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 Navigator Mike Jordahl, however, this looked like getting a van.

30 years ago, The Navigators college student ministry was in a tough spot. Staff members were discouraged and having a hard time seeing how God was moving through them, and many were leaving the ministry altogether. As the campus ministries continued to dwindle and become more desperate, the collegiate team knew they needed to do something drastic to recapture energy and momentum on college campuses.

At this time, Mike was leading The Navigators ministry at the University of Kansas. One day, he was sitting in a little office in Lawrence, Kansas, praying for a path forward to help the college ministry. Suddenly, he knew exactly what to do. “I got this idea,” he remembers. “We should get a van.”

The idea was that the van — affectionately named the Nav Van — would drive around for a semester and visit every campus with a Navigator presence. At each campus, the team would host a pizza party for non-believing friends, where someone would share the gospel and the story of how Jesus came to rescue them. They would also gather all the student leaders and staff to pray for them and with them for the campus. As the van journeyed across the country, staff and students would have the opportunity to hop in for a time to go share Christ with the next campus, trusting the Lord to find their way back home when they got off.

“The question we would ask was, God did great things through the student campuses of the past,” Mike says. “Will He do great things and use us today?”

By August of that upcoming school year, the van was rolling.

The Nav Van Journey that Changed Students’ Lives

Starting at the University of Kansas, the van traveled across the country — visiting over 70 campuses in four months. Every day looked different. Those in the van would sleep wherever they could — dorm rooms, host homes — and new staff and students hopped on and off for each leg of the trip. As the journey progressed, Mike was amazed to see how the Lord was using the van to respark the heart of collegiate ministry — for both students and staff alike.

“Different staff and students took turns standing up to talk about Jesus and preach the gospel,” Mike recalls. “And it was amazing! We saw students come to Christ all over the place. We saw student leaders deciding they wanted to pray and trust God to use them. God was at work, restoring this vision and passion to reach students, disciple them for Christ, and send them to the nations.”

For Roger Hamilton, a Navigator who at the time led student ministry in Madison, Wisconsin, the Nav Van came at the perfect time. His family was going through a difficult period, and he was struggling to find capacity with his ministry.

When the Nav Van stopped on his campus, Navigator Mike Mangerchine was on the van and was sharing the gospel when he met a student named John*. Mike learned that John was looking to grow in his faith, and he connected him to Roger, who ended up discipling John for the remainder of his college experience. “He was a great, young, eager, teachable guy,” Roger says. When John graduated, he and Roger parted ways.

Years later, Roger discovered that John had become a pastor after a friend visited his church. Roger reconnected with John and learned, even after all this time, John was still using the Navigators resources that Roger taught him in college.

Roger and John’s story is just one of the many that emerged throughout the van’s journey. “There were all these people who came to faith,” Mike Jordahl says. “Roger is not the only one who has a friend who says, ‘I met Jesus on that night, and now, I’m following Him more.’”

Lighting the Fuse for a Transformed Ministry

Not only did the Nav Van impact the lives of students, but it lit the fuse for a shift in the attitude of The Navigators collegiate ministry, transforming discouragement into revival.

At the end of the van’s trek from campus to campus, The Navigators held a conference called the “Nav Vanalanche,” where they invited students and staff to celebrate what had occurred over the past few months. Over a hundred students joined, and on the last night of the conference, a new opportunity was announced: the very first EDGE Corps, a program that is now thriving as part of the collegiate ministry today. 

“The idea was, we needed young people to join our staff, and we needed to create an easy opportunity for them to get involved,” Mike Jordahl says. “Doug Nuenke and others held a meeting for those interested, and several of the students who attended joined us for the first two years of EDGE Corps, and are still passionate Navigators to this day.”

However, what was perhaps the longest lasting impact of the Nav Van was the impact it had on the staff who were previously weary and downtrodden. By visiting campuses and hosting events centered on prayer and needs, trust and cooperation was built, and through that, a transformed hope and vision for the future.

“They needed someone to encourage them, someone to say, ‘I see God at work in you,’” Mike says. “Through the Nav Van and beyond that, it came into focus that we should catch Navigator staff doing something well and tell them we believe in them. And then ask them to bring the best of who they are to what we have.”

So, after 30 years, what is the lesson that the Nav Van has taught us? That not only can God use each generation in new and exciting ways, but also that we can take chances and perhaps do the unthinkable ourselves. That the next time someone has a crazy idea, the Lord might just work in incredible ways.

“It’s desperation combined with the idea of doing something crazy, stepping out in faith and trusting God,” Roger says. “It’s the kind of stuff you see in the book of Acts, trusting the leading of the Holy Spirit to take us to places and do things we wouldn’t ordinarily do — and then, to hold on for dear life.”

Discipleship Tip:

The Nav Van all started with one crazy idea that the Lord used for His glory. Have you ever had a prompting from the Lord that felt too far-fetched or unattainable? Lean in. Trust that the Lord can work through you in powerful ways, even beyond what you could ever expect or imagine.

Now, Sabrina and Michelle’s hearts have multiplied on a global scale, moving the gospel to another generation of disciplemakers. The two friends moved overseas in 2022 on staff with iEDGE (international EDGE Corps) to boldly step into the unknown and disciple college students abroad — in Budapest, New Zealand, and beyond.

Sabrina: iEDGE in Budapest, Hungary

For Sabrina, it felt natural that she would one day do ministry across the world. With a mother from Thailand, she was always curious to learn more about other cultures, and a trip to the Philippines in college was a defining moment when she decided to go all in for Christ.

After serving on EDGE Corps at the University of California, San Diego for a couple years, she felt that the Lord was calling her to join iEDGE. Though she originally expected to go to Asia because of her background, she was surprised that she felt led to go to Hungary instead.

“I didn’t think Hungary was where I was going to go, but it made more and more sense,” she remembers. “Hungary is predominantly atheist with a deep avoidance of religion, and that’s similar to my background. I felt like the Lord was telling me that this is where I was supposed to go.”

Sabrina started her work in Budapest in November of 2022, and she has spent the past two years organizing student events, growing in her own walk with the Lord, and intentionally meeting students for Life-to-Life^® discipleship.

One student that Sabrina has built a trusting relationship with is Sera*. Sera was invited into The Navigators high school community in Budapest, where she first became a believer after attending a summer camp. When Sabrina arrived at Budapest, the two clicked instantly.

As Sabrina has discipled Sera, she’s been encouraged by how much Sera has grown in her faith. From praying out loud for the first time at a retreat to reading the Bible consistently and memorizing Scripture, Sera has grown into a believer who is ready and willing to share her faith with others.

“She’s continued to invite her brother into the community, and now he’s a big part of the group and is slowly starting to come to faith as well,” Sabrina says. “She’s catching the vision for disciplemaking, which is the first time we’re really seeing that in our unique community.”

Michelle: iEDGE in New Zealand

When Michelle was graduating college, she was dead set on going straight to graduate school to get her degree in speech therapy. However, God had another path for her.

“He was softening my heart to the idea of doing ministry, laying down my plans I had for so long,” she recalls. “Before then, I had realized that I never asked God what He wanted me to do after college, and iEDGE is where He led me.”

As Michelle considered where she wanted to go overseas, she felt called to New Zealand because of what she had learned about its culture — that it is easy for Kiwis to not share their emotions and stay on the surface — and related to that mentality as something she struggled with in the past.

“Growing up, I stuffed my emotions,” she says. “But then I learned how to be open and vulnerable, and when I invited God into that, I experienced gospel transformation in my life. That’s what drew me to New Zealand, feeling like God could use me and my story to impact students here.”

Having lived in New Zealand since December 2022, she can now see how the Lord has used her to impact students’ lives, from hosting Bible studies to cooking for events to discipling other women like Becka*.

Michelle first met Becka through a New Zealand EDGEr. As Michelle met with Becka, she could sense that Becka was curious but hesitant about faith. However, throughout their discussions, Michelle has seen the Lord slowly start to work in Becka’s heart.

“She thought she was beyond salvation,” Michelle says. “We’ve been working through that, and she is starting to realize that she doesn’t have to be all put together in order for God to meet her where she’s at. She’s started to identify that God is the answer to her deepest fears and anxieties.”

Though Becka is still on her journey to knowing Christ, she has come a long way from believing that she doesn’t need God to now considering what it would look like to give her life to Him. For Michelle, Becka’s story and growth is a testament to God’s faithfulness and timing.

“God has been faithful to answer the prayers I had coming in, desiring my girls to be vulnerable with me and seeing the gospel move in their lives,” she says. “Sometimes it feels like I’m stepping off a ledge, and I can’t really see where He’s leading. But instead of a big ravine, His hand is right there, carrying me.”

You can join us in praying for Sabrina and Michelle’s ministries as they continue to further the gospel in Hungary and New Zealand, that the Lord continues to soften hearts and grow up disciplemakers to the ends of the earth.

*Names changed for privacy

Discipleship Tip:

Both Sabrina and Michelle listened carefully to where the Lord was calling them to go, and then they obeyed. Think — how have you been listening to the Lord lately? Do you feel like He is calling you to new places or people, or asking you to be present where you are? Take a moment to be still and intentionally listen to how God may be moving in your life.

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.

Alex and Mary met Zoey* during their years in Asia. Now Zoey, along with her husband, Chaz*, live in the Seattle area. Alex and Mary have prayed for opportunities to deepen their relationship with this family.

The first opportunity came as Alex and Mary stayed with Chaz and Zoey’s older son while Zoey was giving birth to their second child. Their availability to serve provided a foundation of trust, particularly with Chaz, whom they had just met.

Then Mary started a Bible study with Zoey (who is a follower of Jesus) and another woman. Chaz was a follower of another religion but was supportive of Zoey’s Bible study.

Another opportunity to connect was for a family birthday party. The family had planned a large party with many friends in a park, but the weather forecast was unfavorable, so Alex and Mary opened their home. Afterward, Zoey shared that their friends had felt warmly welcomed. This was significant because some of these immigrants from Asia have felt barriers in their interactions with other Americans.

As Alex, Mary, their team, and ministry partners continued to pray—the relationship and trust grew. One day, Chaz asked Alex if they could read the Bible together. Of course, Alex said yes!

Very soon, Chaz shared that he had taken down the spiritual objects related to his former religion in his home. He has started following Jesus, and even told his family who still live in his home country about this significant step. Now Chaz wants to learn how to pray and know God better—this openness has given Alex the opportunity to disciple him and build a solid faith foundation.

*Names changed.

Discipleship Tip:

Think about someone who has yet to have a relationship with Jesus. Create a reminder on your phone, wear something on your wrist, or put their initials in a place you look every day as a reminder to pray for their salvation.

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.

A session at the conference on “Ethnic Identity and Identity in Christ” resonated with Destiny. She realized that along with a strong identity in Christ, God had also provided a cultural and ethnic identity for her, and she could celebrate both of these aspects of her God-given personhood. Destiny reflects, “In this workshop, I learned that God had intentionally created me as a Mexican American to be a ‘bridger’ between two groups of people that are often politically divided in our country (Mexicans and Americans) and for the sake of relating to each group of people very personally. This realization encouraged me to use my identity as a ‘bridger’ as an asset for the advancement of the gospel.” 

After the conference, Barb helped Destiny process what she was learning and challenged her to continue to do the work of understanding her cultural identity.

The following summer, Destiny participated in a Navigators Collegiate summer mission to Guadalajara, Mexico. It was her first time to visit Mexico and she gained an appreciation for the people and culture, and also became more confident communicating in Spanish.

Destiny shares the impact of the summer:

“We were taught how to evangelize in cross-cultural settings and share our faith with non-believers in Guadalajara. That summer was the most healing summer of my life. To be able to connect with the Mexican people in a way I never thought I would be able to and to hear them affirm truth in the areas I had been insecure during my childhood was an incredible blessing.”

Destiny had become friends with Gabriel Mercer at the LaVida conference. What started as a friendship became more, and they started dating and are now married. He has been part of her journey of understanding God’s design for her life. She shares, “Since the moment we met, Gabriel has encouraged me to believe truth about my identity as a Mexican American woman and has always reminded me that no matter how many lies and insecurities I may face, ‘the truth is that you are Mexican and you are American, but that doesn’t make you any less of a Mexican than someone who is born in Mexico or someone who speaks Spanish fluently.’ Through my sweet husband’s constant reminders and God’s incredible faithfulness, I can read scriptures like Psalm 139:13-15 with greater confidence because I now believe that God’s design of me was intentional and purposeful.” 

Now on EDGE Corps at Vanderbilt, Destiny is passionate about discipling other women in understanding their culture and God’s design for their lives, just as others have done for her. Destiny wants to help people of color understand how God has gifted them, and how they all uniquely reflect God’s character. Also, she has grown to see that we all get a better picture of God’s character when we are in a community that reflects the variety of disciples. In this way, Destiny now sees that race is not a political issue, but a biblical truth, as the church in Revelation (7:9) reflects the variety of people who bear the image of God.

Destiny, who was already a Christian when she went to college, met people from Navigators Collegiate in her freshman dorm and started to get involved right away her freshman year. She joined a Bible study and realized that there were other students on her campus who were following Jesus. But she has seen that sometimes students of color who have visited a campus ministry a few times may end up dropping out of the ministry because they don’t find their own place of belonging. Her goal is to welcome all students, help them understand the importance of their cultural identity as they follow Jesus, and help the ministry better reflect God’s Kingdom.

Praise God for His design of cultures, and for helping disciplemakers realize a solid grounding in identity in Christ and in ethnicity. Pray that many more students of diverse backgrounds will find a place of belonging and growth within Navigators Collegiate ministry.

Learn more about LaVida at lavidanetwork.org.

God had uniquely prepared David for this experience, as his father is a missions pastor, and growing up he heard about God’s heart for unreached people and connected with people from around the world in their home.

In his subsequent years of college, David had a heart to build relationships with international students. He gathered some leaders from among the international students who wanted to grow in their faith and reach out to other international students, as a particular focus area within the larger Navigators Collegiate ministry at UNL. They called their leadership team Rev7, based on Revelation 7:9-10 which affirms that people from every nation, tribe, people, and language will be gathered to worship God.

Now David continues this ministry of equipping disciplemakers among international students as he serves on EDGE Corps (a two-year internship) as part of the Navigators Collegiate staff team at UNL.

Joyful Transformation

When Pamela came to UNL in 2019, she had a church background from growing up in Rwanda, but through Life-to-Life^® discipleship, including joining with other Navigators for Bible study, prayer, and everyday life, her relationship with Jesus flourished.

She describes how God transformed her life:

I grew up in church although I never really understood the gospel in my childhood. I was like a pharisee—I knew the Word of God and was striving daily to fulfill the law, with a total disregard for the person of Christ and my relationship with Him. I joined a Navigators Bible study here at UNL and I realized that there is more to God than what I had always been taught. I saw that there is more than obedience and following the written law, which led me to understand the grace of God. This is no truth that I have learned that is sweeter than that.

My spiritual life has grown to be very different from what it has ever been. I experienced a closeness to God that surpasses what I had ever imagined possible. He gave me a family in Christ that I would not trade for anything and the relationship that I have with Christ in the moment is hard to describe. I believe that I have a calling on my life to be sent and to work in the fields of the Lord.

At the start of her sophomore year, Pamela joined the Joshua Team, a young leader development program of Navigators Collegiate at UNL. She continues to be eager to grow in her faith and help others grow as well. Recently several of the Rwandan women, including Pamela, have started getting together to pray every night. This prayer time is a response to their joy in the Lord and delight in His grace for their lives.

From Friendship to Faith

Clement, also from Rwanda, met David as soon as he arrived on campus four years ago. They became friends and David learned more about Clement’s faith journey. His mom was a believer in Jesus and his family went to church until she died when Clement was seven years old. Then he didn’t have any faith connection until he attended a Catholic high school. The mass and prayers were compulsory at school, but he had no desire to know God or follow Him.

Clement (left) and David (Right)

As their friendship grew, David kept inviting Clement to come to Bible study, and Clement kept making up excuses for not coming. Finally, wanting to honor his friendship with David, Clement decided to give Bible study a try. Then he and David started meeting together for one-on-one Bible discussions. Clement was impressed by the grace that God offers, rather than having to reach God through good works to be saved. During his sophomore year, Clement attended the Main Event, a regional Navigators conference, and decided that he wanted to follow Jesus as a disciple.

The following year, Clement started leading a Bible study with freshmen from Rwanda and investing in the next generation of disciples. Now two of these underclassmen are growing in their desire to make God known to their friends. They have started an online Bible study to share the truth of Jesus with their high school friends who are scattered around the world, in Rwanda, Canada, and other countries.

Each year the Rwandan government sends 50 freshmen to UNL. The students are required to live in the dorm for all four years of their undergraduate season. With strong leadership from Rwandan students involved in Navigators, those arriving each year have the opportunity to learn more about Jesus and be invited to follow Him, in addition to their academic growth.

Pray for the Nations 

While the ministry among Rwandans flourishes as UNL, there are also many other international students on campus. Often students from countries restrictive to the gospel have little understanding of Jesus because of their background. So those serving international students have a dual emphasis—to disciple and equip those who already know Jesus, while building friendships and sharing the Good News with those who don’t yet have any context for faith.

PRAY:

• Pray that those who come from unreached nations to UNL would hear the gospel and respond. 

• Pray for lifelong disciplemakers, who will be fruitful in college and throughout their lives. The righteous will flourish … they will still bear fruit in old age. Psalm 92:12-15

•  Pray that students from UNL will have a willingness to follow God’s call to different parts of the world, to unreached people groups. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:37-38

“Back in 2012, Nate and I came to the University of Massachusetts to relaunch the Collegiate ministry,” Caroline says. “We had two EDGErs, Joanne* and Mary, joining us, and we knew only five students on campus.” 

Generations began with simple lawn games that led to genuine spiritual conversation.

“A freshman named Ana stopped by and talked with us for more than an hour,” Caroline says. “Through church connections we also met Jill*, a Christian freshman, who became a key leader. We also met a few other women—Joanne, Ana, and Mary. Jill became a key friend for Ana, who became a Christian in 2015 on our Spring Break trip. Ana went on to lead our ministry on campus before passing the reins to Laura*. Laura met with Kristin and they co-led a Bible study. As a grad student, Kristin took Susan* under her wing and helped her grow her faith as a freshman college student. Susan went on to be a student leader at the University of Massachusetts. It’s Life-to-Life^® discipleship, intentionally investing spiritually from life to life … to life!”

The Damans have a front row seat to the transformation God continues to bring to countless lives.

“I get so excited thinking about Mary now leading the ministry at University of Maine, married and as a young mom, her kids almost exactly the age mine were when we all arrived at the University of Massachusetts,” Caroline says. “She got an up close and personal look at what it was like to minister as a mom. Ana’s continued walk with the Lord after college graduation is also a great encouragement to me. And most recently, Laura helped Kristin get connected with a church near Boston, where she is discipling a small group of teen girls while she also begins her career. I love seeing her continue in her faith while also pouring into other young women.”

Mary continues to see her experience with Life-to-Life discipleship bearing fruit.

“Life-to-Life discipleship is what Jesus used to initially draw me into relationship with Him, and what He used to call me to work with The Navigators,” Mary says. “Women have invested in me by not only reading Scripture and praying with me, but also telling me about their struggles, teaching me how to make friends, inviting me for a spontaneous lunch after church, and teaching me to drive stick shift, giving me a full and beautiful picture of living with Jesus in the context of community. Becoming a disciplemaker myself was a big realization that God could use me. The girls that I have met with while on staff have become family.”

Ana calls her discipleship experience with Caroline “one of the most meaningful relationships of my college and adult life.”

“Caroline watched me accept Jesus as my Savior,” Ana says. “She spent years pouring into me, praying for me, and showing me what it looks like to be a child of God. I was now her sister in Christ. I went from hearing about how God was working in Caroline’s life to sharing experiences of God working in both of our lives. God brought Caroline and me together eight years ago, and we’ve always stayed in touch. Life-to-Life discipleship looks very different post-college, but our relationship has been strengthened by God and I am thankful.”  

Kristin also treasures the gift of discipleship with Caroline.

“Caroline has been with me through my darkest days and best days,” Kristin says. “Life-to-Life discipleship has led to places I could have never dreamt of, friends I would have never met, and milestones and accomplishments I would have never thought possible.”

While the Damans stepped down as campus directors in 2019, and are now Navigators Neighbors staff in Amherst, Massachusetts, they watch with joy as the generations continue to multiply.

“I get excited about reaching women in New England—Massachusetts specifically,” Caroline says. “The Northeast can be a spiritually dark place. By reaching the students here we can impact Massachusetts as a whole. We, and the generations God births through us, are a light in that darkness. God has used the little I have given to have a much further reach than I could have dreamed.”

Please pray for our Navigators Collegiate staff across the country as they disciple the next generation of light-bearers. Pray for a spiritual awakening in the Northeast, and across our nation, as generations of disciplemakers are born.

*Names changed