Chalyce redefined her understanding of love and relationships during her time serving as a camp counselor with The Navigators.
“Following God as a counselor meant leaping out of my comfort zone, but it was oh so worth it!”
Now, she can’t wait to keep pouring into others’ live through life-to-life discipleship.
Relational discipleship is the focus of The Navigators Ministry, an organization founded in 1933 with the intention of “creating spiritual generations of believers.”
“To know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same” is the organization’s mission.
The Navigators Ministry focuses on facilitating practical spiritual growth over the course of a lifetime through relational engagement.
The ministry realizes that developing relationships is crucial to effectively sharing the gospel and making disciples of Christ as commanded in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
According to The Navigators, a disciple of Christ is someone who believes in Him, seeks to learn from Him, and endeavors every day to become more like Him.
By this definition, the ministry says, “discipleship means intentionally helping people learn from and live more like Christ by praying with them, spending time together in His Word, walking alongside them in everyday life, and equipping them to do the same with others.”
It’s a simple idea that’s had a profound impact.
Though the organization is best known for its work on college and university campuses across the world, it’s also engaged in many more spheres of life:
Military bases, inner cities, churches, rural communities, summer camps, and workplaces of all kinds are home to Navigators groups.
While some of these efforts appear to operate on a grand scale, The Navigators’ work always boils down to relationships.
Chalyce learned this for herself during her work at a summer camp with The Navigators.
“I learned that showing others the love of Christ does not always mean grand gestures; showing God’s love can be…simple,” she wrote.
People can experience the profound love of Christ through something as uncomplicated as a moment of listening and prayer.
Through her time as a camp counselor, Chalyce grew to understand the power of life-to-life discipleship, The Navigators’ specific vision of outreach. The ministry places high importance on spiritual growth in the context of relationships and community.
“I learned that part of abiding in [Christ] means opening myself up to the community and allowing them to help me abide. My pride often gets in the way of being vulnerable, and I want to carry things on my own,” shared Chalyce.
“As a camp counselor I learned the importance of having a spiritual community. I poured into others and allowed others to pour into me,” she continued.
Experiencing the love of God through relationships with others transformed Chalyce’s spiritual life. “The experience redefined how I serve and disciple others through authentic and intentional relationships,” she concluded.
The Navigators has equipped millions of people like Chalyce to serve and disciple others throughout its long history.
The ministry’s work around the globe has reached college students, professionals, families, and more through Bible studies, training sessions, and, of course, much prayer.
The ministry strives to equip disciples of Christ (who can make more disciples!) by providing ministry tools and an online resource library to help cultivate life-to-life intentionality and relational skills.
The organization believes this kind of interpersonal ministry fulfills the message of 2 Timothy 2:2: “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.”
Teaching others about Christ and leading them to Him isn’t a calling confined to pastors—it’s a calling for all of us who love God and want others to love Him, too. All we have to do is meet them in their everyday lives and see how the little things point to God.
The Navigators’ dream is a process where the gospel spreads from person to person to person, creating “spiritual generations” that proclaim the love and faithfulness of God.
To learn more about the work of The Navigators, visit the ministry’s website.
Consult the resources offered there to learn more about the transformative power of life-to-life discipleship!