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 of many first-time Air Force airmen and Space Force guardians who walk through the doors of the ministry center at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The pivotal transition into the military feels vulnerable, emotional. Regardless of military branch, the story is often the same: they are searching for a sense of home, community, purpose, and truth.

At the ministry center, fondly named “Gravity,” Navigators Jamie and Kelli Karmann are creating such a home for these young military personnel. Hosting Bible studies and ministry nights, the Karmanns have watched as the Lord has worked powerfully in the lives of those on base.

Meili and Alex’s Story

The Karmanns relocated to Albuquerque in the thick of the COVID pandemic, hoping to respark The Navigators ministry at Kirtland Air Force Base. Though everything was shut down at the time, the Karmanns started their ministry with prayer, asking the Lord to work in the hearts of airmen on base.

The Karmanns started to engage with airmen at the ministry center, watching as the Lord answered their prayers. Soon, they had a Thursday night Bible study going, which was full of nonbelievers who were looking for community.

It was at this Bible study where Kelli first met Meili. Newly stationed at Kirtland and just out of high school, Meili was struggling to find her footing — professionally, spiritually, and relationally. Overwhelmed, Meili came to Gravity one night, where she was encouraged to keep attending Bible study to get to know more people and build a support system.

Jamie and Kelli kept spending time with Meili, inviting her into their home, taking long drives together, and even going camping. Despite not growing up in church, Meili kept attending the Karmanns’ Bible studies. Though life was challenging, she was open to learning about Jesus, and Kelli could tell that she was in a process of seeking answers.

Over the year, Kelli kept pursuing Meili, even though their relationship was not always easy. Meili often asked Kelli why she cared so deeply for others. This opened the door for Kelli to share about Christ’s love and truth, citing 1 John 4:19: “We love because he first loved us.”

“She started sharing with me what was going on with her soul,” Kelli says. “We would spend hours and hours driving around, talking. It was clear she was hungry for knowledge and for growth.”

One evening, Meili was talking with Kelli, and she expressed a desire to be called a Christian — even though she didn’t have all the answers yet. A soccer player in high school, Meili compared it to calling oneself a “soccer player” without being a professional. That night, she surrendered her life to Christ. Meili was baptized, and Kelli continued to disciple her until Meili recently left the military.

“She knew the military was not for her,” Kelli says. “But then she started saying things like, ‘What if the only reason I came here was to meet Jesus? What if the military wasn’t my calling, but it was simply my calling to meet Him?’”

Meili’s story didn’t stop with her own transformation.

While Meili was attending Bible studies, she started inviting her suitemate, Alex*, to join along.

“This helped me,” Meili said. “Maybe it would help you too.”

Slowly but surely, Alex’s heart began to open to the truths of Scripture. She asked insightful questions, started memorizing verses, and shared that while she wasn’t quite ready to commit, she felt the Word changing her.

One evening, as Navigator staff-in-training Zach Sullivan shared The Bridge to Life illustration, Alex started to break down in tears. Jamie felt the Holy Spirit prick his heart to say to the group, “Does anyone want to cross this bridge tonight?” Still crying, Alex raised her hand.

Jamie prayed with her as she trusted in Jesus as her Savior. Zach’s wife, Jessica, began meeting with Alex weekly for discipleship, and Alex continues to grow in her understanding of and love for Jesus.

Connection and Faith on Base

Meili and Alex’s story is just an example of how the Lord is moving in military bases across the country, bringing men and women to Christ through genuine and patient relationships.

As the Karmanns labor to create a safe, loving place for these servicemembers in need of a home away from home, and they’ve watched God answer their prayers, meeting and gently drawing these young adults to Himself and welcoming them into His family.

“People are coming to military bases, and they don’t know what they are seeking,” Kelli says. “But they want connection. They want faith. The Lord has created a place at Gravity where they can come and discover and be loved no matter what.”

Learn more about how God is working through The Navigators in Albuquerque.

Discipleship Tip:

It took time and intentional relationship over months and months until Meili gave her life to the Lord. Maybe you are feeling discouraged by the time it takes to plant seeds and bring someone to Christ — but remember, God has a plan in His ultimate timing! If you are struggling with a season of waiting, ask the Lord for patience and trust in His timing, knowing that He is the one that saves and softens hearts.

*Name changed for privacy

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) visual information does not imply nor constitute DOD endorsement.

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.

While many who have been impacted by The Navigators have come on staff or joined EDGE Corps, (two-year collegiate ministry internship), others have helped carry on our mission right where the Lord has placed them in their everyday callings.

Rick Bereit is one of those longtime everyday disciplemakers.

Years ago, after serving in the military for over 20 years and having impactful relationships with Navigators such as LeRoy Eims, Joe and Pam Holt, John Boyd, Paul Drake, and Harvey Oslund, Rick wondered if it was time to pursue full-time ministry.

When he talked to a Navigator at a couples’ retreat about going on staff, he received a surprising answer: “He said, ‘No! We want you to stay right where you’re at. In the military, you have more access to people than any Navigators staff could have!”

From that point on, Rick had a changed perspective. Going on staff was a precious calling, but it wasn’t the “next step up” as he had thought previously. Learning how to make disciples wherever you’re at is important, and this is something Rick has instilled in those he has discipled for many decades.

Rick remarks, “We want to keep them in their occupations in their locations in their neighborhoods where they’re insiders.”

Discipling New Believers

Rick has a soft spot in his heart for new believers who have never been discipled because that was a part of his personal story. After coming to faith at a Billy Graham crusade in Phoenix, Rick entered the Air Force Academy with a hunger for Life-to-Life Discipleship^®, though he didn’t have the words to express it at the time.

Through the Lord’s guidance, in 1967, Rick met an upperclassman who encouraged him to memorize Scripture through the Topical Memory System (TMS). While serving in the military, he also formed a deep relationship with LeRoy and Virginia Eims.

“I was able to watch his life, his family, and Virginia’s life, and he was the guy that got me started walking with the Lord,” Rick recalls.

Navigators have left deeply formative impressions on Rick’s life that he has passed on to people he has discipled.

“As I look back over my life, and I look at my own habits and how they were developed, I can point to a Navigator that challenged me in that area,” Rick reflects. “I heard Harv speak several times about generously, sacrificially giving… I got to hear Jim Downing talk about meditation on Scripture… a missionary talked about reading through the Bible in a year, so I set up the habit of reading through the Bible every year.”

Over many decades, Rick has followed the Lord’s calling as he’s discipled people from all walks of life. At the Air Force Academy, he knocked on freshmen’s doors and started discipling 14 of them once a week through a Bible study.

Those he discipled went on to become a pastor in New England helping other pastors incorporate disciplemaking in their ministries, an aviation mechanic who took care of airplanes in South America for missionaries, a woman who moved to South Africa to disciple women in college, a couple who regularly practice making disciples in Poland, and so on.

When asked why making disciples is so important today, Rick answered, “I’ve done this for 60 some years, and I can point to people that are walking with God and the impact that those people are having in other people’s lives. I can’t think of anything more exciting than that in the Christian life — to spend a little time with someone and then just see them blossom and flourish and become fruitful themselves.”

Since the beginning, The Navigators have been equipping people like Rick on how to make disciples and  impact generations. We can only imagine what the Lord has in store for the years to come.

Discipleship Tip:

Consider where God has positioned you—where you live, work, and play. Have you thought about how to make disciples there?  Who are the people you cross paths within each of these positions? Name one friend in this circle of influence and invite them to hang out.

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) visual information does not imply nor constitute DOD endorsement.

Malachi’s eagerness to grow spiritually was soon evident, and he was invited to join a smaller group of Marines who intentionally ministered to others.

“I started listening to these guys talking about specific people they’d shared the gospel with in their circles of influence. That was such a challenge for me,” he says. “That was the beginning of me looking outward instead of just at myself.” The next day, he shared his faith with a guy he worked with at the base. It was a lot easier than he’d thought!

Through the group, Malachi began to understand what laboring looks like: “abiding in Jesus and inviting others into that.”

As Malachi’s time in the Marines neared its end, Navigator staff Zachary Mills invited him to stay in Jacksonville for more training in discipleship. The two began to meet every Thursday for dinner at Zack’s house. Malachi loved the challenge of the questions Zack asked: “Why do you think that? What are you asking God for?” Malachi was struck by how Zack responded to what he shared. He was “quick to listen and slow to respond,” he says.

Malachi believes the deepest impact of their time together was simply observing how Zack interacted with him and his children. “He demonstrated some qualities I’ve always wrestled with,” Malachi says.

Malachi longed to have the same impact on others that Navigators had on him. He saw the power of Life-to-Life^® discipleship, of watching other believers live out their faith. After Malachi left the military in November 2021, he decided to join The Navigators on staff.

Following Zack’s example, Malachi and his housemate open their house to Marines. For some, it’s become a weekend home: a place to hang out, discuss deep life issues, look at Scripture together—and have fun!

Malachi helps facilitate a small group in the Camp Lejeune Bible study and meets with men. He finds joy and purpose in seeing those he is discipling grow in Christ and get excited about reading the Bible together and praying together.

Life in the military can be a hard road, but God is at work even in the hard places. Jesus acknowledged that “in this world you will have trouble” but He promised hope and peace to those who follow Him (John 16:33 NIV).

Through Life-to-Life discipleship, Zack and Malachi share that hope in Jesus with those who serve our country.

Discipleship Tip:  

Find someone who follows Jesus and ask them honest and challenging questions about their relationship with God. For example, “Where are you energized in your relationship with Jesus and where are you struggling?” Then invite them to ask you similar questions.

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) visual information does not imply nor constitute DOD endorsement.

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.

“These men helped me understand what it meant to have accountability and to live out the Great Commission,” says Major Craig. “It was at Lewis-McChord that I started getting up early in the morning to spend time with God. That meant 5 a.m., since we started our work assignments at 6 in the morning. This practice has stayed with me and still is important to my faith life.” 

A subsequent posting at Fort Riley after he got married, gave Major Craig and his wife the opportunity to be discipled by a Navigator couple. This helped his wife share in the vision of what it could look like to have a ministry mindset as part of a military family career. 

Now back at West Point as an instructor, Major Craig is active in spiritually mentoring cadets as the officer-in-charge of Navigators. One of the cadets, Calvin*, is the son of a Navigators Military family whom Major Craig met while he was at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. 

Calvin was asked by Major Craig to lead a Bible study during his junior year. Initially he was unsure about whether he had enough Bible knowledge to lead. “I talked to my father about leading a study,” says Calvin. “He reminded me that teaching is one of the best ways to learn, and that being challenged is a great way to grow in my faith. I decided to step up and lead. Our schedule is pretty intense, but unless I invest in my faith, I won’t keep growing spiritually.” 

PRAY for continued growth and depth among the cadets and faculty involved in Navigators Military at West Point. Pray that cadets will catch the vision for how fulfilling the Great Commission can be part of their daily life in a military career.

_{*Names changed}

_{The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) visual information does not imply nor constitute DOD endorsement.}

A heart for prayer and disciplemaking grew during Doug’s time at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Doug intentionally sought out Ron Koehler, Navigators Military, and asked to be discipled by him. While the Academy has a number of different Christian ministries, including The Navigators, the midshipmen are pressed for time, so unless a midshipman is committed to investing in spiritual growth, it can easily fall by the wayside. 

“While at the Academy, the Lord made it clear that if I really wanted to keep growing closer to Him, I should spend time with mentors who really know Him,” says Doug. “I looked for a man who had walked closely with God through his life and reflected the fruit of that kind of life. I knew if I wanted to be more like Jesus, I would need to learn from a man who reflected His love and power. The best way to learn from a man like Ron was to consistently walk through life with him.”

Ron and Marleen Koehler (Navigators Military) have served at the Naval Academy for 21 years. Prior to that they were in Africa and Eastern Europe. As he serves midshipmen, Ron describes his focus, “God has impressed on me the importance of convictions and connections. When I am meeting with a midshipman, I ask the harder and deeper questions, to get to the convictions of their heart. I am listening and coaching, not telling them what to do, but helping them study God’s Word and listen to the Spirit. Also, I want to build connections with them while they are here and connect them to Navigators Military at their next duty station. To be lifelong disciplemakers they need to stay connected to a like-hearted community. When we were serving in Africa, we had the luxury of time to build relationships. Here I have learned to be quick, because they have so many demands on their time.”

In the same way that Doug sought out Ron to learn as a disciple, Marines are seeking out Doug for growth and encouragement. One Marine asked if he could read a psalm together with Doug each day. They are using the time together to read a psalm, pray together (using the sequence of prayer- ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) and then talk about the psalm.

Life-to-Life^® Discipleship is more than a Bible Study

The weekly Bible study among the Marines in Okinawa has been growing as people invite their friends to the study. Along with studying the Bible together, they are catching the vision of sharing life together as well. Marines are sharing Scripture with one another at different points during their workday, in person or by text.

Most of the transformational ministry work Doug, Dean, and Ken partake in revolves around daily life—in the workplace, the chow hall, and recreation. This is the meat of the ministry—walking together through the highs and lows of everyday life just as Christ walks with them. The goal is for men to see that the Christian life involves all of life.

The heart for relationships is evident. Doug shares, “Each of us has grown in disciplemaking. We see our time in prayer and Bible study as part of being the hands and feet of Christ throughout our normal days. So our relationship with Christ is not isolated to Bible study time. As we’ve invited men to events on the weekend—exploring Okinawa, playing soccer or volleyball—we are impacting men who may never step into a church without having real relationships with us. Dean and Ken have taken young Marines under their wings and shown them the love of Christ through Christian brotherhood. They are available to the movement of God in our squadron.”

Going deeper in relationships means being sensitive to the pace of God’s work in someone’s life, and their willingness to engage. It’s being together in life at the pace the Marine needs at the time—walking, crawling, or running.

Walking Together Through Hard Places

Many Marines are dealing with difficult situations in their current lives, or from their past. Many of the men in the Bible study are actively showing the love of Christ to brothers in the squadron who are experiencing trials most young adults would never imagine facing. The everyday encouragement is making a difference in their lives and work. This is an example of the Marines who are willing to go deeper in relationship with those around them.  

Ken shares this assessment of the needs: “Please pray for some who are struggling with depression and even suicidal thoughts. For many in our squadron this isolation on their first deployment, surrounded by a dark culture of heavy drinking, vulgarity, porn, long hours at work, and harsh attitudes has made some increasingly desperate for a greater hope. It’s this realization of depravity that I think the Lord can use to reach many!”

As a result of the community of disciplemakers in this squadron of Marines, many who knew God in the past are turning back to Him. God has restored their desire to know Christ and walk in increased obedience. Others have no past experience with God but are refreshed by the love of Christ they experience in the community and are drawn to know more. 

Join These Marines in Prayer

Although you may be miles away, you can pray along with Doug, Dean, Ken and other Marines for a rich harvest among those serving in Okinawa. 

• Pray for those who are not yet following Jesus, that they will see the love of God and hope for life reflected in these faithful Marines and they will choose to follow Jesus. 

• Pray for the leaders of the Bible study, that they will be faithful to serve and invest deeply in disciplemaking relationships. 

• Pray for the continued ability to meet and grow as the body of Christ despite time constraints and shift crews on different schedules.

• In the midst of changing assignments and frequent moves, pray that God’s Word will take root deeply and these Marines will be disciplemakers for life, regardless of their surroundings.

 ^{*Names changed}

^{The appearance of U.S. DOD visual information does not imply nor constitute DOD endorsement.}

After many years of marriage and ministry to military personnel, God had already impressed on Mike and Pam (his wife) that their family legacy was the spiritual children they had among the Marines and their spouses whom they had discipled, since they had no physical children of their own. 

Now, as the years passed, Mike realized that the children of their spiritual children were also part of their legacy. While he had been praying for his sons in the faith, now he added prayers for their children. Along with praying for these grandchildren in the faith, he intentionally engages with these children to help their parents train them up in the ways of the Lord.

“There are three things I talk to kids about,” shares Mike. “Their vision for their life, how to make decisions, and how to speak like a mature person. For example, I might ask a 15-year-old boy what he would like his life to look like in 10 years, when he is 25. This helps him consider where he is headed and how he might get there, not just his life right now.”

One night Mike was scheduled to meet with Thomas*. The two spend man-to-man discipleship time together each week. Thomas called and asked if he could also bring his teenage son, Daniel*, along with him, “We are struggling in our relationship and at each other’s throats.”

Mike invited them both into conversation. He knew that Daniel had spent many of his growing up years with Thomas deployed. Now, as Thomas is retiring from the Navy as a Corpsman, he is home more, and they are trying to figure out how to relate to each other. After asking some questions and observing, Mike offered a suggestion for them to try in resolving conflict, “Think about establishing some rules of engagement for when you fight.”

Thomas and Daniel went home that night with an assignment from Mike, and also the knowledge that someone cared deeply about their father-son relationship and would keep walking with them for the long haul.

The extended family of spiritual relationships is evident in Mike’s walks around his neighborhood. Years ago, his vision was that as much as possible, he would invite the people he was training and equipping to live within walking distance in their neighborhood. He was aware that for military personnel, part of the sacrifice of service was leaving behind family. So establishing a spiritual extended family ministers to their need for community: “God sets the lonely in families,” Psalm 68:6.   

Now, Mike can walk a few minutes from his home and see Silas and his dad, Jon Martin (Navigators Military), working on an addition to their home. Mike has spent time training Silas in construction skills, as part of Silas’ home school curriculum. Now Silas is putting those skills into practice, along with his dad, on their family home. The Martin family shares the vision of being in an extended spiritual family and will use their new space to host a former Marine as she will go into ministry outreach for women who serve in the Marines.

Praise God that He meets needs for connection and family, along with growing generations of disciplemakers, through Navigators Military. Do you have an extended spiritual family? Who has God placed in your sphere of influence for you to pray for and disciple?

_{*Names changed.}