Tim and Leah Simpson
Off we go again! Navigators student ministry launches this month. With student numbers growing across our current ministries, so too has our intern and staff team, and now our campus presence. February 2026 marks the launch of the Navigators Otago University ministry. This is the first time we’ve had a student ministry there in nearly 30 years. It’s really exciting for us. Since 2019, we have sought through prayer and perseverance to bring this ministry to reality.
Around the country this year, students coming into our ministry will join our theme of ‘Grow’. Grow is part of a three-year cycle we operate across our Navigators student ministries: ‘Know’, ‘Grow’, ‘Go’. Grow focuses on the depth of our walk with Jesus, abiding in him, growing in our convictions, and understanding grace. The book of Galatians features in the second half of the year.
We welcome five new interns and one new staff member to our student staff team. Three interns arrived from Canada as part of our formal exchange programme with our Navigator counterparts in Canada. One joins the team going to Otago and the other two will be based at Canterbury University. At the end of January, we ran new staff training and had a great time getting to know these fantastic people.
God also opened an unexpected door, allowing the expansion of the Auckland University work into AUT (Auckland University of Technology). Several Auckland students played a big part in making this happen and it’s been exciting to see the Auckland student ministry swell in size. This year, the team there will have a club presence at AUT.
In 2026, we send Prakash Primulapathi—a senior staff member—to Victoria University in Wellington. This brings an opportunity to build connections at Victoria. Prakash doesn’t yet have a formal presence as a campus worker. Pray with us that God would open this door as well. We give thanks to God for so much growth and expansion, for the work he is doing in the hearts of young people, and for all he is providing for us to resource the work