2025: A Year in Review of the Navigate
Throughout this year, our Navigate newsletter has focused on disciplemaking—the heartbeat of The Navigators. As 2026 approaches, we thought it worth revisiting some of the insights our authors have explored over the past months.
Disciplemaking – What Is It All About?
Being a disciple of Jesus and helping others become disciples is for everyone. As we focus on knowing Jesus and following him, he shows us how to help others do the same.
We see this in Jesus’ promise: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people” (Matt 4:19). This verse gives us a clear picture of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus—someone who follows Jesus, is being changed by Jesus, and is committed to his mission. Disciplemaking is simply helping others grow in their walk with Jesus, as someone helped you.
The Navigators’ mission expresses this as, “To know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same.” It’s about walking alongside others, pointing them to Christ in everyday life, and equipping them to do the same for others. It’s not about having all the answers or being a Bible expert—it’s about being faithful to what you’ve already received and passing it on.
As we intentionally reach out to others, the Holy Spirit moves in love and power, revealing Jesus. It isn’t clever arguments or well-reasoned debates that lead people to Christ—it’s God’s Spirit. In every conversation, every friendship, and every act of love, God is at work.
Each Life Makes An Impact!
The essential elements of life-to-life discipleship are relationships, the Bible, and prayer. As Paul says to the Thessalonians, “We loved you so much we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our lives, too” (1 Thes 2:8, NLT). It’s in the context of a relationship that we pass on what we ourselves have learnt about following Jesus.
Jesus did not confine the disciples’ learning to a classroom environment. He called his disciples to “be with him”. Making disciples happens life-to-life because so many things are caught rather than taught. To understand others and show care places us alongside them and changes our perspective. As we help others grow in relationship, Bible reading and prayer, we model the journey of following Jesus, and together we pass on that same journey to others.
The Bible
Bible reading and fellowship have always been central to disciple-making. Sometimes life’s demands—distance, work, or family commitments can make fellowship difficult. Fellowship thrives wherever hearts unite around God’s Word, which is powerful and purposeful. Reading the Bible with others, and fellowship, isn’t about perfection—it’s about faithful, regular engagement. God’s word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), given to strengthen us (Acts 20:32), sustain us (John 6:63), and equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). Even if our fellowship takes place online, the connection is real, and Christ is present (Matthew 18:20).
Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 2:15 to present ourselves to God as approved workers—people who handle his word with care and integrity. When we handle it well, it transforms not only our own lives but also those around us.
Asking Questions
Jesus asked questions. “Who do you say that I am? (Matt 16:15). His questions challenged people to wrestle with truth in a personal way.
We don’t need to have all the answers. Open-ended questions spark curiosity, invite honesty, challenge assumptions, and draw people closer to Jesus. Ask: Who am I? Is this truth, a misbelief, or a lie? What is the truth here? How will this change my belief and action? What does God say to me in this situation? These questions invite reflection and renewal. When answered honestly and guided by Scripture, they become a pathway to growth and lasting transformation.
Disciple Making In Community
Discipleship isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being available. Jesus calls us to follow Him, be changed by Him, and join Him in His mission. From the outset, he made it clear that discipleship ultimately leads to disciplemaking. He was not merely developing learners (Matthew 9:38).
Disciplemaking thrives in community—where it is seen, affirmed, and lived out together. The discipleship Jesus taught his disciples was not a nice-sounding theory. Quite the opposite. He created an ongoing ministry environment for his disciples in the streets, at the lakeside, in the synagogues, and in people’s homes. For many cultures, community isn’t optional; it’s part of identity. Shared spaces and relationships shape how people grow and flourish. Jesus’ disciples learned discipleship at funerals, weddings, banquets, and religious festivals. Jesus did not encourage his disciples to initiate a separate ministry of their own; he invited them to participate in the real ministry already taking place around them.
If we want to reach others with the good news of Jesus or help them mature in faith, we must step into their world. Entering their community isn’t optional – it is essential! Keep ministry simple and authentic. Wherever we serve, let’s keep meeting (Hebrews 10:24–25), keep encouraging (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and keep pointing each other to Jesus. In every season, we’re still called to make disciples—together. (2 Timothy 2:2)
The Nations
The Great Commission was Jesus’ invitation to all His followers. (Matthew 28:19). When we think about making a difference for the Kingdom and reaching people for Christ, sharing the gospel doesn’t have to mean crossing borders. That call reaches us wherever we live—whether it’s in a quiet neighbourhood, a small town, or on a busy city street in another country. When Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), he showed that the journey begins close to home and moves outward.
We can pray globally while living intentionally locally, disciple with multiplication in mind, and welcome those from other cultures who live nearby. From neighbourhoods to nations, the mission remains the same: helping people know and follow Jesus.
At home, or across borders, it takes time to build trust and see lasting fruit, but with encouragement and collaboration, seeds of faith grow. Paul and Barnabas modelled this on their first missionary journey, returning to Barnabas’s homeland to strengthen believers (Acts 4:36; 13:1–4). In every setting—near or far—discipleship flourishes through relationships rooted in love and grace.
Spiritual Generations
The Good News about Jesus has reached us through generations of believers—the Great Commission, in which ordinary people faithfully share with others what they believe, learn, and experience about Jesus. The vision of seeing the Great Commission at work in New Zealand reflects the Navigators’ calling: “To advance the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of labourers living and discipling among the lost.”
Jesus looks for fruit—seeds that multiply. He invested deeply in those who would carry his message forward. Disciplemaking calls us to be bold and intentional in how we make disciples and to impart a vision that inspires others to do the same.
Dawson Trotman put it when he wrote: ‘When someone is born again, they receive Christ, and God’s plan is for them to grow and multiply.’
Every believer is called to reproduce spiritually. This mirrors God’s first command in Genesis 1:28: “Be fruitful and multiply…” The call remains the same today: grow in Christ and help others do likewise, so the gospel continues to move from generation to generation.