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.

Navigator Frank Tully decided to go on a journey of his own in the beginning of 2025 through the Northeast Corridor — what is known as a “megalopolis” of overlapping cities and suburbs, stretching from northern Virginia into southern Maine and home to over 50 million people — to get a front row seat in the ministry of everyday disciplemakers in the Navigators Workplace ministry along the way. Frank, who currently serves as the associate city director of The Navigators in Boston, jumped on an Amtrak on a Monday for a week-long “Gospel Train Trip” to see — and share — the work God has been doing.

Although Frank had visited and talked with each of these disciplemakers before, it wasn’t until earlier this year when he began to ask himself, “Why don’t I try to organize one trip where I can spend some time and get alongside each of them for a little bit and get to feel for their world?”

Each of these disciplemakers — men and women who regularly interact with colleagues, clients, customers, and even competitors — have incredible opportunities to live and speak the gospel of Jesus and His kingdom in the workplace.

Young Professionals Owning Their Callings at Work in Boston

On Monday of this “Gospel Train Trip” journey, Frank stopped at the Gospel@Work Gathering in Boston, where a group of young professionals was concluding their final session of “The Work Exchange.” Beginning with six lies the enemy wants us to believe about our work, they looked at how we can exchange these for six truths from God’s Word about our identity and purpose as followers of Jesus at work. The gathering is a part of a broader work the Boston City Team has been championing to help the next generation of young professionals to own The Navigator calling as disciplemakers in their environment.

“It’s probably the biggest movement I’ve seen over the last several years. We’re trying to help people in their 20s to really embrace this going forward,” Frank remarked.

When the Gospel Gains a Foothold in Unexpected Places

Frank got to hear about the diversity of ministry in The Navigators as he made a stop on Tuesday in Harlem to visit Navigator Kenny Cox near the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Kenny shared about how the gospel had gained a foothold in the NYCHA — the largest housing agency in the world with over 13,000 workers that houses over a million people — through employee Bible studies that have been going on for the past several decades with the blessing of NYCHA leadership. In recent years, this has expanded to Bible reading groups for residents in two locations, demonstrating the extent to which Kenny has gained the trust of the NYCHA leadership.

Kenny, a former employee of NYCHA, had been organizing lunch hour Bible studies since 2009 that had grown exponentially and had felt a need to get some other resources for these studies. That’s when he came across Navigator materials like the Design for Discipleship studies from NavPress and got connected to Navigator staff in New York City.

“This was not initially a Navigator ministry,” Frank said, “as much as it’s a work in the kingdom of God that marries up with what the Navigators are trying to accomplish in New York City.”

The Fruit of Gospel Labor Among “New York’s Finest”

On Wednesday, Frank took the NYC subway to Queens, where he had an opportunity to sit alongside the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for a “Communicating with God” NYPD Training Day put on by the New York City Navigators and First Responder ministry.

“I was blown away by the stories these police and correctional officers — men and women of diverse backgrounds — shared as they discussed The Wheel, The Word Hand, prayer, and Scripture memory,” Frank shared.

Frank got to see the fruit of years of labor of the gospel making an impact in NYPD and the families of officers and first responders.

Pioneering a Navigator City of Brotherly Love

On Thursday, Frank took the train to Philadelphia to meet with Navigator Joe Violi, who was in his second year launching a Navigators 20s team with college graduates he has known from his time serving at Penn State University. At the same time, Joe has been hard at work trying to make Philadelphia into a recognized Navigator city, which up to this point has been a loose connection of a few staff and retired staff in the area. Frank joined Joe as he met with a couple for lunch, a man doing medical residency, and others that Joe has been connecting with — everyday disciplemakers who are foundational for growing a future Navigator city of Brotherly Love.

The Kingdom Making Headway on Capitol Hill

On Friday, Frank made his final stop on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He met with Navigator Doug Weber and connected with followers of Jesus who serve on staff in the Senate, the House, and the Justice Department. Even amid the escalating stress and tension for federal workers, they reported seeing an openness to authentic spiritual conversations among other staffers.

“We learned of an investigative Bible study starting at the Justice Department and had the opportunity to pray for several who have been invited to participate,” Frank recalls.

Gospel Train Ride Reflections

Finally, on the ride home of this “Gospel Train Ride,” Frank had a chance to reflect on each of these brothers and sisters — both staff and everyday disciplemakers — and the work God was doing through them to reach the over 50 million people in the Northeast Corridor. From Boston’s biotech labs, the streets of New York City, inside a Philadelphia hospital, to inside the hallways of Congress, God is doing an amazing and often outside-of-the box work.

Pray for Navigator staff and everyday disciplemakers in the Northeast Corridor as they seek to work together for the expansion of the kingdom, and opportunities to be able to connect with one another for mutual encouragement, learning, and support.

Discipleship Tip:

Like the Apostle Paul, Frank has made an effort to check in and encourage ministries in the work they are already doing, bolstering them on to further good works. Where can you encourage believers around you in the work God has already called them to? Think about how you can uplift those around you and spur them on to new horizons.

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.

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.

Yet after nearly 40 years on the job, Ken’s retirement was in sight. He sensed God leading him to build up new leaders for the flourishing Bible study network. He found one in fellow Bronx resident Mike Flores.

At the time, Ken worked in Queens, analyzing data regarding NYCHA apartment repairs. A Bible study member there told him he should meet her supervisor, Mike Flores. She had noticed Mike reading his Bible. Ken wanted to know every “serious believer” at work, and soon he introduced himself. Mike began attending the study.

Impressed with the younger man’s potential, Ken saw Mike as someone who was serious about his walk with the Lord. The two men began having lunch together once a week to study the Bible and encourage one another. They attended men’s retreats together. They had a special nickname for each other: “Man of God.” 

Early on, Ken issued Mike a challenge. “People make time for the things that are important to them. How important is the Word of God to you?” 

Mike rose to the challenge. “The more time I spent in the Bible, the more I became obedient to God’s Word,” he says. “I learned how to be a better husband and father.” 

As Mike grew spiritually, Ken encouraged him to lead the office Bible study. But Mike was not ready and avoided leading a study until God urged him to take the step of faith. He listened and obeyed. Now, years later, he is next in line to lead the network of Bible studies Ken developed. 

Ken and Mike’s friendship continues to deepen. After 10 years, they still meet over the Scriptures. 

“He’s a spiritual father to me,” Mike says. “He encourages me and gives me solid counsel, instead of what I want to hear.”

Mike is now discipling a younger man. Ken predicts, “Mike will do what I’m doing better—more efficiently, more creatively. And then there will be someone who does it better than him. That’s my legacy.”

Discipleship Tip:

Invite someone from work to join you for lunch. As you get to know this person, see if they want to read the Bible together during future lunches.

Spending working hours constantly responding to crisis or emergency situations can lead to problems at home, he says. “First responders come home depressed. 

Alcoholism is high. Many police officers are on their third marriage by the time they retire.” 

This sort of reaction is a coping mechanism to numb the pain or deal with the stress. Without God, they have no hope. But many are finding the hope they desperately need through The Navigators First Responders Ministry.  

Intentionally Reaching Those You Work With

Chris Green, who was serving as a reserve police officer in the Portland, Oregon, area, was grieved by the brokenness he saw in his colleagues. God prompted him to do something about it. In 2012 he launched The Navigators First Responder Ministry. 

The ministry addressed a unique challenge of working with first responders: “If we want to reach them with the gospel, we’re going to have to use insiders,” Chris says. “Outsiders are not going to reach this culture.” 

So, Chris recruited SWAT commander Tony Kollias to begin encouraging the people around him that there was a better way to deal with the stress—through God. Tony, too, understood the importance of the insider in this ministry.

“In law enforcement we don’t trust people,” he explains. Bringing in someone from outside, who’s not part of the culture,  would not be effective. “But to have one of those trusted people who’s a Christ follower share Christ on the inside of the culture, that works. God wanted to use me in the community where He had placed me—inside the Sheriff’s Office.” 

Chris reports, “Just in his own agency, I bet Tony has impacted 50 people. He’s led numerous people to Jesus, he’s discipled many, many people, and he’s challenged people to disciple.” 

How to Change Your Work Culture

Tony began inviting first responders to his home for Bible studies. He made one of the objectives clear from the beginning. “The goal is, to go and do likewise. If you’ve been changed through this, then go and start your own group.” And that’s what happened.

As people encountered Christ, the whole culture of his team began to change. 

Instead of using drinking and other vices to cope many turned towards God. 

“Our SWAT parties used to be centered on drinking,” he says. “Now they’re family parties—we invite them to bring their kids.” Each month the First Responders Ministry in Portland hosts a get-together for those on the team and invites their families. They share a biblical message to both kids and their parents—helping to bring families together, not tear  them apart.  

Tony felt called to retire from the SWAT team and is now ministering full-time with The Navigators. Because insiders are so effective in ministry, Chris is recruiting other retired first responders who have been discipled by Navigators to join in the work. As with Tony, their firsthand experience of the intense challenges these men and women face daily can open doors for the gospel of hope to transform lives.  

Pray for The Navigators First Responders Ministry

In the United States, 4.6 million first responders serve, rescue, and protect us. These men and women need the hope found in the gospel! The Navigators First Responders Ministry now reaches and serves 18 different regions throughout the country. 

How you can pray:

• Pray that God will raise up more laborers and leaders in the areas where we are developing new ministries. (Matthew 9:37)
• Pray that the many regions where ministries are forming would mature and have lasting fruit. They include Seattle, Southern California, New York City, San Antonio, Minnesota, Tampa, and Washington, DC. (Isaiah 54:2-3)
• Pray that first responders and their spouses would have vision and passion to reach their families and co-workers for Christ and help them grow in their faith. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Discipleship Tip:  

Ask God how you can show His love to those you work with and watch for the opportunities He provides—like inviting a co-worker to read the Bible with you!

_{*The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) visual or content does not imply or 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.

To add to the struggle, Ron’s sister was diagnosed with cancer, his wife was in the hospital with COVID and his mother-in-law had an infection due to her diabetic condition and in a hospital back east.

“Tim Chou, my friend and my first point of contact with The Navigators, stepped in immediately to lend me a hand with my family of four kids.” Ron shared. “I went to God and cried out to Him and I submitted myself to Him. I see how He carried me through that time.”

Ron wasn’t the only one who recognized how God cared for him through tough times. He also had the people in his workplace Bible study observe his faith and hope in Jesus and pray for him, too.

How a Bible Study Began in My Workplace

In early 2020, Ron and his co-workers in the medical community had stepped into an unknown season. They recognized the toll it took on them as the world around them changed with many losing their jobs due to lockdowns and failing businesses. 

While this hospital community was used to seeing sick people, Ron describes the scene as eerie and empty, feeling like something more would happen. 

“We experienced this pandemic season first-hand,” Ron shared. “My co-workers and I love music and we all play instruments in my department. So, we started bringing guitars and playing during break times. At first, we played secular music, like R&B and then we would move to gospel songs.”

Then this jam session grew. 

“Next we decided to include other departments, but we needed a new spot.” Ron shared. “We started in this little pathway in the hospital and took our jam session up a notch by talking about life. We shared our struggles, disappointments, and challenges.”

The little pathway in the hospital didn’t last for long, so Ron and a few others approached the hospital chaplain about using the Meditation Room. 

“It used to be called the Prayer Room, but living in a secular community they had to change the name,” Ron shared. “We were straightforward with the chaplain and shared that we were going to do Bible study and if he wanted to join us he could. And he did!”

The Meditation Room became the new home for this Bible study and worship/jam session during their lunch break. While typically there weren’t many people in there, during this COVID season it became a place to rest because so many at the hospital had to take on long shifts. 

“So we just jammed and then we shared the Word. It unfolded into a Bible study and became routine. After discussing a verse we share our prayer needs and then pray for each other,” Ron shared.

Through God’s guidance and Tim’s influence, Ron had replicated the type of community and discipleship relationships he had longed for and found.

Where I Found Community

Prior to this, Ron had prayed that God would provide a Life-to-Life^® Discipleship community for him and his family, while living in a different part of San Diego. 

It was through his times playing basketball that he met Tim and eventually moved into the same neighborhood. His local church is across the street from where he lives. 

“Tim has impacted my spiritual life and still does. We meet once a month for Bible study, but also meet weekly to play basketball and and often hang out together with our families,” Ron shared. “It is a blessing to have this community around. Not just for me, but for my family.”

Ron knew the blessing he had found in this Life-to-Life discipleship community needed to be shared. 

Sharing My Faith with Co-workers

At first, Ron didn’t want to disclose to his already burdened co-workers all that was going on in his life with his wife and mother-in-law both in the hospital and sister battling cancer, but realized that God could use his struggles and faith-testing time as a testimony. 

As this medical community watched, Ron’s wife made a full recovery and even finally got a job after waiting for such a long time without one. They also heard about how Ron’s sister didn’t have to go through extensive treatment because they had caught her cancer at a very early stage. Even his mother-law got the necessary treatment to fight the infection. 

“My co-workers who met with me for Bible study were in awe of what God did,” Ron shared. “There are definitely people coming who have never heard the gospel. When we have these Bible studies we’re bold in worship and sharing the Word with whomever is there. We don’t pry into their belief systems, but show our relationship with Jesus.”

After weeks of these routine worship and Bible-study lunches, some medical professionals even came to the hospital on their days off just for Bible study and community. They use social media to encourage and challenge each other through sharing Scriptures and short devotions. 

One of Ron’s co-workers recently shared how she liked the devotion he had posted. He had incorporated the topic of sports to share about difficulties in life. It was her interest in sports that grabbed her attention. Ron says he enjoys finding common ground with people he meets because that’s where conversations about God can start. 

“Be truthful and let your life situation speak, while putting God first. Whatever it may be: good, bad, happy, sad, joy, trial, our lives are full of unknowns,” Ron shared. “But if you share your unknowns with people, then they become known, and could become your testimony.”