Tom Hatch was the Oregon State Police arson investigator assigned to the scene. He had seen countless fatal fires during his career, but this one was different. The wreckage was scattered everywhere. The weight of parents grieving their children hung heavy in the air. After three long days of investigation, Tom went home changed.

When Tom returned home, his wife, Denise, gently urged him to talk with a police chaplain named Chris Green. Tom resisted, but Denise kept pushing him to meet with Chris. Finally, he agreed — on one condition. “I told him he could ride along with me for a time, but that he should bring money for a bus ride home because by noon, we were going to be done,” Tom remembers.

Despite Tom’s efforts, he found himself enjoying Chris’s company. They used the bus money for coffee and spent the whole day talking. When Tom dropped Chris off at the end of the day, he realized he had made a new friend — one who would impact his life for decades.

“Tom learned a valuable lesson,” Chris says. “Even without a specific request, God provides the strength to endure and overcome challenges and may even empower a person’s abilities.”

It was 10 years later when Chris saw Tom again — but this time, Tom was facing the greatest challenge of his life.

Finding Jesus on the Brink of Death

In 2006, a rare virus had attacked Tom’s heart, leaving the once-strong officer in a state of heart failure. “They told me my career was over,” Tom said. Though he was able to finish his years with the State Police in spite of his health challenges, his heart plummeted the year after he retired. Suddenly, even walking to get the mail felt like running a marathon. By 2020, Tom’s condition had worsened so severely that he would need a heart transplant to survive.

Around that same time, Chris, now serving with the Navigators Military & First Responder Ministry, happened to see Tom’s name in a newsletter and reached out. “The timing was fortuitous,” Tom said. The pair grabbed breakfast, caught up, and prayed together — rekindling their friendship while entrusting Tom’s failing heart to God.

On July 6, Tom went into the hospital on his birthday for a quick medical test. Instead, he was admitted to the ICU. Though Tom was kept in isolation due to COVID restrictions, Chris, using his chaplain credentials, was still able to visit. During that time, Chris visited frequently, praying with Tom as they waited and hoped for a heart.

Sixteen days later, doctors offered Tom what they called an “at-risk” heart; the donor had died from a drug overdose. Despite unfavorable odds, the transplant succeeded. Tom experienced what his doctors later called a rare “Pollyanna recovery” — no rejection, no major complications. Beyond that, because Tom was the first heart transplant to occur at that hospital, the surgery was completely free.

“I remember sitting there, and I kept asking Chris, why is God keeping me alive?” Tom says. “I didn’t get it. There’s so many other fathers out there. But God just kept giving and giving.”

Facing death stripped away what Tom calls his former “ticket-punch” faith: Go to church, get baptized, read the Bible, and move on. In the hospital, Tom felt God’s presence like never before and knew his life — and faith — would never be the same.

“When I look back, post transplant I’m a completely different person,” Tom says. “Coming out the other side, I know God kept me alive for a reason. And I don’t want to stand before Him one day, and all I can tell Him is I ate great barbecue for the extra years He gave me. No, I want to serve Him.”

Tom spent months recovering, and a year in quarantine to protect his new heart. During that time, Chris began to disciple Tom and encourage him to pour into others. Tom started serving with The Navigators — first by praying with first responders through the NYPD prayer line during his quarantined year, then by discipling others in his local community.

One of those people was Joe, a retired Portland Police SWAT sniper who had walked away from his faith decades earlier. After a near-death experience, Joe came back to Christ, and Chris connected him with Tom for discipleship. Over the past few years, Tom and his wife, Denise, have discipled Joe and his wife, Tina, a former police officer. As the two couples grew in their faith together, they decided to create a Bible study group for new believers and those exploring faith. That small group has now grown to 14 members — many of whom are fellow first responders. Four of the group members came to Christ within the past year.

A Heart that Beats for Discipleship

Today, Tom dedicates time each week to discipling police officers, firefighters, and men navigating heart-health challenges. Through the process of physically losing and gaining a heart, God formed in Tom a new spiritual heart for Christ and discipleship — one that will continue to beat for eternity.

“God used my journey and brought me ministry through it,” Tom says. “Now I want to be in the trenches. I want to be on the front lines. Going through what I did, it made me realize that though I thought I had a relationship with Christ, there’s no comparison to how He has my attention now. He just had to put me on the brink of death first.”

Discipleship Tip:

When Denise saw Tom struggling with the weight of what he’d experienced, she came alongside him in his discipleship journey by encouraging him to connect with Chris. Are there people in your life you think might connect especially well in a discipling relationship? This week, consider how you might help introduce them to each other.

This past summer, parents and Navigators John Teten and Kari Ballard were able to experience a week at camp: John as a camper with his daughter, and Kari leading a group of moms and daughters. What they experienced went deeper than just a fun adventure with family. Through camp, they watched God heal relationships, build bonds through physical challenges, and foster new connections between parents, their kids, and those who journeyed with them.

Dad Teen Trek: Learning to Do Hard Things Together

When John first heard about Dad Teen Trek, he wasn’t sure if it was for his family. He and his soon-to-be 12-year-old daughter, Lucille, were “lowlanders from Florida,” not seasoned backpackers, and Lucille would be the youngest teen on the trip. However, when Eagle Lake Camp Director Jenny Dordal reached out to John to ask if he and Lucille wanted to join this summer camp experience, John agreed.

What followed became, in John’s words, “one of the greatest weeks of my life — and one of the greatest weeks of life together with my daughter.”

Dad Teen Trek blends wilderness adventure with intentional spiritual formation. The week began on site at Eagle Lake with a low ropes course before sending dads and their teens into the Colorado backcountry for several days of hiking, camping, and guided conversations. Along the trail, counselors created space for Scripture, prayer, and extended one-on-one conversations between the dads and their kids — hours set aside simply to talk, listen, and be present.

For Lucille, the physical challenge became deeply formative. On the final climb of a long hike, John repeatedly offered to lighten her load. Each time, she refused. Determined to finish on her own, Lucille pressed on while counselors walked beside her, cheering her forward. That moment stayed with John, especially knowing his daughter had recently walked through a season of struggling with anxiety.

“It planted a seed in her that she can do hard things,” John explains. “She can do them with others. She can do them with her dad. She can do them with the Lord. She can endure.”

Equally meaningful was the way counselors modeled servant leadership. John, who works in the Navigators Collegiate ministry, was struck by the maturity and humility of the young leaders guiding the trek. They created an atmosphere of safety and joy — all while carrying heavy loads and leading adults and teens through unfamiliar terrain.

“Eagle Lake does a great job developing young leaders who are constantly having to lead with service and faith,” John says. “They were always on, always with a smile. They anticipated our needs, guided us, encouraged us, and cheered us on. These counselors that guided our trip were some of the most impressive young people I’ve ever been around.”

After a week of hiking and whitewater rafting, the four dads and their teens returned for a final night at camp. The dads prepared a banquet-style dinner, complete with twinkling lights, followed by a ceremony of blessing. Teens read words honoring their dads, and dads spoke blessings over their teens. John could barely get through his first words without tears.

That moment was so significant to John and his daughter that several months after camp, Lucille still references that moment — proudly identifying her dad as “the one who cries with me.”

At the end of the week, all the trekkers got to choose a bracelet with a word that captures what the week meant to them. John chose the word “loved” and witnessed his daughter place the bracelet around his wrist. He’s worn it every day since.

“I chose ‘loved’ because for me, the week was a beautiful mix of the love I have for my daughter and the love she has for me,” John says. “But even more, I was reminded of my Father’s love for me, that I’m wrapped up into His love too.”

Mom Teen Trek: Vulnerability That Builds Family

While Dad Teen Trek has been around for about 30 years at Eagle Lake, Mom Teen Trek launched for the first time this past summer. Kari, who grew up attending and leading camp as a girl and has since sent all of her kids to Eagle Lake, helped guide the week.

Three mom-and-daughter duos arrived for the week of backpacking, each carrying their own story. One mom came with her 21-year-old daughter, Faith, who has Down syndrome. Another arrived with a confident 17-year-old, and a third brought her 13-year-old adopted daughter.

Almost immediately, bonds between the girls and their moms started to develop. Faith declared the other girls her “besties.” Though each girl had a unique background and was going through a different walk of life, the time spent in the mountains connected them in a way that dissolved any barriers that might have existed.

“They ditched whatever personas they came in with,” Kari says, “and just loved on each other like you wouldn’t believe.”

On the trail, the moms also forged deep connections, sharing openly about their fears, disappointments, and prayers for their children. No one came pretending to have it all together, but through physical challenges and vulnerability, they were able to share in their weakness and walk stronger, together.

“Coming from a place of weakness and challenge made it safe for us to talk and share about the struggles we were facing,” Kari shares. “It only gets lighter as we are all carrying a bit of it, and we could pray over each other.”

The community and connections born on the trail have progressed beyond camp. In the months following, the four moms who attended have continued to talk monthly, praying for their children and for one another.

“There’s something about sitting around a fire talking about the Lord, what you are learning in your quiet time, that’s really valuable and powerful,” Kari explains. “Everything hits a little closer to home because you are tired and struggling. You’re helping each other make it.”

A Lasting Work, One Family at a Time

Whether through Dad Teen Trek or Mom Teen Trek, God used these weeks to do lasting work. As parents and teens shouldered packs together, they learned a deeper truth: They are not alone. Not only are they there for each other, but God is always present. And He is still faithfully shaping hearts — one trail, one prayer, one relationship at a time.

Discipleship Tip:

Eagle Lake Camps’ Dad Teen Trek and Mom Teen Trek programs encourage spiritual formation through intentional time away from the distractions of everyday life. This week, consider how you might incorporate a similar experience into your schedule, even in a small way — whether it’s a morning hike with someone you’re discipling or an afternoon dedicated to time alone with God.

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands” Revelation 7:9 (NIV).

When Anissa Haynes started her freshman year of college, she knew she wanted Christian community. Growing up in a Christian home, she had briefly heard of The Navigators in high school. By the time she stepped onto the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, she knew The Navigators would be a community where she could grow — and she wanted to belong.

What she didn’t realize was how God would use that community to heal internal cultural insecurities she’d long been avoiding.

Half Mexican and half white, Anissa came into college assuming her cultural background wasn’t something she needed to think about. “I thought, I’m a Christian, I’m not going to talk about my culture,” Anissa remembers. “But in reality, that came from a place of deep insecurity. And while it’s true that being a child of God is my first identity, in that moment, I was just trying to hide from God. I didn’t want to let Him into processing that area of my life.”

Anissa’s perception began to shift when she joined a small cultural study for Latino students led by a Navigators staff couple called “Navicanos.” During one discussion, someone casually mentioned praying in Spanish.

“In that moment, something clicked,” Anissa recalls. “For some reason, it didn’t hit me until that discussion that God speaks Spanish.” Though she had always known God as her Creator and Savior, realizing that God met her within her culture made her feel seen and known in an entirely new way.

That sense of being seen was reinforced through something simple but powerful: shared meals. “In college, you’re constantly eating alone or sitting at small tables,” Anissa says. “So to sit at a table that was actually full was so special.” Around that table, surrounded by other Latino students with similar stories and backgrounds, she experienced a community that felt like home.

Mosaic: A Community of Cultural Unity

As the group grew, so did the vision. When the original staff leaders stepped off, the ministry transitioned into something new: Mosaic — a space where students from any cultural or ethnic background could explore how their faith and culture intersect through Scripture.

The name reflects the heart of the ministry. Inspired by Revelation 7:9, Mosaic celebrates the beauty of distinct pieces coming together to form one unified picture — similar to how people from every nation, tribe, and tongue will one day worship before the throne of God.

When the opportunity arose for Anissa to lead Mosaic, she hesitated at first. She didn’t see herself as the “right” person for the role. In her head, there was a mental checklist she believed a leader should meet — especially when it came to culture. Food, language, traditions, appearance — everyone seemed to rate authenticity differently, and she felt insecure about how she measured up.

But God met her reluctance with an invitation.

“The Lord pressed upon my heart 2 Corinthians 12:9, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,’” Anissa says. “It felt like He was leading me to lead in weakness, to put my insecurities on display, so other students could feel seen. And it’s been sweet to see how the Lord used that.”

Since then, Mosaic has become a place of healing and discipleship. Students gather regularly for “heritage nights,” which begin with a shared meal featuring a cultural dish — from Filipino lumpia to Chinese potstickers to Mexican food. Students introduce the dish and its cultural background, then move into small groups centered on Scripture and guided discussion.

Within Mosaic, students use a simple discipleship framework to reflect on their culture through the lens of the gospel: Where do we see God’s creativity and beauty in cultural diversity? How have cultural experiences been affected by sin and brokenness? And how does Jesus bring redemption to both?

“At The Navigators, we love to talk about how the gospel relates to all of life,” Anissa says. “At Mosaic, we get to talk about how the gospel relates to your cultural identity.”

Embracing the Diverse Kingdom of God

Through Mosaic, Anissa has watched God bring freedom where there was shame, security where there was insecurity, and healing where there were deep family and cultural wounds.

“There is such insecurity and shame when it comes to cultural identity, and I just know the Lord wants to bring healing,” Anissa says. “It is no accident that we are uniquely made within a cultural group, and God has a purpose and will for us within that unique design.”

For one student, who is half Navajo and half white, Mosaic became a space for healing. In her matriarchal culture, inheritance traditionally passes to the oldest daughter. However, when her mother died, that inheritance went instead to a fully Navajo cousin. The hurt lingered — but through Mosaic, she began to see her story differently.

“She told me, ‘I know my inheritance with the Lord is secure and will never be taken away from me,’” Anissa explains. “For her to have this hurtful experience, but for it to be rewritten through the lens of the gospel and the hope of the inheritance to come, is so beautiful. She was able to see gospel themes in her lived experience with her culture, and that’s what we hope for.”

Mosaic has transformed not only how Anissa sees herself, but how she imagines the Kingdom of God.

Anissa’s prayer is that more campuses would offer spaces like Mosaic — places where students can encounter gospel truth in a way that honors how God uniquely designed them.

“At The Navigators, we really want students to walk with Jesus, not just in college, but for their lifetime,” Anissa says. “We want them to be walking with Jesus until kingdom come. Mosaic plays such a beautiful part in casting that vision. We have a big God who is God of the world, God of the nations. And so I encourage you, give students the big and real picture of the Kingdom of the Lord. Let’s not settle for a small picture.”

Discipleship Tip:

Do you sense that God might be calling you to host a gathering like Mosaic in your own community? This week, ask God to show you some simple ways you could bring people of diverse backgrounds together to learn from and encourage each other as disciples of Jesus.

1. Christological

The first fruitful motivation is Christological — a desire to be like Jesus in character and in action.

Those with a Christological motivation engage disciplemaking because Jesus did — and they want to be like Him. It’s not enough to be moral, to faithfully shepherd the sheep, to raise a family, or to serve others. No, these disciplemakers are motivated to become just like Jesus. Since Jesus’ life is their example, disciplemaking is central to their calling. It’s not something to do, it’s who they are becoming. Such deeply motivated commitment isn’t simple obedience (see Matthew 28:18–20), it’s their very life — their way of being in the world.

This motivation leads them to actually believe that they are called to do even greater things than Jesus did (see John 14:12). For such disciplemakers, it’s not enough to make a couple of disciples. Instead, they are aiming for a team of disciples who will have the faith to challenge and change the world. They want to trust God that such a team will spark a movement of disciplemakers.

2. Kingdom

The second fruitful motivation is a Kingdom motivation — a desire to expand the Kingdom by saving those who don’t yet know Jesus.

Those who carry this motivation are strongly compelled by the idea of depopulating hell and reaching all nations. They are compelled to play a part in building an eternal Kingdom where every tribe, tongue, language, and people gather together around the throne to worship the King (see Revelation 7:9).

3. Generational

The third fruitful motivation is generational — a desire to participate in the covenantal promises God gave in Genesis.

These disciplemakers are convinced that the covenantal promises that God gave Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to make their offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky — is available to them, as well (see Genesis 15:5–6; 26:2–6; 28:13–15). They have seen how that promise was passed down from the Old Testament into the New Testament. They embrace their life as a thin span of time and want to use it to build the Kingdom.

They desire to serve the purposes God has for them in this generation (see Acts 13:36). They believe they’ve been invited to partner with God to do something that holds meaning in this life and in eternity. Such a generational motivation allows these disciplemakers to mine the Scriptures for the promises made to others and to ask God to do the same in their life.

Here are some examples:

• Isaiah 43:4 (NIV): [God says,] “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.”

• Isaiah 60:22 (NIV): “The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”

• Galatians 3:29 (NIV): “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Generationally motivated disciplemakers read passages like these and cry out, God, would You do this in my life?

They understand they have a part to play in the grand unfolding of God’s story as He builds His Kingdom — a people set apart for Himself. God uses ordinary, everyday people to do this. As Christ’s disciples they have a great spiritual heritage that motivates them in disciplemaking.

Virtually every fruitful disciplemaker is motivated by one or more of these three primary motivations. Each of them is rooted in what God desires, but also connects to the heart of the individual disciplemaker. The result is a disciplemaker who has both an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

No matter how a disciplemaker is motivated, Scripture is clear that God wants to use every disciple to build the church by advancing the gospel and establishing His Kingdom on earth (see Matthew 28:18–20). His plan hinges on using every disciple to build the church by making disciplemakers. These humble disciplemakers not only have a great spiritual heritage (see 2 Corinthians 1:20; 2: Peter 1:4), they also are being cheered on by a great cloud of witnesses in the heavenly realms (see Hebrews 12:1)!

Let’s not overcomplicate this: Disciplemaking should be led by a disciplemaking team, or, in the absence of a team, it must be led by a disciplemaker. Either way, the work is spread by those who are passionate enough to light a fire in others.

Did you like this article? Check out Justin G. Gravitt’s book, The Foundation of a Disciplemaking Culture, today!

Discipleship Tip:

Are you a disciplemaker who shares the motivations described above? This week, consider asking God to help you discern what steps you can take to plant the seeds of a thriving disciplemaking culture in your own community.

Meet the Author

Justin G. Gravitt has been on staff with The Navigators since 2000, where he has planted or grown disciplemaking ministries on multiple college campuses, overseas, and most recently has helped churches across the United States grow intentional disciplemaking cultures. He and his family live in Dayton, OH. He is the author of The Foundation of a Disciplemaking Culture (NavPress, 2024) and other thoughtful resources for disciplemakers.

After high school, Marc joined the U.S. Marine Corps, expecting to be deployed to Vietnam. Instead, he contracted meningococcal meningitis. Ninety percent of those who fell ill didn’t survive. Marc was unconscious for days, his temperature dangerously high. Doctors told his parents that his brain and organs were “burned up” and urged them to sign release forms to discontinue life support and allow him to pass, expecting his body to be sent home in a matter of days.

“They were at my bedside saying their goodbyes,” Marc recalls. “And then, unexpectedly, I woke up.”

During his recovery, hospital staff didn’t call him by name — they just referred to him as the “miracle patient.” Marc’s experience left him with an unsettling question: “Why am I alive when I should have died?”

That question followed him into college — until one morning before his lifeguard shift at a local pool, when a friend shared what Christ had done in her life and the forgiveness she had received. Marc listened for two hours, and then accepted Christ. The change was immediate and visible. Even the children he taught as a lifeguard later that day noticed something was different.

While attending college in 1975, Marc’s roommate invited him to a small group Bible study with The Navigators. That invitation became foundational to the growth of his faith and the base for what God had planned for him to accomplish in the future. Discipled by two men — one a Navigator and the other from Christian Business Men’s Association — Marc learned what it looked like to study and live out Scripture in his day-to-day life.

“What struck me was the personal commitment these men showed me, helping me realize that God’s Word is more profound than simply reading,” Marc remembers. “The personal interactions I had with them, they helped me to see that I could really dig into God’s Word.”

At one point, Marc was struggling with a crisis in the middle of the night when he remembered that one of his mentors said that he could reach out to him anytime, no matter the time or day. At 10 p.m., Marc called him, desperate.

“He told me to come over, and when I got there, his wife was already making tea for me,” Marc says. “We sat there for two hours, and he helped me look at God’s Word. And I thought, this is what discipleship is all about, the commitment to come alongside someone.”

These two elements that Marc learned early in his faith journey — intentionally studying God’s Word and being in a Life-to-Life^® discipleship relationship — were not only pivotal to his young adult years, but to future decades of ministry that would impact hundreds more for Christ.

Learning to Walk Alongside

When Marc thinks of discipleship, he thinks back to his high school metal shop class. One day, he was trying to weld two pieces of metal together. After trying over and over and over again, Marc was so frustrated that he was about to walk out of the class altogether. However, at that moment his teacher came to him and started walking Marc through the project step by step. “He grabbed a hold of my hand, and he guided me,” Marc remembers. “When he released his hand, I got it. That’s a picture of discipleship.”

In the years after college, Marc began to ask himself how he could serve God with his life. What was it that God wanted him to do? He soon saw an opportunity: to walk alongside men, discipling them and helping them dive deeper into Scripture through inductive Bible studies.

“I thought back to The Navigators resources I learned, how they taught me that God’s Word is more profound than casual reading,” Marc explains. “This is what God’s Word is. We are to be tactile, conversing, encouraging one another and digging into the Bible.”

At his church in Chico, California, Marc started to notice some men who seemed stuck — they would attend church, but that was the extent of their involvement. So Marc started discipling the young men around him, taking them through The Navigators resources he had once been taught, and witnessing the transforming work of Christ in their lives.

Teaching People How to Fish in Venezuela

That foundation would prove essential when God later called Marc and his family to Venezuela as missionary church planters.

The challenge was immediate. He was encouraged to start churches — but there were no leaders available from the seminary to lead them. Marc was assigned to start a new church in the community of Charallave. Returning to what he knew and was taught, Marc gathered 11 committed believers to work with him in this church and began translating Navigator materials into Spanish. They met weekly for two to three hours, learning not just Scripture, but how to study Scripture, with the goal of showing them tools they could use to equip others for ministry.

In Charallave, the feeling of being totally overwhelmed encompassed Marc. The question he faced was how he would be able to turn over the leadership of this new church to a national leader if none were available. God then brought this question to mind: If the apostle Paul were here, what would he do?

“The Scriptures are clear: the apostle Paul would concentrate on making disciples, faithful men who were able to teach others, as Paul encouraged Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:2,” Marc says. “Isn’t this what Dawson Trotman taught and believed, training and equipping men for the work of service?”

That group grew into a church of more than 250 people, with leadership developed entirely from within and a foundation built on discipleship and meeting in small groups. Two additional churches were planted in surrounding communities, including Las Brisas, a low-income area of 80,000 people.

“I truly believe the work I was able to do was because of the foundations The Navigators built in me, with a focus on the Bible’s sufficiency,” Marc says. “We used these inductive Bible studies as the core of our teaching, and everyone that went through was taught to disciple others. This is what allowed our church to grow in such a short time.”

When Marc first arrived in Las Brisas to pray about the possibility of starting a church there, he found 25 men and women gathered and waiting for him. All these men and women had walked at least a mile to be there, having heard that Marc was a man of God and would teach them. No one had a Bible; three of them could not read or write. However, as they started a Bible study, each week more and more people would show up. Soon they had more than 50 people coming to study God’s Word.

“What was the effectiveness of using Navigators Bible studies in Las Brisas?” Marc says. “Lives were changed — Felix could not read or write, but he taught himself to read and write because he wanted to read and understand God’s Word for himself. He became an evangelist, sharing the gospel with those he worked with, and he began traveling to different communities to share the Good News.”

Working in Las Brisas had its unique challenges. Because 80 percent of the population was unemployed and living on the margins of society, health was a major concern for many people. In response to these conditions, Marc’s ministry decided to host a free medical clinic — something that was unheard of in Venezuela at the time. The outreach drew more than 200 families and treated 80 children. Local officials were stunned. One governor returned the following month with two others to see what God was doing, and they asked Marc to start Bible studies in their states. When Marc asked why, the answer was simple.

“‘When you come, the bad people leave,’ she told me,” Marc recalls. “Isn’t that what God told us? We are to be a light that offsets the darkness.”

The Thread of Discipleship

After his time in Venezuela, Marc returned to the U.S. to serve as a mission consultant. In the years following, Marc’s last full-time ministry project was to establish a new church in Denison, Iowa, from the ashes of a church that had dissolved. The community’s demographics had changed, and the proposed goal was to establish a multiethnic church where people of all ethnicities could come together to worship the Lord.

In 2018, Marc officially retired, and he and his wife Angie moved to Muscatine, Iowa. Discipleship is still central to who they are.

“Because of the foundation I had with The Navigators and adopting the concept of teaching people how to fish, I witnessed God transform the lives of men and women to become strong leaders and disciplemakers, investing their lives in others,” Marc says.

For Marc, discipleship is not a class — it’s the act of walking alongside someone and watching as the gospel transforms their life. From a college campus to church discipleship to building ministries in Venezuela, Marc has seen the impact of not only studying God’s Word deeply, but living it and passing it on from one generation to the next.

Has your faith been impacted by The Navigators? We would love to hear your story!

Discipleship Tip:

Marc’s ministry efforts were centered around teaching others to dig into God’s Word for themselves, and then live out what they learned. Effective discipleship goes beyond simply teaching people what to believe about the Bible: It teaches people how to study Scripture and apply it to their daily lives. Invite others into Scripture in a hands-on, relational way. When they learn to hear from God’s Word themselves, the impact extends far beyond you.

After high school, Paul was drafted and sent to the war in Vietnam, where he came to know the Lord through his roommate, a Navigator-trained Marine. When the war was over, Paul visited his friend in Texas and was introduced to The Navigators for the first time. Though he had no intention of joining staff at first, he began to get involved with the Collegiate ministry in Texas and later continued his training by The Navigators in Alabama.

“There was a training center for The Navigators in Fort Worth, Texas, and as I got to know them, I thought I could really learn from them,” Paul remembers. “They were really accepting and gracious to me.” 

In 1973, Paul and his wife, Peggy, got married. Three months later, they moved together to Mexico to pioneer a Navigators Collegiate ministry, where they ministered for 20 years. Paul realized that he felt more accepted in Mexico, and the culture resonated with his Latin heritage. “But even there, I was somewhat of an outsider because of being American,” he recalls.

During the time that the Reynosos were living in Mexico, several U.S. Navigator Latino staff had the burden to reach other Latino communities for Christ, resulting in the birth of The Navigators Hispanic Ministry. Soon after, in 1995, Paul and Peggy were asked to return to the United States to serve in this budding ministry.

“I wasn’t too sure about the idea,” Paul explains. “I liked living in Mexico, and all my close amigos were there. But God was clearly leading Peggy and me to make the move. I had the honor of leading the Hispanic Ministry for 12 years and have continued to be part of LaVida as it has evolved since.”

A Place of Belonging

For many Navigators staff and the communities they served, the U.S. Hispanic Ministry became a space of empowerment and innovation, a safe place to be themselves. Using the terminology “familia,” the Hispanic Ministry aimed to foster an environment where Latinos felt seen, heard, and valued for their unique perspectives and experiences. The focus? A sense of belonging.

“In the U.S. Hispanic Ministry, I felt totally at home and understood,” Paul says. “We all felt at home and understood, called to minister among others with similar values and struggles. We came from different backgrounds and life experiences but had so much in common and a heart to make a difference in extending God’s Kingdom among our people.”

The late 1990s and early 2000s brought clarity of vision, unity within diversity, and significant growth in the midst of challenges as the Hispanic Ministry team experienced a “familia” commitment to the Lord and each other. The team was aware of and spurred on by the growing need to reach Latinos as they soon became the largest minority group in the U.S.

“We were Hispanics and Latinos, Protestants, Catholics, some bilingual, and others of Hispanic origin who didn’t speak Spanish,” Paul recalls. “Our Mission included Latinos of every nationality, each with their own identity and culture from their country of origin. The work was widespread: from New York and New Jersey, to Los Angeles, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Houston, Dallas, and the Caribbean.”

From the Hispanic Ministry to LaVida: Impact Over the Years

As God gave unity and joy in working together, the Hispanic Ministry grew in number and began to grow into a new shape: the LaVida Network.

As the original ministry kicked off, God brought former missionaries back from Latin America to join Hispanic Ministry staff and gave a vision to expand their influence into different areas. From the youth-at-risk ministry in Albuquerque to Catholic ministries in several locations to producing Spanish materials used for ESL programs and Bible study translations — God moved powerfully!

“We continued to see people come into the Kingdom and the Kingdom advance in our communities,” Paul says. “Was it always good or easy? No — but God was at work through this team that loved, stepped out in faith, and paid a cost to advance His Kingdom among Latinos. This group is not so young now, but we remain committed to serving our Lord and are still impacting Latinos through The Navigators and beyond.”

Fast forward to today, and The Navigators Hispanic Ministry is no longer a Mission, but a Navigators Network called LaVida. Though the ministry efforts of LaVida look slightly different today than they did a couple decades ago, the Lord is still faithfully growing a community of Hispanic disciplemakers across the U.S. and world.

“Every individual and ethnic group can bring added value to understanding who God is and what He wants to do in extending His Kingdom,” Paul says. “As Navigators, we are equipped to be lifetime laborers for Christ — in whatever context God puts us in — to carry out His calling.”

While our community of Hispanic disciplemakers has grown, it is still relatively small. Would you join us in praying that God entrusts The Navigators with more gifted and committed Latino and Latina disciplemakers to extend His Kingdom to the ends of the earth?

Discipleship Tip: 

Paul’s story shows how embracing our unique cultural heritage can help us advance God’s Kingdom. This week, ask God to show you the special ways you can make disciples in and through your own culture, fostering spaces of belonging where people feel truly at home.

Clay Miller always knew he wanted to be an astronaut. When he was a kid, he told his dream to his father. His dad challenged him, sharing that most astronauts were Navy pilots, and most Navy pilots went to the Naval Academy at Annapolis.

So that’s exactly where Clay went. In 1978, he joined the Navy and became a flyer. Little did he know, his time in the military would be a catalyst for his future work with The Navigators Military ministry on Whidbey Island, Washington.

Growing up, Clay’s mother raised him to know God and His Word. However, it wasn’t until he was 17 that Clay gave his life to Christ. Later, he discovered The Navigators, who helped him grow and develop in his faith.

One important verse The Navigators taught Clay is Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

Though he has read that verse hundreds of times, the word “command” struck him into action. As a military servicemember, Clay was familiar with commands from his commanding officers.

“I looked up the word ‘Lord’ in the Greek, and it means two things: master and commander,” Clay says. “And so I knew that I had this military command that Christ had given to those 11 men after the resurrection, to go and make disciples of all the nations. And so just like other areas of my life that I had turned over, I remember telling the Lord, ‘Yes, Lord, I will spend the rest of my life obeying the command to make disciples of all the nations.’”

Multiplying to the Next Generation

Bob Blakley spent 35 years in the Navy, first enlisting in 1968. At one point in his service, Bob was stationed in Japan, where he was miserable and living in sin. “Nothing seemed to go right, and things weren’t going in the right direction,” he recalls. But in 1996, Bob gave his life to Christ.

Though Bob came to Christ later in his military life, he now wants to give others a chance to come to Christ earlier than he did. Living on Whidbey Island, he has seen the Lord provide that opportunity through The Navigators.

“I was introduced to The Navigators Military team when they came to chapel,” Bob says. “I asked Clay if he’d baptize me, and he did that one Wednesday night with the Navs.”

Every Friday, Bob, Clay, and other men gather for breakfast, where they discuss their lives and how to pass on what they have learned to others. It’s a time of fellowship and discipleship, where the men can meet and grow together.

“Like Clay and his wife, Bev, did with Lucy and I, we want to do with other people,” Bob says. “We want to put our lives into their lives by intentionally growing believers into fully devoted followers of Christ.”

The Command to Make Disciples

Clay and Bob’s experience is just a small picture of what God is doing on Whidbey Island. Following God’s command to go and make disciples from Matthew 28, they have created a chain of generational impact.

“The concept of generational disciplemaking is all over the Old and the New Testament,” Clay says. “The Lord is very interested in not just our children, but our children’s children. He’s interested in not just me coming to Christ, but other people coming to Christ through me. And He doesn’t have to use any of us, but He chooses to do that.”

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last — and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you” John 15:16 (NIV).

Discipleship Tip: 

Clay’s story illustrates how God can use our individual life experiences to reveal new insights into His Word. This week, thank God for the wisdom He’s given you through your life experiences — and ask Him to show you how you can share what you’ve learned with those around you.

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/.