “That’s how God’s Kingdom grows exponentially. And just think — if other cities did this … what would it look like to have a ministry of 200 young professionals connected with 200 college students?”

Navigators 20s: Merging Community and Calling

The Navigators 20s ministry in Nashville shows what it looks like to merge community and calling, giving young professionals a space to develop alongside others and learn what it means to pursue Christ in real-world environments.

“I love the idea of starting these little fires that spread in different directions, catalyzing everyday people to minister where they live, work, play, worship, and study,” Dave says. “People tend to come to the 20s ministry with a felt need for community and connection, and we provide that, but we are also calling them to a higher purpose and mission.”

Join us in praying for the DMV ministry in Nashville as 20-somethings are discipling college students, as well as the Navigators 20s ministry across the country as they encourage, inspire, and equip young professionals to spread the gospel right where they are.

Discipleship Tip:

Isaac was able to rally volunteers to help disciple college students not only because college students needed mentors, but because 20-somethings needed a place to serve. Is there anyone around you that would be willing and interested to be more involved in ministry or discipleship, but are seeking an opportunity? Think about how you can bring others into your mission field, inviting and equipping them to make a difference.

These weren’t the words Alan expected to hear while he was visiting the extended family of his newlywed wife, Maddie*, but he was intrigued. Mitch is Maddie’s cousin, and he’d attended Alan and Maddie’s wedding earlier in the year. At the wedding, Alan and Maddie made sure that Christ was at the center, showing the role that faith has had in their relationship. 

As one of the few people Mitch knew — other than his grandmother — whose faith was transformative, Mitch often turned to Alan for questions regarding Jesus. Curious to learn more about where Mitch was at in his spiritual journey, Alan asked him, “Why was it important to your grandmother that you get baptized?”

“I guess I can’t say all the reasons, but Jesus was important to her,” Mitch replied.

“Is it important to you to get baptized?” Alan asked. 

“Yeah,” Mitch said. “I mean I want to keep my promise to her, but I don’t just want to go through the motions. I want it to mean something.”

Alan asked Mitch if he had ever read the Bible for himself to learn about what Jesus said and did. When Mitch confirmed that he hadn’t, Alan invited him to start reading the Bible with him.

Becoming a Disciple

Alan had a background with The Navigators, being involved with the ministry in his college years. During that time, Alan saw rapid fruit in his own life and the lives of those he was investing in. It was this foundation that gave him a vision for disciplemaking after college, and now he translates what he learned as a student to his post-grad life and relationships. 

It was this mindset that guided Alan as he started to read the Bible with Mitch. Going through one chapter of John at a time, they would meet over Zoom or the phone to discuss what they read each week. After reading through the whole book together, Mitch started to ask about the meaning of the gospel.

Alan’s faithfulness with his cousin-in-law soon bore fruit — Mitch accepted Christ into his life!

However, since Mitch gave his life to Christ, he’s been faced with challenges. Shortly after his commitment to Christ, Mitch’s father’s health began to decline. Much of Mitch’s time was devoted to being a caregiver, until eventually, his father passed away. 

In light of the difficult time, Alan continued to encourage Mitch in his faith. 

Understandably, Mitch was less available and responsive in the midst of this trying season. Alan acknowledged that he’s had to change his own expectations for the pace at which Mitch will grow in his faith. Alan watched Mitch grow from a nonbeliever to a disciple; yet, he still has a vision to see Mitch become a disciplemaker too, passing on his faith to others.

When Alan started to read the Bible with Mitch, Mitch mentioned that his two younger siblings also have a desire to get baptized. Alan’s prayer is that eventually Mitch might start reading the Bible with his younger siblings, much like Alan did with him. 

Alan recognizes that God is working in and through Mitch. Though he’s in a difficult season, he has the potential to bear new and different fruit, and God will no doubt continue to use Alan’s patience and faithful presence as the Lord continues the work He has begun in Mitch’s life. 

Walking Through Open Doors To the Gospel

Sometimes, God opens doors for the gospel right in front of people around us, and all they need is to walk through. Often they are eager — they just need some guidance from those that have gone before them. 

Alan and Mitch’s story is just one of the stories of open doors happening within the Navigators 20s ministry. Around the nation, Navigators are helping equip young adults as they share the gospel with their friends, coworkers, and families. 

Would you join us in praying for Alan, Mitch, and Mitch’s siblings as they continue to walk towards Christ together? Pray that the Lord continues to open doors to the gospel and equip believers to share their faith with others, helping them to reveal Jesus’ character through reading the Bible with those in their circles. 

*names have been changed

Discipleship Tip:

Think of someone you could ask to read the Bible with you who may not have read it before. Share this name with someone you trust and ask them to pray with you for this person. Take the next courageous step and invite this person you thought of to read the Bible with you and see how God guides you next.

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.

Listen in on the conversation with Alice Matagora, author of How to Save the World: Disciplemaking Made Simple as she chats with five disciplemakers to hear what disciplemaking looks like in their daily lives.

In this video, Alice and her friends discuss ways they’re reaching neighbors, friends, and coworkers by inviting them to follow Jesus, too.

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.

That’s when Zach*, one of these soccer players Nate first met through a community league, started to introduce him to others at school. It was through soccer and his first connection with Zach that this group of soccer-loving high school guys brought Nate into their group. 

“They didn’t even know Jesus, but saw someone who didn’t know anyone, like a lost puppy, and wanted to bring me into their group,” Nate shared. “I think it shows a lot of maturity for freshmen in high school.”

Nate wasn’t sure how they would respond, but knew he couldn’t just say he followed Jesus and not live it out every day.

“I can’t just go to church on Sundays and profess I know Jesus as the most important Person in my life and not share that,” Nate said. “I would ask myself, How could I talk about Jesus and the Bible in a way these guys would find interesting?”

So Nate got creative. 

“Crazy” Bible Stories at a Bonfire 

One night in high school, he and his friends had a bonfire where Nate shared crazy stories from the Bible, like the story of Ehud and King Eglon from Judges 3.

“I shared this Bible story and how Ehud stabbed Eglon and the sword went right into his belly, including all the details guys appreciate. My friends looked surprised and responded, ‘That’s in the Bible?!’” Nate laughed as he shared. “Yeah, it’s a crazy story from the Bible!’ Sometimes when it’s weird it appeals to guys.”

Nate didn’t want to water down God’s truth, but to meet his friends where they were, making the Bible relatable to their interest. 

These friends heard more than a crazy Bible story from Nate, they saw a guy who made counter-cultural choices. His life spoke to them, too. But to Nate it seemed like very little was happening in his friends’ hearts. 

Nate’s parents had modeled to him from an early age what it looked like to be an everyday disciple. They emphasized the intrinsic, infinite value of each person and reminded him to treat them as such. 

Teaching Your Kids to Share Their Faith

Kent Schellhause, a Navigators 20s leader in the Cincinnati area and Nate’s dad, would say the most important preposition in discipleship is “with.”

“I was led to Christ my freshman year by a Navigators staff named Charlie Green. For the next four years I was not just taught how to walk with Jesus and minister to others, but Charlie did it with me,” shared Kent. “The ‘with Him’ principle based on Mark 3:14 was part of my DNA because of my involvement with The Navigators and Charlie’s example.”

Kent and his wife Jill both came to Christ through Navigators Collegiate and eventually had three kids, who all chose to be involved in Navigators Collegiate during their college years.

Kent constantly instilled in Nate what was important in life. It’s remembering those conversations that bring Nate back into focus when his priorities get rearranged. 

“I think my dad’s biggest spiritual investment in me was instilling the value of spiritual investment in my own life,” Nate shared. “He always said we should be investing in the only two things that have eternal value on earth: the Word of God and people’s souls. This is such an important reminder as I get caught up in the complexity of everyday life.” 

Kent and Jill allowed the “with Him” principle to guide how they discipled their children. Ministry wasn’t something they did solely as a couple. Their family was involved in ministry and they followed Christ together. 

“We had quiet times with the kids; we prayed with the kids; we went on missions trips with them; and did Bible study with them,” Kent shared. “In most of our Navigator career, Jill and I made it a priority to include our children and their friends and those friends’ parents in our everyday life and ministry, primarily families who did not know Jesus yet. Hopefully our children saw an example of what a disciple is through my and Jill’s life.”

How To Take the Pressure off When It Comes to Evangelism

Fast forward 20 years later and you’ll find Nate and his soccer friends married and starting families and still an intentional community. 

Today, this group seeks the Lord together and many of them have accepted Christ and been baptized. Nate was surprised at the change of heart that happened when he moved out of state. 

“I remember asking God, ‘Hey God, I’ve been praying for these guys for 15 years and it’s when I leave and am not a part of their everyday lives that I see more fruit from their lives?’” Nate shared. “It was then that they started going to church. It was a good reminder for me that it is all Jesus. He’s the One who pursues and transforms their hearts, not me.”

With Nate back in the Cincinnati area now, the guys meet every other week and their wives on the opposite weeks. At times this involves Bible study and other times a discussion topic, while rotating facilitators. One of these friends, Bryan*, is even a part of the Navigators 20s which they now have coined the Nav 30s because of the group’s longevity. 

“Ultimately, I come back to my dad’s advice of investing in the Word of God and in people. I know if I really believe this is most important then this is how I should spend my time,” Nate shared. “My dad has emulated this in his life and I have tried to copy his example in mine.”

Pray for The Navigators 20s ministry in Cincinnati and the Schellhause family who continues to invest in spiritual generations. 

_{*Names changed.}

Thomas called Katrin to see how she was doing a few months after the end of the Bible study. As they talked, he explained more about new life in Jesus. She was ready and excited to start following Jesus as a disciple. Since the Bible study was with people in the San Diego area and Katrin lived in the Bay Area, Thomas checked with local Navigators to find someone to disciple Katrin.

Lei Muse was ready and willing when she was asked. “I didn’t even need to pray about it. My husband, Don (who is on Navigators staff), and I were discipled, and I knew the importance of discipleship. I was a little apprehensive since we had never met, but I trusted God to work out our relationship.”

The two women have been meeting since February and Katrin is soaking in God’s Word, praying, and reaching out to friends. She is seeing God at work, “I was laid off from my retail job during the pandemic and I started praying about a career change. Now I work for the state in the Employment Development Division. I see purpose in my job, so I can help people over the hurdles that I encountered when I was unemployed. I’m sure God was working in my life before, but I didn’t see it. Now my eyes and ears are open to all the ways He is active.”

As she made her plans, God was also at work, leading her to discover a Navigators Bible study group in college. During a Navigators spring break trip as a freshman, Caitlin felt drawn by the Holy Spirit and accepted Christ in her life and started learning how to live as a disciple. However, after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease her senior year, her plans to pursue a career in medicine were suddenly put on hold. It was at this time that she was invited to join staff with The Navigators. After college graduation, she joined staff and moved to University of Alabama in 2010.

As her love for God and compassion for helping people continued to grow, Caitlin also started struggling with anxiety and depression, primarily related to her chronic disease.  She had seen other members of her family struggling with mental health as well. Sadly, in her family and the broader Christian community no one talked about the need to treat mental health issues.

After years of fruitful, full-time ministry while ignoring her own mental health, Caitlin started experiencing burnout, which in turn made her anxiety increase. One of her supporters realized Caitlin was struggling and offered to pay to send her to receive counseling to help with her mental health. This was good start, but while continuing to serve on staff at University of Alabama, Caitlin’s anxiety was so high that it resulted in panic attacks.

The Navigators campus director noticed the struggles Caitlin was having and advised her to move to Colorado Springs for a summer so she could receive counseling and care at the Navigators headquarters. She was able to meet regularly with the pastoral care team, who saw how deep the problem was. Eventually they advised her not to go back to Alabama and begin a journey of healing in Colorado Springs.

As Caitlin experienced healing she was reminded of Psalm 40:1-3: “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.”

It was in that healing season that Caitlin and her friend Matthew, who is part of Cru, created a mental health “roadmap.” The roadmap was created when Caitlin was invited to do a workshop for the Navigators 20s to help understand mental health from a Christian perspective.

The allegory in the mental health roadmap covers four common places on the journey of mental health: despair, tension, care, and hope.

• “Swamp of Despair” where she shares her personal story and symptoms of all-consuming anxiety.
• “Forests of Tension” which acknowledges the complex questions that Christians wrestle with such as, “Are mental health issues sin or are they biological?”
• “Meadows of Care” where they discuss the various kinds of spiritual and professional help that exist for those who struggle with mental health issues.
• “Mountains of Hope” where Caitlin shows how the Gospel brings “altitude” and perspective on mental health.

Using this roadmap as a guide, Caitlin has been able to encourage many who struggle with mental health. She is now on staff with her husband at Texas State University and sees firsthand the increased levels of mental health issues students are facing. Caitlin’s main ministry is serving with the pastoral care team to help staff experience Jesus amid their mental health struggles.

God has used her struggle to help others as she continues to grow in the understanding of Psalm 40:1-3 and experience freedom and peace.

Mental health is now being talked about more openly and there is hope for those who are overwhelmed and may not know where to turn. If you or a friend struggle with anxiety or depression, pray for them and share this article with them. The Navigators also has additional resources for mental health issues.