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.

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.

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.

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/.

The Holy Trinity is a mystery to me, with its three in oneness and its oneness in three, and I can just barely grasp the deep relational nature of how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit touch and spin and dance off each other and with each other. Hospitality — that generous making room for others and giving and receiving to and from each other from our plenty and sometimes from our scarcity but we do it anyway — seems to flow out of that communal and relational and so generous nature of God. Being holy as God is holy, if we can believe it, catapults us into relationship with others and the practice of hospitality. Holiness is relational, and that is why hospitality fits holiness like a soft leather glove.

Hospitality involves the holy practice of gratitude.

All of this is made easier alongside the holy practice of gratitude. I have this place, this food, this book; please take it and enjoy it as well. We try to believe that everything we have comes from God, and so it is ours not to own but to share. So hospitality is almost always best when it is gratitude adjacent. However, the discipline of hospitality can happen also while you are still a grouchy, miserly mess. Disciplines take discipline. Not everything is easy or feels good right away, but that might mean it’s even more worth doing, and not less.

Hospitality invites humility.

In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus tells us how to throw a dinner party. Dinner parties are, after all, what most of us think of first when we think about hospitality: “‘When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,’ he said, ‘don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you’” (NLT). In Luke 14:8-10, He even discusses seating plans: “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor … Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table” (NLT).

Jesus knows me so well. He predicts my thirst for status. When we practice hospitality as part of our holiness, we will come face-to-face with our desire to invite first our friends, the people we especially like or those whom we want to especially like us, along with the relatives we are most comfortable with, and, of course, our rich neighbors. We might strut around like a peacock in our own dining room and not even realize we are doing it. Again, our intentional moves toward holiness will show us how far we have yet to travel. Our efforts to do good on the outside will show us how far we are from good on the inside, and in that gap, we learn again of our need for the forgiving, restoring love of God in our own lives and hearts, and how much we need him, even when we are serving macaroni to friends.

We learn something about ourselves — and therefore move deeper into our holiness journeys — when we pay attention to whom we want to welcome in and how we want to welcome them to our homes, our tables, and our lives.

Hospitality helps us to examine our hidden motivations.

As we consider ourselves, we can confess ourselves to God and ask for help. Why am I making this so fancy? we can ask our inner hostess, in an examination of motivation that is a daily part of pushing into our holiness. What is my motivation? Also, Why am I talking about myself so much? And why can’t I stop?

Our honest answers do not bring the dinner party, the coffee date, or the open house to a screeching halt, but instead provide us another opportunity to be honest with ourselves and with God — who is the ultimate and gracious host of heaven and earth now and the new earth that is to come. Make me holy in my hospitality, we might pray. Kill off my show-off-ness, we might ask. Help me listen more than I speak, as my blunt spouse has said I need to work on.

Help me not to be so needy, I can pray as I juice blood oranges for udon noodles with fried tofu and orange nam jim from my expensive hardcover Ottolenghi Flavour cookbook propped open on the counter. Perhaps for a little while, as part of our own healing, we will make a simple spaghetti Bolognese, accept the offer of our guest to bring store-bought garlic bread and let Maureen help with the cleanup, like she always wants to do. We will resist the temptation to offer our guests a tour of our new barbeque and satisfy our thirst for thanks by turning it outward to gratitude to God. What if whenever we yearn for someone to say, “Thank you, you are marvelous for all you have done,” we accept that as a prompt to whisper, “Thank You. You are marvelous for all You have done.”

Hospitality exercises a variety of spiritual disciplines.

Food is just one expression of hospitality. Conversation is another. When we practice holiness through hospitality, we create a space in which other pursuits of holiness can be practiced, such as listening well and not interrupting, putting others first, and offering encouragement and companionship to the person God has placed and we have invited in front of us. From the way Jesus tells us to invite, and the humility presumed in His recommended seating plan, we can assume that we don’t invite people to our table so we can imprison them to hear all and only about us. We don’t tie them to their chairs with our story and our glory.

We can stretch our ability to put others first, and to forgive.

We can practice patience, a fruit of the Spirit we get to work with, toward friends who arrive late (or even worse, early) and those who stay too long. We practice not biting off the heads of those with whom we disagree. If we do bite their heads off at dinner, we can practice the art of unequivocal apology. Apologizing is a holy act. I’m sorry are holy, healing words. Through hospitality’s gift of space opened up and time slowed down, we can “be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep,” which Paul told us to do only two verses after he reminded us to “always be eager to practice hospitality” in Romans 12:13-15.

Discipleship Tip:

Hospitality isn’t about impressing others — it’s about making space for them. This week, invite someone into your home or life with gratitude and humility, focusing on listening and encouraging rather than showcasing. Ask the Lord for opportunities to be hospitable in your community in order to point others to Jesus.

About the Author

Karen Stiller is a senior editor of Faith Today magazine and writes frequently for magazines like Reader’s Digest, Ekstasis, In Trust, and other publications across North America. Stiller is a three-time winner of the prestigious A.C. Forrest Memorial Award from the Canadian Church Press for excellence in socially conscious religious journalism. She is author of The Minister’s Wife (2020, Tyndale Momentum); co-author of Craft, Cost & Call (2019), Shifting Stats Shaking the Church (2015) and Going Missional (2010); editor of The Lord’s Prayer (2015) and coeditor of Evangelicals Around the World (2015). She lives in Ottawa and has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Non-Fiction from University of King’s College, Dalhousie.

This article was originally published on the DiscipleMaker Blog by NavPress. You can also hear more from Karen Stiller through her book Holiness Here and NavPress’ new podcast, “Good Books, Big Questions,” where Karen hosts bold, loving, and sensible conversations about faith.

Art Allen, The Navigators Military and First Responder Southeast Division Director, first met Mike through an Army friend who was part of The Navigators Military Ministry over 20 years ago. At the time, Mike was a detective with a local police department. One day, Mike and Art met for lunch, and Art explained the Great Commission and how God could use Mike to spread the gospel.

However, Mike was hesitant. After Art showed Mike the potential of reaching other first responders in his agency with the gospel and discipleship, Mike declared, “I am not the kind of guy who would be willing to talk to others about spiritual conversations!”

Art understood his reluctance because, like many other Christians, Mike didn’t have the confidence to approach others, often unsure what to say or share. Mike was mostly interested in discipleship for his own growth, to strengthen the foundation of his faith. Meeting Mike where he was in his spiritual journey, Art decided to walk Mike through the NavPress Growing in Christ study together.

That same day, the two men worked to draft Mike’s personal salvation testimony, and Art walked him through explaining what hope in Christ is by drawing out The Bridge to Life Illustration on a napkin. As they were leaving, Mike asked if he could have the illustration and joyfully took it with him.

From Detective to Disciplemaker

Back at the agency, Mike pinned the napkin with The Bridge onto the wall of his cubicle. A short while later, a fellow officer and former Marine found Mike and shared a life issue he was struggling with. Mike explained to this officer that he was currently meeting with someone who was helping him understand that Christ is the true source of all we need.

Step-by-step, Mike walked his colleague through the drawing on the napkin so that he could connect with Jesus. Although Mike had said he wouldn’t engage others in spiritual conversations, he did just that — armed with a tool and confidence in what he had learned.

When the opportunity came, he was ready.

Art and Mike met again two weeks later, and Mike was anxious to share about his experience. Art and Mike continued to go chapter-by-chapter through Growing in Christ. Art asked him, “When you take another person through this study, what do you want them to get from it?” Art wanted Mike to think about how he could shift his mindset from being discipled to helping others grow in their faith.

The next time the two men met up, Mike had another development. He had met a Texas Ranger who he thought Art could also disciple, saying, “I got another guy for you.” Though Art considered the possibility of mentoring this new arrival, he realized that this was a “Dawson moment” — a chance to pass the baton and encourage Mike to take up the mantle of discipleship himself.

Turning to Mike, Art reminded him that this was his opportunity to minister to those in his agency and engage the Great Commission like they had discussed the very first time they met up. Mike asked if Art thought he was ready, and Art encouraged him to give it a try.

After only a few weeks of intentional discipleship, the man who said he wouldn’t engage others about faith is now helping another young Christian grow in his.

Becoming bold for Christ

Making disciples as commanded by Jesus often seems like a daunting task; however, with foundational equipping, faith, and a touch of boldness, anyone can be on the way to generational ministry, reaching the world with the hope of Christ. As Mike is faithful to use the tools he has been equipped with, accompanied by a little boldness, the eternal impact on his agency, his family, and friends will be significant.

“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” Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV).

*Name changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

Through being discipled by Art, Mike gained the confidence to disciple others around him. Consider — what may be keeping you back from being bold with your faith? If you feel unsure about discipling another person, consider asking a trusted mentor to guide you, helping you practice sharing your faith with others and having discipleship conversations.

However, only a couple years prior to his current ministry, David remembers a time where he almost gave up on his faith.

Raised in a Christian home, David always believed in God but had never made his faith his own. Over the years, he married his wife, Hannah, served in the Air Force, and became a firefighter in 2016 in Grand Junction, Colorado. However, the things he had seen in the military and as a firefighter weighed on him, and it made him question if his beliefs were grounded in something real.

“I started to grapple with the idea of truth — is this something I can be confident in?” David recalls. “I was going through a crisis of faith.”

During that time, David met a couple at his church who happened to be related to Darren Lindblom, The Navigators First Responders U.S. Director. The couple passed David’s phone number along to Darren, knowing David was a firefighter and hoping Darren would reach out.

Months later, David had a breakthrough where he decided to re-surrender his life to God. He prayed for the Lord to use his life to impact others and to make it obvious how he could do so. To his surprise, he got a call from Darren the next day.

“Darren told me that he had my phone number for four or five months, but hadn’t felt led to call me yet,” David remembers. “So when he called, it felt like confirmation — God saying, ‘I’m real, and I’m working in your life.’ It gave me purpose.”

Leading a Firefighter Bible Study

Darren began to disciple David, developing his personal walk with the Lord in his role as a husband and father, as well as in the workplace, encouraging David to live out his faith in the firehouse with the other men. At the same time, Darren’s wife, Gina, began to disciple Hannah, pouring into her life and sharing how she could be an impact to the other first responder wives.

“In our work with first responders — when we get around guys who are passionate about the Lord — we call them fire breathers,” Darren says. “David is a fire breather. It was easy for me to come alongside him and point him in the direction of walking with Jesus and being a part of the Great Commission right where he is.”

Since then, David has been growing a Bible study in his firehouse. After the end of their shift once a week, the men will meet at a coffee shop to share about their lives and go through Scripture and prayer. David has designed the group to be a safe place where non-believers and believers alike can feel heard and seen, pointing each other to truth.

“A lot of times, we will just sit and talk and ask questions and build trust,” he says. “Rather than being talked at, people want to be known. So we recognize that it’s a journey for everyone, and that things will come with time as they continue to seek.”

Many first responders, firemen included, experience hardships and trauma on a regular basis, and these difficulties can lead to serious mental health struggles or deteriorating personal lives. Though there is a rise in resources to help, a lot of solutions are secular and don’t give a “why” for the brokenness of the world.

For David, speaking the Christian worldview into these settings is vital. “The more I understand the Christian narrative, the more beautiful it becomes — why would I not want to share that with others?” David says. “I want them to know they have a personal God who wants to know them and loves them. We see a lot of suffering in this job and world. No other worldviews can really answer that.”

Sometimes, the people saving lives are the ones who need help the most. David is a good example of The Navigators First Responder Ministry’s approach at large: to encourage everyday disciplemakers on the inside of police forces, ambulances, and firehouses to share the light of the gospel where they are.

“It’s easy for first responders to write people off in the church because they don’t understand what we’ve gone through,” David explains. “So I want to say, ‘I’ve gone through this too, and I believe I have answers and can help if you’re willing to listen.’ Having Christians inside their world, doing life and running the same calls as them, seeing how you respond and handle situations — that’s how you build trust and make a difference.”

With long, unpredictable hours and trying work conditions, first responders’ families are often impacted and in need of support and community. Hannah has also taken up the mantle of discipleship, mentoring the wives of men in David’s firehouse. “I’m getting to know some of the wives really well, being able to pray for their families and support each other,” she says.

Moving Forward with First Responders

As David and Hannah continue to follow the Lord and grow their connections, they are excited for where the Lord is leading them. David is working to become an associate staff with The Navigators, which will give him resources to expand his network to reach more firemen across his area.

“David and Hannah have a vision and heartbeat to see God work among firemen and even police in Grand Junction,” Darren says. “He’s going to help us grow our firefighter ministry and fan the flame around the country as he is able.”

From being discouraged in his faith to being discipled and becoming a passionate disciplemaker of others, David’s journey has been an encouragement and representation of the exciting work taking place in The Navigators First Responder Ministry.

“We have an unprecedented spiritual interest among first responders in our country, and God is doing work among them,” Darren says. “Pray that He would see the gospel advance fruitfully, and that He would raise up disciplemaking leaders in agencies and firehouses around the country.”

Discipleship Tip:

David and Hannah have both benefited from being discipled by Darren and Gina, being inspired to live out their faiths in their home and community. Do you have someone discipling you, encouraging you and keeping you accountable in your faith? If not, consider praying that the Lord would place someone in your life to guide you as you seek to share the gospel with others.

Originally, Doug was very involved with his local church in the Seattle area, attending multiple times a week. However, after spending nights and weekends on duty, he was suddenly lucky to be able to attend once a month. With a demanding work schedule and atmosphere, he gradually started to unplug, and he found himself growing more and more distant from his church community and faith.

“He spiraled into a cynical place, so I was crying out to the Lord for someone to find him and meet his need,” Christine Heric, Doug’s wife, says. “So when Chris Green showed up, it really was an answer to prayer.”

In 2018, Doug met Chris, who oversees the Navigators First Responders Ministry, after Chris started talking to him about what Life-to-Life^® discipleship can look like. “He would come on ride alongs with me, and he would meet me at times when church doesn’t happen,” Doug recalls. “And I saw that working in my life. It worked for me, and I wanted to do that kind of ministry for others.”

Coming alongside other first responders the way that Chris did for him, Doug joined the Navigators First Responder Ministry as an associate, meeting men while still working as an officer. After retiring from the police force in 2020 after 12 years of service, he came on full-time staff with the Navigators. Seeing the impact the ministry had in their family, Christine also joined as an associate Navigator to mentor other officers’ spouses who may be struggling. Together, they’ve been pioneering new ways to reach first responders and their families in the Seattle area and beyond.

Meeting the Unique Needs of First Responders

Starting in Seattle, Doug began to contact officers he already had connections with to share the gospel. These relationships led to video calls, meeting for coffee, and walking through Navigator resources like the Growing in Christ Bible study. Since then, his ministry has grown disciplemaking communities of first responders from coast to coast in the United States, reaching from the state of Washington to New York and Philadelphia.

A large part of the Herics’ ministry is meeting and understanding the unique needs and culture of first responders and their families. From post traumatic stress to hypervigilance to long hours with little sleep, first responders often deal with events and emotions that many can’t relate with and often misunderstand.

“They need someone to come alongside them,” Doug says. “The way that we as humans often deal with trauma is substance abuse, addictions, and other unhealthy ways of coping. So we walk with them and understand those things, and we don’t judge them for it, being aware of resources and solutions that can help.”

To build community and relationships with first responders and their families, Doug has started partnering with local churches across Seattle to host “Fellowship of Warriors” events, where dozens of first responders and their families come together to connect and hear the gospel.

“50 to 75 people show up for these events, but that includes spouses and families,” he says. “We want to make sure the families aren’t overlooked — that’s an important part of our ministry.”

Creating Generations of Impact

Doug has been able to see the Lord work firsthand in the life of one first responder whose family now regularly attends the Fellowship of Warrior events. This officer had dealt with a high profile, controversial incident that required him to have a court appearance. Doug met him during this difficult time and began to disciple him, walking him through a Bible study and memorizing Scripture together. As they continued to meet, Doug and Christine watched as the officer’s countenance and perspective transformed.

“When we first started meeting with him, his wife was hesitant because he was already gone so much,” Christine says. “But after a few weeks, even his kids would come up and say, ‘Oh good, Daddy, are you meeting with Mr. Doug again?’ They could see that he changed — he had come back to them. It was such a blessing.”

Now that officer is meeting with another man from the Fellowship of Warriors group, passing on what Doug taught him. “It’s a really encouraging story of generations, where I was meeting with John*, and John’s meeting with Roger*, and Roger is now going to be meeting with his brother,” Doug says.

Christine has also seen the impact and importance of creating support groups for spouses. One woman, Natalie*, started meeting with Christine a couple years ago. Natalie’s husband was struggling with his work as a first responder, and she was having a hard time connecting with the Lord. Christine remembered a teaching she had heard about how it takes 12 minutes every day for three weeks to create a habit, and she challenged Natalie to create a 12 minute habit of spending time with the Lord.

“At the end of the three weeks, I asked her how it went,” Chistine says. “And she said, ‘I want more than 12 minutes.’ And now spending time with the Lord is her priority, and she is working out of that overflow. When I met her, she had never really opened a Bible.”

Now, Natalie has connected with a female first responder and has started to shepherd her in her faith. “[Natalie’s] been drawing her back to the Lord and her faith, and it is like copying and pasting from the books I once read with her,” Christine says. “It’s been fun to watch her engage with others.”

Pray for the First Responders Ministry in Seattle

As Doug and Christine’s ministry continues to grow and thrive, you can come alongside them in prayer. Pray that the Lord would raise up disciplemakers to partner with them in reaching the lost among the first responders community, and that the Herics can continue to build trust and relationships with officers and their families across the United States. 

“We want to see generational discipleship, where we are making disciples who make disciples,” Doug says. “It’s a big country, and we don’t have that big of a group in the first responders ministry. The goal is to multiply, and that is our prayer.”

If you want to hear more about Doug and Christine’s ministry or come alongside them in their journey with first responders, you can visit their page here. 

*Names have been changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

Doug and Christine are so effective at ministering to first responders and their families because they understand their unique needs from their own experience of being involved with the police force. Who are the people or communities in your life that you share distinct experiences with, and how can you meet their needs? Think about how you can grow your pre-existing connections into Life-to-Life relationships to help others know the Lord better.

The glow of thousands of faces lights up the room, a powerful testament to the spread of the gospel from generation to generation. 

This was one of the many special moments from The Navigators 2023 National Staff Gathering.

Last month, over 1,300 Navigator staff came together in Irving, Texas. The theme of the weekend was Heartbeat: A Vital Movement of the Gospel, focusing on 2 Timothy 2:1-2: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (NIV).

The gathering held five plenary sessions, which were designed to inspire, uplift, and challenge staff attendees to continue the work to which they’ve been called. Staff heard insights on the Lord’s vision for grace, necessary aspects of prayer, and how He works through each and every one of us to reach the nations and spread His mission.  

Staff members also enjoyed times of fun and laughter, along with encouraging ministry stories from new and old friends, breakouts to equip and multiply disciplemakers, precious times of prayer and worship, and motivational messages from fellow Navigators and international leaders. 

For many, the National Staff Gathering was a reminder of why they became Navigators — to be a part of a vital movement of the gospel by connecting, resourcing, and developing everyday disciplemakers. 

Though this conference looked back over the past four years since our last National Staff Gathering, we also took time to look forward to the work that is ahead of us as a ministry. You can partner with us as we continue this work for years to come! 

Pray that the Lord works through The Navigators to reach the unreached and create new disciplemakers. Come alongside us to spread the gospel and disciple those in your circles, from family members to coworkers to neighbors and beyond.

Whether you serve on staff or through your everyday life, we are excited to see how the Lord moves through this next season of ministry!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV).

Discipleship Tip:  

Pull out your phone and find a photo of someone you’re discipling or have discipled. Pray for that person and reach out to offer them encouragement.

When we read the gospels and observe Jesus’ life and ministry we most often notice what he did for the crowds.

He taught them, fed them, healed them, and even John noted that if every work Jesus did while on this earth was written down, the world could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). There’s no question that Jesus had and still has a heart for the world! 

Because of that, it comes as a surprise to many that amidst all that Jesus did for the masses He spent approximately 85% of His time with just 12 men.

It wasn’t because of a lack of care for the masses that Jesus focused on the few…but rather quite the opposite!

Jesus focused on the few for the sake of the many! His method for reaching the world was through building deeply into a select few and teaching them to do the same.

Jesus loved everyone, helped many, but invested in just a few. If we hope to take the gospel to the ends of the earth His method must also become our method.

“Ask God to give you one.” The same challenge that Dawson Trotman gave to Les Spencer in 1933 that started The Navigators can be our starting point today.