{"id":268160,"date":"2025-11-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=268160"},"modified":"2025-12-16T09:33:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T16:33:08","slug":"a-ride-on-the-gospel-train-everyday-disciplemakers-from-boston-to-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/a-ride-on-the-gospel-train-everyday-disciplemakers-from-boston-to-d-c\/","title":{"rendered":"A Ride on the Gospel Train: Everyday Disciplemakers from Boston to D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Apostle Paul\u2019s ministry consisted of lots of traveling \u2013 spanning roughly 10,000 miles across various lands. During these travels, Paul spent time intentionally checking in to see the ways in which God had been working and moving through various churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
Frank Tully (right) and Joe Violi (left), who leads Nav20s ministry in Philadelphia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Navigator Frank Tully<\/a> decided to go on a journey of his own in the beginning of 2025 through the Northeast Corridor \u2014 what is known as a \u201cmegalopolis\u201d of overlapping cities and suburbs, stretching from northern Virginia into southern Maine and home to over 50 million people \u2014 to get a front row seat in the ministry of everyday disciplemakers in the Navigators Workplace<\/a> ministry along the way. Frank, who currently serves as the associate city director of The Navigators in Boston<\/a>, jumped on an Amtrak on a Monday for a week-long \u201cGospel Train Trip\u201d to see \u2014 and share \u2014 the work God has been doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Frank had visited and talked with each of these disciplemakers before, it wasn\u2019t until earlier this year when he began to ask himself, \u201cWhy 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of these disciplemakers \u2014 men and women who regularly interact with colleagues, clients, customers, and even competitors \u2014 have incredible opportunities to live and speak the gospel of Jesus and His kingdom in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Professionals Owning Their Callings at Work in Boston<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Monday of this \u201cGospel Train Trip\u201d journey, Frank stopped at the Gospel@Work<\/a> Gathering in Boston, where a group of young professionals was concluding their final session of \u201cThe Work Exchange.\u201d 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably the biggest movement I\u2019ve seen over the last several years. We\u2019re trying to help people in their 20s to really embrace this going forward,\u201d Frank remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Gospel Gains a Foothold in Unexpected Places<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> near the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Kenny shared about how the gospel had gained a foothold in the NYCHA \u2014 the largest housing agency in the world with over 13,000 workers that houses over a million people \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s when he came across Navigator materials like the Design for Discipleship<\/em><\/a> studies from NavPress<\/a> and got connected to Navigator staff in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was not initially a Navigator ministry,\u201d Frank said, \u201cas 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fruit of Gospel Labor Among \u201cNew York\u2019s Finest\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cCommunicating with God\u201d NYPD Training Day put on by the New York City Navigators and First Responder ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was blown away by the stories these police and correctional officers \u2014 men and women of diverse backgrounds \u2014 shared as they discussed The Wheel<\/a>, The Word Hand<\/a>, prayer, and Scripture memory,\u201d Frank shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pioneering a Navigator City of Brotherly Love<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, Frank took the train to Philadelphia to meet with Navigator Joe Violi<\/a>, who was in his second year launching a Navigators 20s<\/a> 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 \u2014 everyday disciplemakers who are foundational for growing a future Navigator city of Brotherly Love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kingdom Making Headway on Capitol Hill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, Frank made his final stop on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He met with Navigator Doug Weber<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Frank recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gospel Train Ride Reflections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, on the ride home of this \u201cGospel Train Ride,\u201d Frank had a chance to reflect on each of these brothers and sisters \u2014 both staff and everyday disciplemakers \u2014 and the work God was doing through them to reach the over 50 million people in the Northeast Corridor. From Boston\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discipleship Tip:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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Come Fish With Me: A Discipleship Bible Study<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Jesus had a way of meeting each person right where they were \u2014 including His disciples. In the \u201cCome Fish with Me\u201d Discipleship Bible study resource, you will explore Jesus\u2019 invitation to these fishermen and how this applies to your life today. Invite a friend to follow Jesus with you as you complete this study together.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LEARN MORE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Navigator Frank Tully witnesses how God has been moving through The Navigators Workplace ministry through a 5-day train trip through the Northeast Corridor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_helpful_pro_status":1,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265,1,6337],"tags":[1483],"mission":[64],"topic":[44],"class_list":["post-268160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-living","category-disciplemaking","category-ministry-impact-stories","tag-disciple","mission-navigators-workplace","topic-discipleship"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/11425-Article-Thanksgiving-activities-for-families-Web.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"The Navigators","author_link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/staff\/thenavigators\/"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268160"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268183,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268160\/revisions\/268183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268160"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=268160"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=268160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}