The Navigators
"On a scale of one to ten, I place The Navigators as a 'ten' among para-church
ministries today. In my college days, The Navigators taught me the value of a
disciplined life. In our Crusades, they developed the unsurpassed follow-up methods
we use today. Thank God for The Navigators."
-- Billy Graham
Navigators have invested our lives in people for more than 70 years, coming alongside them one to one to study the Bible, develop a deepening prayer life, and memorize and apply Scripture.
An interdenominational, nonprofit organization, The Navigators is dedicated to helping people navigate spiritually, to know Christ and to make Him known as they look to Him and His Word to chart their lives.
Our ultimate goal is to equip them to fulfill 2 Timothy 2:2--to teach what they have learned to others.
Visit our ministry's main web site at www.navigators.org.
Our Mission
To advance the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost.
Our Beliefs
- That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.
- In one God, the Creator; eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- That Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, and that He was and remains true God and true man.
- That God created Adam and Eve in the divine image; that they sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that, as a result of Adam's sin, all human beings are now born with a sinful nature and stand guilty before God.
- That the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.
- In the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present life there for us, as High Priest and Advocate.
- In the blessed hope of the personal and imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
- That all who by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God.
- That the Holy Spirit indwells and gives spiritual life to all believers, enables them to understand biblical truth, empowers them for godly living, and equips them for service and witness.
- In the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost.
The History of the Navigators
For over 70 years The Navigators have been seeking to Know Christ and Make Him Known.
In 1933, Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators, began teaching sailor Les Spencer the principles of Christian growth. They spent many hours together in Bible study, Scripture memorization and prayer. A shipmate of Spencer's soon asked him about the secret of his changed life. Spencer brought the new man to Trotman and said, "Teach him what you taught me!" Trotman's answer: "You teach him!" Thus was the beginning of The Navigators.
Spencer did teach the second sailor, and the two in turn reached others. Soon, 125 men on board the USS West Virginia were growing in Christ and actively sharing their faith. By the end of World War II, men on a thousand ships and military bases had surrendered their lives to Christ and were learning the principles of Christian discipleship as a result of The Navigators' ministry.
After the war, the ministry of The Navigators expanded to college campuses (the first at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1958) and numerous communities throughout the U.S. In 1948, the first overseas Navigator missionary was sent to China. Others soon followed to Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
Today, tens of thousands of individuals worldwide are being reached for Christ as the work of The Navigators grows. A heart for individuals continues to motivate us to teach on a one-to-one basis.