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.

This is the experience for many international students as they take their first steps on US soil. In the midst of the unfamiliar, sometimes it takes a community opening their doors and reaching out in order for a new place to feel like home.

For Adam Johnson, the Navigators International Student Ministry (ISM) regional director, this is what ISM at the University of Minnesota is all about — meeting international students’ physical, social, and spiritual needs to create a place of genuine belonging. From hosting bi-weekly Cross Cultural Connection (3C) nights at a campus church to offering services like airport pickups and host homes, the ISM team’s vision is to form meaningful relationships between international students and Americans, eventually leading to deeper discipleship connections.

“We want to give people the opportunity to get to know the Bible, to understand the message of Christ and the gospel,” Adam says. “So it ends up being a funnel, where we meet a lot of people through airport pickups and welcome events and then some of them come to our social events, like the 3C nights. Then through genuine relationships, ongoing evangelism and discipleship takes place.”

The Long Game of Intentional Relationships

Though initial connections can be easy to make, sometimes it takes a long time — even years — before students open up to gospel conversations. This was the case for Adam’s team two years ago, when they held a fall retreat for 30 international students. They took the students to a camp in Wisconsin, where they spent 24 hours having fun and exploring Scripture — a first for many of the students.

With such a good turnout, the team wanted to be more direct with the students and how they talked about the gospel. “There was a sense that we should be a little more bold this time around, since we’d done this retreat before,” Adam says.

However, the weekend didn’t quite go as expected. Instead of growing closer or opening up to God, it seemed like one by one, the students started spiritually shutting down.

Adam remembers how one student, Justin*, told him after the retreat that he just wanted to meet girls, and he didn’t want to discuss God. Another student, Kara* shared similar sentiments. She told a volunteer, Mandy*, that though she wanted to be friends, she didn’t want to talk about the Bible.

“We started to wonder if maybe we moved forward too quickly in how much we shared with them that weekend,” Adam recalls. “And you feel a bit deflated when you put all that energy in, and you’re trusting God with that. We thought, ‘I don’t know if that turned out well.’ And it didn’t.”

To Adam, the retreat felt like throwing seeds onto hard soil in cold weather. But what else was there to do but to continue watering? They prayed and built relationships, continuing to pursue the students who seemed disinterested in going deeper. “One of the things we emphasize in our team is that we are building relationships with no strings attached,” Adam says. “We continue to offer that to these students, and authenticity comes through.”

Eventually, the seeds that seemed long lost started to sprout. As time went on and the students’ circumstances changed, they knew that they could trust the friendships they had built within ISM. Justin started to wrestle with his life’s meaning, and Adam and his teammate started a Bible study with him. “There was a hunger that had been awakened that wasn’t there when we met him,” Adam remembers.

Similarly, Kara went through a breakup and reached out to Mandy, who had become like a mother to her in the US. In her time of need, she knew that Mandy was safe.

Now, through intentional relationship two years later, both Justin and Kara have given their lives to Christ.

Sowing Seeds for Harvest

When we think about our own personal ministries and Jesus’ parable about soil and sowing seeds (Matthew 13:1-30, 36-43), we don’t always get to see if the seeds we sow bear fruit. For Adam, ISM has been one place where the Lord has shown him how his efforts can have long-term effects.

“We often encounter more nos than yeses, and it seems like the soil is too hard and the weather is too cold,” Adam says. “So we think, is it really worth sowing? I think this story is an encouragement for me, and hopefully for others, to keep sowing. You don’t know when the circumstances or the temperature may change.”

As Adam and his team continue to pursue the international community at the University of Minnesota, as well as in their neighborhoods and churches, they are taking this perspective to heart. By building relationships and spaces of belonging for those in unfamiliar territory, they continue to plant seeds with the hope of harvest.

“This year with my team of volunteers, we are reminding them of two years ago when we had this trip,” Adam says. “We say, look at this picture. We didn’t know who would be around in two years, and now here we are. So the next time you meet somebody, you don’t know what God might do.”

*Names and images have been changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

For Adam, it took years to see the fruit of sharing the gospel with his international student friends. Sometimes when we disciple others, we can feel discouraged by the waiting, feeling like we are also sowing seeds on hard soil. When it comes to discipleship and evangelism, patience is key. Consider your relationships with others and how you can invite the Lord into the waiting and long-term vision as you anticipate the growth of those you disciple.

The city of Boston is known for attracting the best of the best. Filled to the brim with prestigious universities and industry experts, it’s a place where intellect is cherished and there is a high barrier to Christianity.

In the midst of the city, however, the Lord is shining His light in the darkness, making the gospel known. In college campuses, workplaces, churches, and even prisons systems, The Navigators are making disciples who are passing their faith on to the next generation, multiplying God’s kingdom.

One of these disciples is Sophia, who has dived into her faith and seen the Lord move through her time in Boston. Throughout college, summer missions, and now the workplace, she has seen The Navigators mission come to life.

Pursuing the Lord in Every Season

Raised in Brazil, Sophia originally came to Boston to study neuroscience at Boston University. She grew up going to an international Christian school, where she first developed and deepened her faith in the Lord. However, when she started getting involved with The Navigators towards the end of her college years, she learned what it looked like to be in Christian community.

“When I first got connected with The Navigators, what appealed to me was this aspect of community,” Sophia says. “I didn’t always meet people who knew God at school, so seeing people that I could talk to about real things and who knew God drew me in.”

Though she started going to Navigators events her senior year, Sophia primarily grew in her involvement with International Student Ministry (ISM) on campus. At ISM, international students would meet once a month for meals and faith-based discussions. “It was an equally welcoming space for people who weren’t Christian,” she remembers. “There were opportunities to build relationships, and people of all faith and cultural backgrounds would come.”

When Sophia attended a Navigators retreat, she learned about opportunities for students to go on mission trips over the summer. Growing up surrounded by many cultures in Brazil, Sophia was always drawn to missions. Not sure what life would look like after graduation, she applied for two Navigators mission trips — Uganda and Croatia — thinking she would only be able to attend one. To her surprise, she ended up doing both in a single summer.

“As I prayed, I thought, ‘God, this is kind of scary,’” Sophia recalls. “I didn’t know how I was going to fundraise that much money. But I knew the Lord would provide if he wanted the door to be open. So I said yes.”

For four weeks in Uganda, her team worked with villages for community development — meeting spiritual and physical needs — and saw what ministry looked like in urban and university settings as well. Then, she headed off to Croatia for two and a half more weeks to help with a children’s summer camp.

Through both trips, Sophia learned about service and meeting others’ needs. “There are going to be times in my life where I think I don’t have anything left in me, and I learned what it looks like to rely on the Holy Spirit to give me strength and see the significance of what I’m doing,” she explains. “It’s important to be able to set aside the things that I need at certain points to be able to see others’ needs above my own.”

Now Sophia continues to serve others through her work as a clinical research coordinator at a hospital in Boston. Her heart for discipleship has continued to grow, and she remains involved with The Navigators through the workplace ministry in the city, Gospel at Work, where she and other professionals meet every other week to discuss how they are making disciples and seeing the Lord move through their individual jobs.

“After coming back from missions, I still wanted to be involved with The Navigators, so finding a group of people who are working as well, thinking about how we can serve God in what we do, has been great,” Sophia says. “God is allowing us to pour into others’ lives who don’t know Him yet, and we are able to do that for our communities.”

God’s Kingdom in Boston and Beyond

Sophia is just one of the many passionate disciplemakers in Boston who are trying to shine the Lord’s light on the city, and she is an example of the interconnectivity of the greater Navigators ministry in Boston.

“Sophia’s story is special to us because she represents our vision for what we want this ministry to grow into,” Robert Meyer, a Navigators Representative at Boston University, says. “She started out at a college campus, and now she’s moved into the workplace. As she grows as a disciplemaker, she will have an impact across the city. People like Sophia can help us launch our ministry in new directions, in ways we haven’t even imagined yet.”

As Sophia looks back on her journey over the past few years, she can see the thread of how the Lord has used The Navigators in her life, encouraging her faith and surrounding her with a community of like-minded believers in Boston.

“From being involved with campus ministry to being on missions trips to then getting involved with Gospel at Work, having this group of people who love Jesus and want to be a part of God’s kingdom is so critical,” she says. “I cannot imagine doing life with anyone in any other way.”

Pray that the Lord continues to use Sophia and other disciplemakers in Boston to make an impact, softening hearts in college campuses, workplaces, and beyond.

Discipleship Tip:

Sophia is passionate about engaging others for Christ — at college, around the world, and in her workplace. Think about your surroundings, peers, family, friends, and coworkers. Who is around that you can engage with in a faith-based relationship? How can you make the most of the season of life that you are currently in?

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.

A law at that time prohibited missionaries from preaching in government-owned buildings, and Kari knew the way she could minister was through teaching. National Taiwan University offered her a faculty position as a literature instructor, and Kari was eager to share Christ with her students.

By the second week of class, she wrote in her diary, “I had a chance to introduce the gospel in my literature class. Haven’t been fired yet!!!”

Kari began to lead Bible studies with women from the university and was elated to see seven young women come to Christ in the first six months.

The study rapidly grew, and Kari helped open a student center created to be a place where students could come and learn the gospel. More than 70 students attended the first meeting on April 26, 1953.

A year after her arrival in Taiwan, Kari wrote, “I am introducing them to a living Christ. Praise Him for thirty-five students who found Christ last year, but oh, there are 3,000 more to be reached!”

She returned to the United States in 1954 and married fellow Navigator Bob Malcolm that August in Glen Eyrie’s first Navigator wedding.

Kari and Bob went on to serve in ministry together in Chicago, Minnesota, and New York, later moving back to serve in the Philippines until 1974. Kari authored three books and demonstrated a lifelong passion for encouraging women to use their gifts for the kingdom of God.

Discipleship Tip:

What’s your next step to help someone grow spiritually? Maybe it’s asking someone to meet, praying together, or exploring God’s Word for answers on a challenging topic. Ask God for courage to take a step of faith believing He will provide exactly what you need.

They met again the next day, and then, along with meeting with Scott, Evert started hanging out with the international students and participating in Navigators social activities and spiritual discussions. 

“At first I just started hanging out because I was curious and I connected with Scott and the other people,” says Evert. “They are not judgmental, and we have interesting discussions. People seem open to deep conversations and to opening up about themselves. I didn’t grow up in a religious family, but in the village where I lived as a child, many people were Catholic, so we knew about Jesus and Christmas and Easter, but I’d never read the Bible.” 

Scott observes that many Dutch people are skeptical about Christianity and aren’t very interested in reading the Bible. However, even from the start, Evert was interested in engaging in discussions and asking questions. “He came to our fall launch activities and helped at our table where we had a ‘conversation wheel’ to invite people into spiritual discussions,” Scott said. “Evert and I paired up to interview people and ask them about spiritual topics. We also started reading the Bible together, beginning in Genesis. We talked about how God created people in a trust relationship and how that trust was broken and led to the brokenness we see in the world.”

Now Evert is part of a small group reading about Jesus in the book of Mark. People in the group are all along the spectrum of faith and belief, with several agnostics and others who follow Jesus. But together they think about and discuss what Jesus says and what it means for their own lives. 

As he reflects on his Dutch culture, Evert says, “Because we aren’t religious anymore, we don’t really have guidance for our lives. We get consumed by ourselves. We don’t really have poverty in the Netherlands, so people are focused on how to make money and live the good life. They don’t see the big picture of their spiritual condition.”

Using Your Interests to Build Intentional Relationships

The international student population in Amsterdam represents a vibrant group from around the world. Scott and Briana Trout have been in Amsterdam for several years as part of a team that reaches out to international students and to locals. Scott and Briana model how natural relationships can come from interactions where they live, work, and play as they help the students they disciple think about evangelism and outreach. 

Briana is a registered dietitian and has seen how her interest in food can bring people together. Recently she started teaching a workshop on Southeast Asian cuisine for a Dutch cooking class. She learned to cook Vietnamese food as a teenager, from her mother who was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the U.S. The cooking classes include people from all over the world and offer an opportunity for conversation and connection. 

Along with reaching out to international students and in cooking classes, other natural connections for Briana have come from continuing friendships with moms who were in her birthing class when she had Naomi (born in late 2020). 

Recently two of the women she has been discipling have decided they are ready for the next step of faith and want to be baptized, as part of their commitment to following Jesus. One of the women is from Japan, and the other from Curaçao (in the Caribbean), illustrating the international nature of their community in Amsterdam. 

Scott is an actor and recently was accepted into an improv group, where he is building relationships. “Being involved in theater is a great way to show the human story, and how it goes awry. In this improv group, I will be able to develop ongoing relationships with the other people, as we work together regularly. This is just another way of showing students that we can invest our energy in something we love and along the way have spiritual conversations with people in our circle.” 

Another way Scott initiates spiritual conversations is a podcast he created, “Between Two Worlds,” that features peoples’ spiritual stories, including those who follow different religions. Scott says, “My hope is that by telling their story and listening to mine, they might be more open to Christ entering into that story.”

Pray for those who are curious about Jesus and learning more about faith will continue to engage in their community. 

Consider Serving Internationally

Navigators iEDGE teams are made up of recent college graduates in their early to mid 20s. They invest two years in an international ministry training experience on university campuses overseas. 

Come serve and grow alongside long-term Navigator leaders as you expand Jesus’ Kingdom by engaging with university students in Life-to-Life^® Discipleship. Explore our page to learn more about locations and exciting new opportunities within iEDGE!

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.

Due to the disruption of the pandemic, in 2020 the program had to quickly adapt and change to a virtual format which included large group teaching times, small groups, and other interaction online. With more time to plan, the 2021 Global Student Program eXperience (GSPX) grew to be a more robust eight-week training curriculum and multiple opportunities for the 60 participants and 10 staff to connect virtually across 11 times zones and more than a dozen countries. This was double the number of participants who are part of the on-site program.

Leihlyn Tinio co-directed GSPX 2020 and 2021 with Dennis Schauer. Leihlyn will be the 2022 GSPX Director. She shares about the program: “Thanks to virtual media platforms, participants who were previously unable to attend can participate in the focused training time. People who could not obtain visas to travel, who needed to continue their work schedule, school requirements or family responsibilities can now be a part of the beauty of the GSP eXperience! This access to training multiplies the disciplemaking efforts around the world and boosts the capabilities of local Navigator ministries in many countries.”

Transformed Lives

Hlengiwe has been a Navigator staff member at the university in Harare, Zimbabwe for 17 years. She met The Navigators as a first-year college student, when she reluctantly went to a Bible study. She was determined that she would not continue with the Bible study, but she found that it answered so many questions she had about Jesus and faith, that she kept going back. She established a strong foundation in her relationship with God.

She knew first hand the impact of GSP from a student who attended in 2019. “The transformation I saw from GSP made me want to have more women participate in the program. I saw how this woman was now sharing the gospel on campus, sharing from her quiet times, and applying Scripture to daily living. She came back as a completely different person.”

Hlengiwe and other women from Zimbabwe were limited in their ability to attend the in-person program because of the challenges of funding and getting visas. With the virtual format she was able to encourage several women to participate.

Leihlyn asked Hlengiwe to serve as part of GSPX staff and to meet with some team leaders from Asia to encourage and coach them as they poured into the women in their groups. This provided cross-training between cultures and ministries for further development from different perspectives. Hlengiwe says, “I was excited to learn from the other staff women and to serve in this role. I was also glad that women I have been working with in Zimbabwe had the opportunity to participate online and learn from those in other countries who are following Jesus. They are growing in their heart and vision to disciple others. Seeing other Navigators pour into these women provides a beautiful picture of 1 Corinthians 3:6 where Paul says, ‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered; but God has been making it grow.’”

Nompu is a recent graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering from Harare, Zimbabwe. She has been involved with the Navigator ministry at the university for several years and has already been discipling and mentoring other students. She served as a team leader for GSPX.

“As a team leader, the one-on-one sessions with Leihlyn were really helpful and eye opening,” says Nompu. “My main responsibility was pouring into the ladies I was assigned to. That left me little oil to run on for myself and I truly didn’t mind as I am the type of person who cares more about pouring myself out in service.

“The one-on-one sessions with Leihlyn poured into my cup. She walked with me through the whole program, which I found so refreshing and encouraging. I loved having someone I was accountable to and who helped me lead and kept me fueled so I could serve the best way possible. My highlight was studying Acts 1:8 together, it is such a key Scripture for those who are passionate about disciplemaking—’But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”

As a wife and mother, Mishelle, from Yaounde, Cameroon, has been involved with The Navigators locally for many years. She shared, “I didn’t have the opportunity for training because of life circumstances.” Mishelle is helping her husband launch and elementary school in their village.

She reflects on her growth during the program: “At the beginning, I was timid and afraid, hesitant about the requirements of the program. Then I found courage to serve in leadership in my small group and recognized that it was God’s power not mine to do things. Having Leihlyn as my coach made a real difference in my attendance. Most of the time, when I was about to give up, her faithful kindness, grace, and mercy strengthened me. I really bless the Lord for this new friendship.”

Praise God for the way He has multiplied disciplemakers through the virtual program of GSPX. Pray for the plans for 2022, that God will continue to give wisdom into creative ways reach and train more students from around the world.

She knew Minako Wilkinson (Navigators International Student Ministry) from an online seminar, so they met in person and over time they became friends and started meeting for Life-to-Life^® discipleship.

As Mika has connected with moms of young children for playdates, she also invites them to read the Bible with her. She shares her motivation, “I invite women to read the Bible and learn about Jesus because He is my treasure and my reason for living each day. How tragic to not know Jesus and not have a relationship with Him. That’s why I reach out to Japanese women who do not know Jesus.” 

Several of the first group of women that Mika and Minako read the Bible with have moved back to Japan, but they keep in touch online for ongoing spiritual growth.

Now they are meeting with Yuki* who is eager to learn more about Jesus. Each Bible discussion ends with the question, “Who can you share with about what you discovered today?” God gives Yuki a new discovery about Jesus at every meeting, and she shares it with her sisters in Japan.

The three women take turns leading the Bible discussion. Mika says, “Leading Bible discussions keeps me accountable in my walk with Jesus. If I know that I am leading that week, I find myself being more focused and ‘spiritually awake.’”

Even though Yuki has not yet decided to follow Jesus as a disciple, she has also taken a turn at facilitating the Bible discussion, using the question format that the others have modeled. She is growing in her awareness of God as Creator, and her friends are praying that she soon will follow Him as Lord and Savior.

Praise God that Japanese women are hearing and responding to the Good News of Jesus. Pray that God will raise up more everyday disciplemakers like Mika to reach out to moms, or whomever is in their sphere of influence.

*Names changed.