{"id":257722,"date":"2022-07-18T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=257722"},"modified":"2024-02-07T16:58:31","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T23:58:31","slug":"how-your-consistent-presence-makes-a-lasting-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/consistent-presence-makes-lasting-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"How Your Consistent Presence Makes a Lasting Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Tuesday afternoons are important to Henry Bouma<\/a> and Aaron Collier<\/a>. This is when they talk about life, read Scripture together, discuss ministry opportunities, and pray.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

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From left to right: Aaron and Henry<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n

Henry serves as a national leader for Navigators I:58<\/a>, a ministry focused on communities directly affected by systematic injustice. He lives in Grand Rapids<\/a>, Michigan, with his wife, Jacque. Aaron is also on Navigators staff in Grand Rapids, but that isn\u2019t how these two men met.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cAbout 28 years ago,\u201d Henry shared, \u201cI asked the superintendent of The Potter’s House<\/a> [an urban Christian school in Grand Rapids], if he had a project my men\u2019s group could do for the school. We assumed we would paint a closet or fix a door. Instead, he asked us to mentor five young boys. Aaron, who was 9 years old at the time, was one of those boys.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Life-to-Life\u24c7<\/sup> Discipleship at Different Ages and Stages<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As a biracial kid, Aaron wasn\u2019t sure what to think about Henry, whom he considered a white guy from the suburbs. Aaron\u2019s father had abandoned him at a young age, and he lived with his mom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI was constantly getting in trouble,\u201d Aaron said, \u201cand the principal at school thought it\u2019d be a good idea for myself and four other boys to have father figures in our lives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For Henry, getting to know Aaron included playing laser tag, attending baseball games, and even riding go-karts.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Through investing in these boys from the urban part of Grand Rapids, God led Henry and Jacque to move to Aaron\u2019s neighborhood\u2014where Henry\u2019s dad grew up and even Henry lived until age 2.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cYou would think that if you say, \u2018yes\u2019 to God about moving into the city, it\u2019s going to happen quickly,\u201d Henry shared. \u201cIt took four years before we found the house we\u2019re living in today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In a divine-ordained stream of events Henry and Jacque not only bought one lot, but also the one next door, which serves as the discipleship house.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Today, it hosts Bible studies, sports, neighborhood events, and a leadership program. A handful of college-aged students over the years have even called it \u201chome.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Aaron lived there for about eight years himself\u2014a time when he experienced an even deeper level of Life-to-Life discipleship<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cIt took until my junior and senior year of high school for me to open up to Henry,\u201d Aaron remembered. \u201cEven after graduating high school, I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do. I would help Henry with the ministry Bible studies and their leadership program as I continued to grow in my faith.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cWhen I decided to go Bible college and struggled with my grades, Henry and Jacque came up with a plan to help me. Jacque even tutored me. Knowing they were doing life with me gave me the confidence to trust them. It has transformed me into who I am today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How Fathers Spiritually Invest in Their Kids<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

With two children of his own now, Aaron can see more clearly the ways Henry poured into him.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cHenry was my basketball coach, my youth leader, and together we started a Bible study with my friends,\u201d Aaron shared. \u201cIt was Henry\u2019s consistency in my life that led me to trust him.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As that father figure for Aaron, Henry recalls how Aaron has changed over the years. \u201cI used to be able to block all of his basketball shots,\u201d Henry said, \u201cbut then I got to a point where I couldn\u2019t do that anymore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And yet the spiritual maturity stands out even more. \u201cI saw Aaron catch the vision, Hey, I can make a difference. I can speak into someone\u2019s life. I can walk with people the way Henry walked with me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As Aaron caught this vision for discipleship, he also created a mission statement while participating in the ministry\u2019s leadership program.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cMy mission statement is: I want to impact youth in all areas of their life so they can turn around and impact others,\u201d Aaron said.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Today, Aaron disciples many young guys ages 10 to 30. He met most of them in connection with the discipleship house and while leading Bible studies. However, one of the youngest is his son, age 10. Aaron has shared The Bridge to Life<\/em> illustration <\/a>with him and with his daughter, age 13.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cGod is constantly reminding me that my family needs to be ministered to, maybe even more than the kid down the street,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cRecently, my son and I walked and talked about what was on his heart, and I was able to bring up Scriptures I had learned about who we are in Christ.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cAfter I had this conversation with him, I was reminded of the importance of having these more often. Often I get so busy doing ministry that I forget my family needs these conversations just as much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How Discipleship and Friendship Connect<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Henry thrives in supporting and encouraging disciplemakers, like Aaron, who are now doing ground-level ministry in the neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful thing to live where we\u2019re living and doing life with people on our street and in our neighborhood,\u201d Henry shared. \u201cIn discipleship, the relationship always comes first. You find the common ground, and then you build that trust and relationship. Anybody can do that. We have friends, right?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Henry explained that building relationships is as simple as inviting people to go grocery shopping with you or eat lunch together. He often thinks about what he does every day and how he can invite someone to join him. As a result, he said, \u201cI never eat lunch by myself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cWe often teach someone \u2018two plus two equals four,\u2019 but we rarely say, \u2018Now you\u2019re smart enough to teach someone else the same thing.\u2019 That\u2019s what discipleship is: sharing what you\u2019ve already learned about God and life and passing that onto someone else. Sometimes\u2014easy-to-learn resources like The Wheel<\/em><\/a> or The Bridge<\/em> illustrations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Aaron says that being discipled by Henry has brought clarity to what it looks like to love like Jesus in all of his relationships\u2014as a husband, father, friend, brother, son.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThe future is generations,\u201d Henry said. \u201cWe have kids in the neighborhood who are 5, 6, 7 years old. They come to the discipleship house all the time to play basketball, ride their bikes, and create art with sidewalk chalk.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As Henry and Aaron walk down the street, neighbors often recognize and greet them. In the spirit of Isaiah 60:22<\/a>, if God can use them to have an impact on this neighborhood, He can use anybody.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the next generation. As I look forward, I pray God will open those doors to build relationships with those kids and walk with them for the next however many years God allows us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Discipleship Tip:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Consider ways you could intentionally build friendships with your neighbors through common interests and activities. You might even try using your place as an occasional neighborhood gathering spot this summer and watch to see what God does next.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\t