{"id":268390,"date":"2026-01-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=268390"},"modified":"2025-12-12T09:32:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:32:11","slug":"meeting-the-nations-in-michigan-patricks-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/meeting-the-nations-in-michigan-patricks-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting the Nations in Michigan: Patrick\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thirty years ago, the Lord led Navigator Henry Bouma<\/a> into a new mission field: ministering to boys at an inner city school in Grand Rapids, Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, he\u2019s 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\u2019ve graduated, Henry has witnessed the gospel move from one generation to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, in 2007, God placed Mathew 28:19<\/a> on Henry\u2019s heart \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Lord works in mysterious ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s Kingdom by making a home right where they are \u2014 in Grand Rapids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The \u201cYes\u201d That Sparked a Movement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, Patrick moved with his family from Rwanda to West Michigan, a high schooler at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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 \u2014 connecting students from Jon\u2019s after school program to the Sunday night group so that they would continue to have an encouraging Christian community post graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Jon, Patrick was also introduced to Henry\u2019s RISE (Relational Influencers Spiritually Equipped) Urban Youth Leadership program where Henry\u2019s team would meet weekly with high schoolers, share a meal with them, assign mentors, and model what a healthy community looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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Jon (left) and Henry (right) discipled Patrick (middle) throughout his high school experience, challenging him to grow and live out his faith.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cThey supported me and loved me, and in hard times, they always were there for me,\u201d Patrick recalls. \u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Patrick continued to grow in his faith and graduated high school, Jon and Henry encouraged him to pass along what he\u2019d learned to others as a young leader in the ministry. Patrick, naturally shy and introverted, was hesitant at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was really hard to say yes \u2014 I didn\u2019t want to do it,\u201d Patrick recalls. \u201cBut something inside of me knew I should say yes. And I saw God\u2019s goodness in how He used me to reach other people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Over the past few years since, the Lord has taken Patrick\u2019s \u201cyes\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven as an introverted person, I kept going out to share the gospel, and I focused on Romans 1:16<\/a>, which says that we should not be ashamed of the gospel because the power of God is sufficient to everyone who believes,\u201d Patrick explains. \u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\u201cJon and I equipped and discipled Patrick, and now he has four key guys that he\u2019s discipled,\u201d Henry says. \u201cThose 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 \u2014 and he\u2019s only 23!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Trusting God to guide him, Patrick has grown a community of young believers in Grand Rapids who are now becoming disciplemakers themselves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Mission for the Light of Christ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Patrick has now followed the Lord\u2019s calling to join The Navigators I:58<\/a> 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 \u2014 and they pray all night. Through boldness in the midst of fear and submission to God\u2019s calling, the Lord is using Patrick\u2019s hunger for the gospel to advance His Kingdom into all nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patrick and Jon baptizing another young believer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cMy 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,\u201d Patrick says. \u201cI want to bring the hope of Jesus to the hopeless. Our world isn\u2019t perfect, but I want people to know the perfect man, Jesus, and experience His peace. There are people stuck in the darkness \u2014 I want them to experience the light of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please join us in praying over Patrick and Henry\u2019s 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\u00ae<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Discipleship Tip:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Do you ever feel scared to say \u201cyes\u201d to God? Patrick didn\u2019t think he would be a good disciplemaker because he was shy \u2014 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\u2019s peace and wisdom so that you can proceed with confidence, knowing that He has the power to move through you, even when you don\u2019t feel qualified.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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7 Tips for Starting a Discipleship Relationship<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Are you looking to begin a discipleship relationship, but aren\u2019t sure how? Check out our resource, \u201c7 Tips for Starting a Discipleship Relationship,\u201d for pointers on establishing intentional relationships, including conversation starters to explain the whats and whys of a discipleship relationship.<\/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":"

Decades of discipleship led Henry Bouma to Patrick Gakuru, a young Rwandan leader now sparking a new generation of disciplemakers in Grand Rapids.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268389,"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":[1,6337],"tags":[1483],"mission":[65],"topic":[44],"class_list":["post-268390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disciplemaking","category-ministry-impact-stories","tag-disciple","mission-navigators-i-58","topic-discipleship"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/10626-Article-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\/268390","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=268390"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268400,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268390\/revisions\/268400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268390"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=268390"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=268390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}