{"id":268787,"date":"2026-05-04T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=268787"},"modified":"2026-05-01T08:43:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:43:05","slug":"a-space-of-belonging-the-navigators-asam-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/a-space-of-belonging-the-navigators-asam-network\/","title":{"rendered":"A Space of Belonging: The Navigators ASAM Network"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAll the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Psalm 86:9<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (NIV).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pastor\u2019s daughter in the Chinese Christian church environment, Esther Chan<\/a> grew up familiar with what it meant to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going to multiple services every Sunday \u2014 in English and Chinese \u2014 Esther was raised in a culture of serving and spiritual leadership. However, as she entered college and stepped away from home, she began to realize she was burnt out and going through the motions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A
ASAM Young Leaders Gathering with Esther (second row from front, far left).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI felt like I was treating faith as an extracurricular,\u201d she remembers. \u201cI would serve, but struggled with spiritual disciplines, and I was feeling discouraged. And then God put the word \u2018discipleship\u2019 on my mind as a freshman. I needed someone older in the faith to teach me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Esther showed up at the University of California, Davis<\/a>, she was immediately intrigued by The Navigators ministry on campus. The first week of class, Navigator students were passing out free t-shirts to anyone who would stop and interact with The Bridge to Life<\/em><\/a> illustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI left that conversation thinking, \u2018Wow, this fellowship is serious about God and the gospel!\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI was so impressed. From this encounter, I joined a women\u2019s Bible study, started going to Nav Nights, and attended fall retreat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Esther got more involved, she started to be discipled by a Navigator named Juliana. \u201cShe was also Asian American, and she met with me every week for my first two years of college,\u201d Esther says. \u201cShe holistically helped me in faith in innumerable ways.\u201d Juliana taught Esther how to evangelize and share her faith with others, and soon, Esther gained a heart for reaching the lost and started discipling other students too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASAM: Helping Navigators Feel Seen and Heard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Esther joined the community of The Navigators, it was the first time she had stepped into an environment that was culturally diverse. Up until that point, she had spent most of her life with Chinese Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Four
Esther (second from right) and her ASAM funding cohort.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt was an intentional step of courage for me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut I knew Heaven isn\u2019t going to just be Chinese people, so I needed to meet other brothers and sisters in Christ. I could see God through other people\u2019s cultures, but it was really hard for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Esther\u2019s freshman year, she spent her summer attending a Navigators Summer Training Program (STP)<\/a>. As she navigated new relationships outside her cultural norm, she felt like a fish out of water \u2014 all the other students were talking about shows she had never watched, jumping from one conversation to the next \u2014 and Esther scrambled to feel like she was fitting in. \u201cI felt like there was nowhere for me to contribute,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was mentally exhausting, and I was feeling so discouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day that summer, Navigator David Sasaki<\/a> came to visit. A fellow Asian American, David sat with Esther and another Asian American student from the STP, and he listened to them while they cried and shared their experiences. \u201cHe was such a comforting presence,\u201d Esther remembers. \u201cHe encouraged us and was a listening ear to how hard the summer had been. It meant so much to me at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esther\u2019s experience as a student \u2014 of having a safe space to culturally relate and encourage and share experiences \u2014 is a small glimpse of the bigger picture that the Navigators Asian American (ASAM) Network<\/a> is hoping to accomplish. ASAM, along with other cultural networks within The Navigators (LaVida<\/a>, AFAM<\/a>, and Native Nations<\/a>), was created to be a distinct community for Asian American Navigators to lift each other up, experience cultural understanding, and advocate for each other within the larger Navigator family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe ask ourselves, what do our Asian American Navigator staff need?\u201d James Tsang<\/a>, the co-director for the ASAM Network, says. \u201cHow do we shepherd and care for and develop our Asian American staff? We wanted to create spaces for that nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A large focus of ASAM is mentorship: having veteran staff pouring into younger staff, and staff pouring into students. This past November, ASAM launched a new mentorship program called \u201cGenerAsians,\u201d where Asian American staff are paired up to walk alongside and support each other throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already had one mentee in the program say, \u2018I\u2019ve been praying someone would come alongside me and help me grow, and in particular, someone that would understand my cultural background,\u2019\u201d James shares. \u201cThat was so encouraging for us to hear. God is doing something, and we get to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentorship That Multiplies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now Esther is on staff with The Navigators, helping pioneer a college ministry at Sacramento State.<\/a> Over the past two years on campus, she\u2019s seen the Lord grow their budding ministry \u2014 from simply trying to meet students through playing spike ball to now hosting Nav Nights with 20 to 30 students each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout her years of ministry, she has learned many lessons from other staff within ASAM: from how to fundraise within an Asian American context to seeing how the Lord moves within diverse cultural environments. Now, she is starting to pass along what she\u2019s learned to the students she disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, one of Esther\u2019s students is a Nigerian international student named Seven. When Seven went to a Navigators fall retreat, she was surprised to realize that she was the only black woman in the room. When she confided feeling out of place to Esther, Esther first encouraged her, acknowledging that it\u2019s hard to feel different than those around you, even when you are united in faith. But then, Esther challenged her: \u201cIf you want to see more black women in this room one day, let\u2019s go seek them out when we get back on campus.\u201d Now, Seven has gotten involved with the Nigerian Student Association on campus, and has started inviting them into her Navigator circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI told her, maybe there\u2019s no other Nigerian Christian on campus who is willing to break into this space, but you are walking so they can run,\u201d Esther explains. \u201cIt turned a moment of isolation into a moment of empowerment. If I didn\u2019t have ASAM to teach me some of that first \u2014 how to mentor people of color in minority spaces, even if they aren\u2019t Asian American \u2014 I would have had nothing to pass on at that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For James, ASAM has become a family, providing spiritual parents and siblings who have pointed him to faith, mentored him, and encouraged him in his walk to make disciples. Through ASAM, he hopes that legacy will continue as Navigators help others \u201cto know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same\u00ae<\/sup>\u201d in every culture and nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are all about disciplemaking, but to ignore our cultural diversity would be a really big loss,\u201d James says. \u201cI appreciate that our leadership has rallied behind and been advocates for the networks, and I believe The Navigator organization will be blessed as a result \u2014 and that the Kingdom will be blessed beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

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

Create intentional space to know people beyond the surface \u2014 including their cultural backgrounds, stories, and experiences. When people feel seen and understood, they\u2019re more open to spiritual growth. Discipleship that listens well builds trust and multiplies impact.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

10 Ways to Encourage Another Disciplemaker<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Sometimes the journey of following Christ is difficult, which makes it crucial that we encourage other disciplemakers. Doing so may propel them to take the next small step to grow in their relationship with Christ and help someone else do the same. Here are 10 ways you can encourage a disciplemaker in your life.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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

Esther found discipleship through The Navigators \u2014 and through the ASAM Network, discovered belonging, mentorship, and a vision to multiply faith across cultures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_helpful_pro_status":1,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6337],"tags":[1483],"mission":[150],"topic":[44],"class_list":["post-268787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disciplemaking","category-ministry-impact-stories","tag-disciple","mission-navigators-collegiate","topic-discipleship"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5526-Article-Web.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"The Navigators","author_link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/staff\/thenavigators\/"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268787"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268942,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268787\/revisions\/268942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268787"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=268787"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=268787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}