In 2010, when Jared Stevenson was a young basketball player at McPherson College, he found himself asking deep questions: Who am I? What am I doing with my life? What’s it all for?

One day, he reached out to the only guy he knew who might have answers about God — his friend Zach, a pastor’s kid who was living in the same party scene he was.

Unbeknownst to Jared, the Lord was sovereignly working in both of their lives. The night before, Zach had been challenged by a TV evangelist’s call for viewers to “get right with God.” At the time, Jared didn’t know what that meant, and the two friends started reading the Bible together. Jared remembers being blown away by Matthew 6:33 — that the God of the universe was inviting him to seek His Kingdom and be in relationship with Him.

After noticing Jared reading the Bible, one of Jared’s coaches started a campus Bible study. In a town where most churches were either preaching universalism or a prosperity gospel, this study became a lifeline for students.

Eventually, Jared and Zach found their way to a gospel-preaching church. The very first Sunday they attended a service, the pastor, Jim, invited them to Pizza Hut for lunch and then continued to meet regularly with them. This was Jared’s first experience with Life-to-Life^® discipleship.

Fourteen years later, Jared now serves with Navigators I:58 and as a pastor at a church in Oklahoma City (OKC) leading the neighborhood ministry team.

Moving into the Neighborhood

If you look at a map of OKC, you’ll notice that four intersecting highways create a perfect square. Of the people currently incarcerated in OKC prisons, a disproportionate amount — nearly two-thirds — come from within that square. It’s an area riddled with gang violence and economic depletion, side effects of the gentrification that followed busing integration efforts of the 1970s.

Jared and many of those he ministers alongside intentionally moved into this area — and they’re planning to stay.

“If you want to see generational impact, you have to decide for yourself that you’re going to live here 15 to 20 years,” Jared says. “This is year 15 for me.”

For Jared, when you stick with people in this way, they become your family: it’s no longer us vs. them, but we as family.

With dispensaries standing where food markets once thrived, streets overrun by substance use, and youth desperate for community, Jared has faced challenges as a pastor and disciplemaker.

For example, this past year Jared unexpectedly encountered a young woman who was a victim of gun violence. After being shot, she lost control of the car and ran right through the wall of the church office. She passed in Jared’s arms as he prayed over her. The individuals involved in the violence were 15 and 17 years old.

That day, Jared revisited questions he has asked himself many times: How was Jesus a man of sorrows and yet full of joy? How can I personally press on in ministry with joy and hope while witnessing so much sorrow?

The Lord continues to meet Jared in these difficult moments by encouraging him through Scripture. He has committed to praying Zechariah 13:2 and Matthew 9:38 over his city — for all false teaching to stop and more laborers to arise as the body of Christ works together to advance the gospel in their neighborhood, maintain a free health clinic, sustain a startup community school, host after-school programs, and build up the local church.

“Stepping into areas where there has been systematic oppression for decades … any kind of real church work is going to be ‘prophetic’ in its nature, meaning it’s going to speak to those things and address some of those issues,” Jared says. “It’s going to preach the gospel and do the work.”

Creatively Reaching Youth in OKC

A few years ago, Jared was reading Proverbs 29 and recognized similar themes in the youth surrounding him: they didn’t know God, they were “casting off restraint” (see v. 18), and they were discouraged.

Jared recalls one kid who would wander the streets, often showing up at Jared’s house to ask for work, trying to earn money. Eventually, the boy got in some serious trouble. “It broke me,” Jared remembers.

With this heavy on his heart, Jared started asking students what they needed. The answer was both simple and complicated: they needed a place to go — a place to belong, to have fun with other youth, to eat and play games.

At the time, Jared’s church didn’t have a permanent gathering space, but he started praying. As he researched after-school programs, he learned that most youth get in trouble between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m. — right after school, before their parents get home.

What if someone stepped in the gap? “That’s what we did,” Jared says. Even before his church had a building of its own, God provided a space for the after-school program through another Kingdom-minded church in the community that graciously offered use of their building!

At the same time, Jared’s family and other ministry families were wrestling with the tensions of raising their own children in this neighborhood. While they were committed to raising up young disciplemakers — followers of Jesus who love like He did, and who understand that everyone is equally in need of the gospel — they didn’t have peace about entrusting their kids to the local school.

One day an older woman pulled one of the other church pastors aside during a neighborhood Bible study, grieved that her grandson couldn’t read. She asked, “What are you going to do about it?” The Holy Spirit brought Isaiah 58 to mind, and this is how St. Paul’s Community School was born.

Grace at Work

Jared carries the young guys from his neighborhood and after-school program on his heart — some of whom he’s known since they were 7 or 8 years old. He watches many of them struggle after they graduate, and that has taught him to be persistent in prayer  and confidently hope in the grace of God. “God’s grace is more merciful than I can even imagine, and He’s sovereignly working in their lives to draw them,” Jared shares.

That grace saved him when he was a junior at McPherson. It sustains him when he’s praying over the victim of a drive-by shooting or presiding over a family funeral. And grace is what he’s pointing his kids, his family, neighbors, congregants, and students toward — because we all need Jesus to be our Savior.

Grateful for God’s provision of the resources and relationships that are helping fuel so many different ministries in his neighborhood, Jared has seen firsthand the gift of seeing disciplemaking thrive in a local church context.

“What’s really great about our church is that there doesn’t seem to be any contentiousness with it,” Jared says. “And so, when we’re talking about Life-to-Life discipleship and training relationships, we’re talking about it in a way that helps us to see where that fits in with the larger map of discipleship.”

When disciplemakers press on in knowing Christ and all that His heart is for — making Him known, tangibly, in word and in deed, and helping others do the same — that’s when we see generations impacted by His grace.

Join us in praying over Jared’s ministry, that they continue to raise laborers to serve in local ministries, represent the heart of Jesus to those they serve, and see their city transformed.

Discipleship Tip:

Long-term presence can be one of the most powerful tools in disciplemaking. When you choose to stay, to show up consistently, and to carry people on your heart over years — not just moments — discipleship becomes family, not a project. Ask God where He’s inviting you to be faithfully present so others can experience His love through your steady, everyday life.

Note: As the Redemption Community Development Corporation (RCDC) started by Jared’s church responds to increasing needs in the community, they are expanding their after-school program from one day a week to four days a week. If you’re interested in giving, please reach out to Jared or give to this project here. If you’re interested in partnering with Jared in ministry in Oklahoma City, you can make a gift here.

Over the years, he’s watched as the young students he discipled have grown up, some even serving alongside him on Navigator staff today. Through persistent discipleship, mentorship in crucial life skills, and walking with these boys after they’ve graduated, Henry has witnessed the gospel move from one generation to the next.

However, in 2007, God placed Mathew 28:19 on Henry’s heart — a calling to make disciples of all nations. Having spent his whole life within the borders of Grand Rapids, Henry had a hard time picturing what that calling would look like.

But the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Since then, God has brought the nations to Michigan, and Henry has had the chance to minister to students from all over the world. Many of these students have later returned to their home countries with a vision for disciplemaking, while others have chosen to advance God’s Kingdom by making a home right where they are — in Grand Rapids.

Through this commission, Henry met and discipled Patrick Gakuru: a student turned avid disciplemaker who is now lighting a fire for Christ among the young Rwandan community in Michigan.

The “Yes” That Sparked a Movement

In 2016, Patrick moved with his family from Rwanda to West Michigan, a high schooler at the time. 

One day while he was eating lunch in his new school cafeteria, Patrick came across Jon Blahnik, who led a Youth for Christ ministry at Patrick’s high school. As Patrick got more involved with the ministry, Jon started bringing him to Sunday evening Navigator Bible studies led by Henry. Jon and Henry frequently partnered up like this — connecting students from Jon’s after school program to the Sunday night group so that they would continue to have an encouraging Christian community post graduation.

Through Jon, Patrick was also introduced to Henry’s RISE (Relational Influencers Spiritually Equipped) Urban Youth Leadership program where Henry’s team would meet weekly with high schoolers, share a meal with them, assign mentors, and model what a healthy community looks like.

Tagteaming ministry, Jon and Henry started discipling Patrick throughout his high school years, meeting with him one-on-one and showing him what it means to be rooted in Scripture and live out his faith as a man of God.

“They supported me and loved me, and in hard times, they always were there for me,” Patrick recalls. “In everything they do, they glorify God. So whenever I have a problem, I go to them. If I have a question or a doubt, they have created a space for me to be vulnerable and safe with them.”

As Patrick continued to grow in his faith and graduated high school, Jon and Henry encouraged him to pass along what he’d learned to others as a young leader in the ministry. Patrick, naturally shy and introverted, was hesitant at first.

“It was really hard to say yes — I didn’t want to do it,” Patrick recalls. “But something inside of me knew I should say yes. And I saw God’s goodness in how He used me to reach other people.”

Over the past few years since, the Lord has taken Patrick’s “yes” and faithfully used it to start a chain of generational disciplemaking, specifically among the next generation of youth arriving in Grand Rapids from Rwanda. Coming alongside these students as they adjust to life in the United States, Patrick invites them to read the Bible with him. Now, he leads a dynamic cohort of over 20 young people among various Bible studies.

“Even as an introverted person, I kept going out to share the gospel, and I focused on Romans 1:16, which says that we should not be ashamed of the gospel because the power of God is sufficient to everyone who believes,” Patrick explains. “So I would pray, and as I moved around, I felt Jesus using me. The fear was gone, and I felt more confident to share the gospel with others.”

From leading Bible studies and prayer groups to walking around downtown Grand Rapids and sharing the gospel with strangers, the Lord has worked through Patrick to create a community of believers centered around discipleship.

“Jon and I equipped and discipled Patrick, and now he has four key guys that he’s discipled,” Henry says. “Those guys are now leading others, and some of the guys they are leading are already catching that vision too. So we are talking four, maybe five, generations of disciplemakers. The Holy Spirit is working mightily through Patrick — and he’s only 23!”

A Mission for the Light of Christ

Patrick has now followed the Lord’s calling to join The Navigators I:58 ministry in Grand Rapids. He and many of the other students from Rwanda meet in groups every night of the week. Several of them gather for prayer on Fridays — and they pray all night. Through boldness in the midst of fear and submission to God’s calling, the Lord is using Patrick’s hunger for the gospel to advance His Kingdom into all nations.

“My mission statement is to listen to hurting people, build their faith, and bring healing to the hurting and the lost, helping them grow close to God,” Patrick says. “I want to bring the hope of Jesus to the hopeless. Our world isn’t perfect, but I want people to know the perfect man, Jesus, and experience His peace. There are people stuck in the darkness — I want them to experience the light of Jesus.”

Please join us in praying over Patrick and Henry’s ministry in Grand Rapids, as they reach and shepherd students and their multicultural community to know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same^®.

Discipleship Tip:

Do you ever feel scared to say “yes” to God? Patrick didn’t think he would be a good disciplemaker because he was shy — and yet, the Lord has used him to impact dozens of lives in his city. If you are feeling hesitant or fearful to go where God is leading you, pray for the Lord’s peace and wisdom so that you can proceed with confidence, knowing that He has the power to move through you, even when you don’t feel qualified.

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/.

Walt’s father had passed away when he was 13 years old, and since then, his life had spiraled out of control. Frequently getting into trouble, he left for college without a home to come back to. “I was just a mess,” Walt remembers. “I went off to college to party my life away. The day I left for college, my mom told me, ‘I don’t ever want you coming back here.’”

On July 12th, Walt got drunk with a friend and cried for the first time since his dad died. When his friend asked him why, Walt replied, “Mark, I have absolutely nothing to live for. But I’m scared to die.”

The next day, Walt got into a fight with another student playing basketball. As he sat in his dorm room after — still covered in the other students’ blood from breaking his nose — he hit a breaking point. Sending a desperate plea to God, he asked for a sign.

“Whoever You are, show me how I can be right with You,” Walt prayed. “Show me how I can deal with this anger, and I’ll give You my life.”

Several minutes later, Walt heard a knock on his door. On the other side stood Keith Hughes, a recent graduate who was involved with The Navigators on campus.

Earlier in the evening, Keith had planned to go to a baseball game on campus. When the game was canceled due to weather, he sat at a park nearby Walt’s dorm to spend some time with the Lord. During that time, he felt a calling from God — there was someone in the dorm he needed to talk to. He walked into the hall, got in the elevator, closed his eyes, and chose a random floor to visit. Two doors over, in room 402, Walt was ready for him.

That night, Keith shared the gospel with Walt, and it was a moment that forever changed the trajectory of Walt’s life.

“When God sent Keith to my door, I knew, it’s time,” Walt remembers. “God’s done his part. Now it’s time for me to bend my knee and come to the Lord. So that’s what I did.”

A Lasting Impact

Today, over four decades later, Walt still vividly remembers that night: the exact date, along with Keith’s name, are forever inscribed inside the front cover of Walt’s Bible — despite the fact that Walt and Keith lost touch a couple weeks later that summer.

In the years since, Walt has grown in his faith and passionately pursued the Lord, serving overseas and teaching the next generation of Christian leaders how to live out their faith around the world. Thousands of lives have been touched by the gospel through Walt’s faith — including his mom, whom he later led to Christ, and his three sons, who are now serving in ministry themselves. For Walt’s family, Keith Hughes is a household name — the man who led their father to Christ all those years ago and impacted their family for generations.

The funny part of the story, though? If you asked him today, Keith doesn’t remember that moment in the dorm room at all.

When Keith thinks back on that summer, he mostly recalls it as the months that he began to date his wife. At the time, he would go onto campus to practice evangelism as The Navigators had trained him to do in college, sharing the gospel with the students he met. He doesn’t remember Walt specifically, or that fateful night — just that he was trying to plant seeds for Christ.

“For me, it was all about obedience — God allowed me to plant a seed, and the ground was fertilized,” Keith says. “God had worked in Walt’s heart long before we crossed paths, and God had an impact through his life since. But for me, this was probably something I wouldn’t have found out about until glory.”

This past year, Walt and Keith were reconnected through Navigator Greg Bryan, who coincidentally met Walt, heard his story, and helped him track down Keith. When Walt shared with Keith the impact that he had on his life back in 1978 and that he had been wanting to meet him again ever since, Keith could barely believe it.

“It was a surreal conversation because this was the most important day of my life,” Walt says. “It changed the trajectory of my life forever. And Keith doesn’t even remember.”

Seeds Planted For Christ

“For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” 1 Corinthians 3:4-7 (NIV). 

For Keith, 1 Corinthians 3:4-7 sums up his story with Walt: though he planted a seed, God watered it and transformed Walt into the faithful man he is today.

Like many believers, Keith may never have known the impact of the seed he planted that day. But through God’s grace of reconnecting with Walt years later, he has now been able to catch a glimpse of heaven, seeing how the Lord used his obedience that one night when he was a young man.

“To me, this is a story about divine appointments and a glimpse of heaven,” Greg says. “Keith had no idea what happened to that broken, angry young man he led to faith that night … they might not have even met until they stepped into eternity. But now Walt can say, ‘You touched my life, you changed my life. And because of that, I was able to go on and touch others’ lives with the gospel. The seed you’ve sown in my life produced fruit.’”

You can hear more of Walt and Keith’s story of divine appointments on Greg’s podcast Gospel Addict.

Discipleship Tip:

As disciplemakers, sometimes we don’t know how God will water the seeds we plant. Like Keith, we may never know how one conversation can lead to a chain reaction of impact years later. This week, invite God into your relationships and ask Him to water the seeds that you plant.

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.

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.

Little did they know, but God would answer their prayers in an incredible way.

Over the last school year, Navigators at the University of Wisconsin have experienced a surge of fruitful ministry — simply through the momentum of students leading other students to Christ.

“There’s this generational disciplemaking happening,” Navigator Brian VanZante says. “These students — it’s on their heart to not just convert people and leave them, but to help them grow to a place where they can help others.”

This was the case for two students, Eli and Alyssa. Having grown in their faith through discipleship throughout their college experiences, they both took up the call this past year to pass on what they’ve learned to incoming freshmen. From hosting Bible studies to meeting weekly in discipleship, Eli and Alyssa have watched the Lord transform the lives of those they lead.

Eli’s story

Eli first got plugged in with The Navigators as a freshman when he showed up to an outreach event. Immediately, he was struck by the intentionality of the leaders in the ministry. “I joined a Bible study, and it just blew me away,” he remembers. “I never expected to find a group like that in college.”

As Eli started to get more involved, he was discipled by an upperclassman named Parker. Parker walked Eli through different books of the Bible, helping him memorize Scripture and navigate whatever Eli was going through in life at the time.

“There was this unique aspect of sharing lives and someone pouring into me individually that I had never experienced before,” Eli remembers. “It was a huge blessing to me, and it inspired me to want to do the same for others.”

As Eli neared the end of his college experience, he started praying a specific prayer in the months leading up to his senior year: “God, don’t just make this a year where I enjoy college. Can you do something with my life? Can you help me have a permanent effect on campus?”

The first week of the fall semester, Eli was playing volleyball at a Navigators event when a new student, Joseph, came up to him. Joseph, who had already signed up for Eli’s Bible study, asked Eli, “You’re going to be my Bible study leader, right? So should we start reading the Bible together?”

Eli was taken aback — he had never seen that kind of initiative before. Eli agreed, and before their official Bible study even started, he and Joseph started reading the Bible together every morning. At the time, Joseph said that he had an interest in the gospel, but wasn’t entirely sure about God. However, soon after, he gave his life to Christ. Eli later had the opportunity to baptize Joseph in front of the whole ministry.

During that time, Eli also met another new freshman named Caden. Eli asked Caden to meet up, and before they met, Eli felt the Holy Spirit telling him that Caden was ready to hear the gospel — he was low hanging fruit ready to be picked. Eli shared The Bridge to Life illustration with Caden, and right then and there, Caden accepted Christ. Eli continued to disciple him throughout the rest of the year.

However, the chain of discipleship didn’t stop there. Later in the semester, Joseph shared his faith with a classmate, Paul, leading him to Christ and discipling him the rest of the year. Over this past summer, Joseph served at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado, and has led a few campers to Christ as well. Similarly, Caden shared the gospel with his family, and now his parents are going to church with him.

“My prayer was 2 Timothy 2:2, which talks about entrusting what you’ve learned to faithful men,” Eli says. “I wanted to entrust the teaching of Christ that I received to them, so that they could pass it along and teach it to others. That was my prayer for Joseph and Caden — and God has been answering it.”

Alyssa’s story

Though Alyssa was raised Catholic, she didn’t really know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. In high school, she sought worldly fulfillment, looking to partying and feeling like she had to prove herself by meeting the expectations laid out in front of her. However, through her involvement with a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) group at her high school, she started to seek the Lord, even though she wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for.

“I didn’t have Jesus then, but I can see the ways He intentionally put things into my life to flourish and know His name,” Alyssa remembers.

When Alyssa arrived at University of Wisconsin as a freshman, she had never heard of The Navigators. She started to slip into the party scene on campus, but felt empty and thought that it might be good to join a campus ministry to make friends. When she discovered The Navigators, she was drawn in by how caring the students were.

“They kept being so intentional with me, showing the love of Christ to me so I could get to know Him,” she says. “I just really wanted a friend to talk to, and I’ve never been sought out in that way before. The world never did that for me.”

Later that semester, Alyssa had fully given her life to Christ. She started being discipled by a leader named Ali, who walked with her through the highs and lows of life while also shepherding her heart towards Christ.

“She met me exactly where I was at,” Alyssa recalls. “She wasn’t pushing me too hard or letting me wander too far without following along. She was stewarding me well.”

Over the next couple of years, Alyssa started to get more involved, leading Bible studies and even attending a Summer Training Program (STP) in Colorado Springs, where she led kids at Eagle Lake Camp. 

As she went into her junior year of college, Alyssa was intentionally praying for the Lord to help her connect and disciple other students on campus.

The Lord answered her prayer. Over her junior year, Alyssa has gotten to disciple multiple women, guiding them the way that Ali once led her. Beyond that, in a Bible study she leads, three women have given their lives to Christ! She’s watched as they’ve grown confident in their faith, becoming disciplemakers and leaders themselves.

“When I meet with someone, I want to give them the tools they need to be more successful and steward the gifts that God’s given them,” Alyssa says. “It’s been so inspiring to see these women who were very much in worldly ways — like I once was — turning towards Jesus and professing their faith.”

Now a senior, Alyssa continues to passionately pursue hearts for Christ on campus — a calling that will stick with her long after graduation. “Wherever I go, The Navigators will always have a place in my heart,” she says. “They’ve taught me core truths about God’s Word and what my soul really needs.”

Laborers for a Lifetime

Alyssa and Eli’s stories are just a small picture of the work God is doing on campus at the University of Wisconsin. As this new generation of believing underclassmen continue to grow, they will only fuel the momentum of passionate disciplemakers in years to come.

“We can attribute the fruit of this year to God working in these freshmen’s hearts before they even arrive on campus,” Brian says. “The prayers of these students are powerful, and they are asking for the souls of their classmates. We are seeing students who are going to be laborers of Christ for a lifetime, not just four years of college.”

Discipleship Tip:

Eli and Alyssa both prayed for the Lord to move in the lives of students and provide them with discipleship opportunities before the school year even began. Like them, you can start your discipleship journey by praying for the Lord to guide you and your relationships. Take some time this week and pray for the Lord to open doors for you to share your faith with someone new!

As Next Gen celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it’s incredible to look back on how God has multiplied spiritual generations through this ministry’s mission to encourage and facilitate Life-to-Life^® discipleship among teenagers.

The Next Gen Legacy

Next Gen began in 1974 with Dick and Marti Stum. For 20 years, Dick worked as a high school math instructor, eventually joining Navigator staff full-time as God continued to bless and grow their ministry. Dick still actively invests in young men, but now serves with Navigators Encore, having passed leadership of Next Gen to Don and DeAnn.

“God shows up when we give ourselves to kids,” Don says.

Faithfulness and joy is incredibly evident in the Frasers’ ministry to youth. Over the years, there has been a healthy flow of students who go from Next Gen to The Navigators Collegiate ministry, and from Collegiate back to Next Gen and other ministries as Next Gen alumni grow up and decide to come back as volunteers.

A young woman named Kayla is an example of this. Kayla’s faith journey began at The University of Maryland. She was later discipled by DeAnn while volunteering with Next Gen, before and during veterinary school. Today, Kayla serves with The Navigators in Vermont.

Like Kayla, there are Next Gen alumni who are serving as professionals, pastors, and in missions all over the world.

God is using Don and DeAnn’s unique gifts and passions to grow His Kingdom in other contexts, as well. Don is gifted with good technology skills and has served the D.C. metro team in many important operations. For example, he started YouthNet, a Navigator youth network that provides resources and connections for youth ministry friends across the country

Similarly, DeAnn leads an important SHAW (Sexual Health and Wholeness) ministry called “Chosen Again” that serves and supports wives whose husbands are in recovery from sexual addictions.

Don and DeAnn are also faithfully making disciples where they live. Through the Frasers’ intentional disciplemaking, their neighbors are beginning to pursue faith. One of their neighbors has been reading the Bible with DeAnn for the past year and often takes her kids to church with the Frasers.

This neighbor’s husband — a six-foot-nine-inch former international basketball professional — has started to join his family’s church attendance. On one recent trip, he was receptive to Don sharing the gospel. Now, he and Don are reading through the Gospel of Mark and regularly attending a men’s breakfast and Bible study group together.

Impact That Expands Across Generations

As The Navigators celebrate 50 years of Navigators youth ministry in the D.C. area, we celebrate and thank God for the Stums, the Frasers, and many others who have teamed together to disciple high school youth over the years. The impact of their work extends beyond youth to college campuses, those in our broader community, and to the world.

Discipleship Tip:

Don and DeAnn Fraser began discipling youth through simple, consistent Life-to-Life^® relationships. Consider how you can embrace the next generation of young believers — reading Scripture together, listening well, and pointing them to Jesus. Even small moments can spark lifelong faith.

“I was in prison, and you came to visit me. . . . whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” Matthew 25:36,40 (NIV).

In a juvenile detention center in Virginia, two teens were having a meaningful conversation centered around an unlikely topic: faith.

At the time, 17-year-old Chris* was feeling directionless, and was considering following another world religion to give him purpose. His friend, Ron*, cared enough about him to speak truth in love.

“You don’t want to go down that road, it’ll ruin your life,” Ron said. “The Bible will straighten you out!” 

A Calling for the Incarcerated

About a year ago, Navigators Disciplemakers for Life (D4L) staff Brent Anderson met Ron, just 19 years old, in his weekly visits with juveniles (generally ages 15–17) at a juvenile center in Augusta County, Virginia. Brent has been ministering among incarcerated men and women since 1981, when an elder at his church asked him if he would consider visiting a prison with him. Since then, he’s also worked with international students at the University of Virginia, but he’s continued to serve in prisons to this day.

Brent started specifically getting involved with juveniles around 19 years ago, when he formed a connection with some young gang members who had been put into a juvenile facility. Over time, Brent became friends with the teens, as well as their families, watching as the Lord brought a couple of them to Christ.

Over this past year, Brent has formed a friendship with Ron. When Brent first walked into Ron’s center, Ron told him that he had been waiting for someone to come and give him spiritual guidance. Since then, Brent has watched as Ron has grown from an immature believer to one who eagerly shares the gospel with other juveniles in his pod, like Chris.

What has made the difference in Ron’s life? The Lord has used Brent to offer weekly encouragement to Ron to center his mind, heart, and life on the Word of God — and it’s transformed Ron’s life dramatically.

“Ron comes from a home with an alcoholic mother,” Brent says. “No one ever told him that sleeping around with girls is wrong, so he gave himself to that empty pursuit. I shared with him that God calls that ‘sin,’ and how instead we are to seek to live holy lives that honor Him.”

Ron eagerly received Brent’s instruction and began reading some books on purity and memorizing key Bible verses to help him in his battle with lust. One key verse has been Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV).

“Next time something on TV pops up that’s impure,” Brent advised, “turn your head away.”

“The Little Evangelist”

As Ron began to fill his heart and mind with God’s Word, his zeal for the Lord blossomed so much that he became known as “the little evangelist” in his pod. His influence upon Chris has been powerful.

One day Brent walked into the pod, and Chris came up to him. “Brent, I’ve decided to believe in and follow Jesus,” Chris said. Now Chris and several other young men meet with Brent weekly in the pod, Bibles in hand, eager to discuss God’s truths for their lives.

“We have these Bible studies with the kids, and some of them are extremely eager to delve into the Word,” Brent says. “I was talking with one young guy, and he’s reading 10 chapters a day! He’s really excited about what God’s doing.”

In recent months, Ron has been transferred to a short-term placement facility with several other young men to prepare for life out in society, and he’s been living out the gospel where he’s at. Please pray that Ron will continue to shine as a diamond for Christ and that Brent will be able to help him.

“Disciples aren’t born; they’re made,” Brent says. “These kids can be very eager to come to Christ, but they need to be grounded in the Word. So they need to connect, and when they get out, connect to a church, family, or group home. Discipleship is important because they need to stay plugged in, surrounded by people who are willing to embrace them, accept them, and walk with them.”

*Names changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

Are there juveniles in rough places in your community like Ron and Chris who need someone to lovingly share the truths of God’s Word with them? For further information about pursuing this kind of ministry in your area, feel free to reach out to Brent Anderson at brent.anderson@navigators.org