To advance the Gospel of Jesus and his kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of labourers living and discipling among the lost
News from New Zealand and around the world
Roy Robertson, first-ever Navigator missionary, has died
Roy Robertson, commissioned by Dawson Trotman to take the gospel to China in 1949, passed away peacefully on Thursday May 8 at his home in Denton, Texas. He was 87.
It was experiencing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941 that
provoked Roy to commit his life totally to Christ. Roy was later mentored
by Trotman in the Navigator home at 509 Monterey Road, Los Angeles. There he
became imbued with Trotman's clear vision of Christ's Great Commiss- ion,
based on Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Timothy 2:2.
In Asia Robertson was influenced heavily by four gifted American evan- gelists and was bur- dened by the millions of Asia who had never heard the gospel. Trotman gave him carte blanche to do what was on his heart.
So Roy combined two visions—spiritual multiplication (2 Timothy 2:2) and mass evangelism with good counselling and follow up—and served Christ both in serious discipling and crusade-style outreach.
He served this way in many Asian countries, and opened ministries in China, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, The Philippines and Singapore, always working closely with other organisations, including Overseas Crusades, OMF and Youth For Christ.
From 1960 Roy began a programme of training Asian Evangelists, in what became a spin-off organisation called TEL, Training Evangelistic Leadership. He began his year-long discipleship and evangelistic training in Singapore, later planting the courses in other Asian countries. Several New Zealand Navigators joined him to assist, including Graeme Bruges and Len McGrane.
About 1968 Roy was invited to New Zealand to teach up and coming leaders, when the picture above was taken.
Roy was twice married. His second wife, Phyllis, died recently.
For a further outline of his life click here.
New Zealand staff writer Sandy Fairservice is currently researching Robertson's life and will write a chapter about him for The Asia Legacy II: Stories of Navigator Pioneeers. The Asia Legacy (Book 1) has been published. For futher information, click here.
New Zealand's role in missions clarified at Asia-wide gathering
New Zealand, as part of the Asia-Pacific region, needs to be involved in partering with other countries
in missions.
This was one of the conclusions reached at the end of an Asia missions consultation held in Kuala
Lumpur early this year, attended by New Zealand missions delegate, Phil Haussmann.
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Phil Haussmann |
Sixty delegates from 14 countries were represented at the gathering which had been called to help
participating countries understand tasks of missions and missionaries.
One purpose of the gathering was to to draw attention to missions partnering and to exchange
information about needs and resources and to see how that could be worked out. The gathering also
resolved to pray for Asia and recruit prayer for the region.
An underlying theme of the consultation, Phil reports, was the concern many there had for the
marginalised and poor, and their respon- sibility to share Christ among all people groups. The poor and
marginalised were to be empowered, not through dependence, but through the transforming power of
the gospel.
What a Navigator missionary team was and what was expected of it was rehearsed,
using as a reference an internationally-accepted document prepared in 1997. Other terminology was clarified to enable good
international communication.
The advantages and disadvantages of cultural differences and how to overcome them were reviewed.The rapid urbanising of Asia meant that teams needed to live in cities and work through families and
relational networks. A good understanding of the human story was needed, and the promises of God
for the world.
For New Zealand, opportunities exist for bi-vocational Navigator missionaries in Pacific or Asian
countries.
Phil reports that Senior Navigators present—Mike Treneer, Neil Grindheim, Jim Truax, Jim Chew, Alan
Ch'ng, John Ridgway and Badu Situmorang—got to know the participants, and generally the event was
conducive to making friendships with people from other countries.
News bytes
During 2007, LifeNet has instituted what is called the LifeNet Leadership Community, a group of 25 people in their twenties and thirties who are leading or serving in one of the LifeNet communities. "We are looking to god to develop these people into leaders," says Glen Morris, the national LifeNet leader. Glen reports that a few people have come to Christ in Palmerston North and in Christchurch, but the challenge is to see people in their twenties and thirties coming to faith, "something which isn't happening this year."
"Not only would it be good for those whose lives are transformed but also for those believers who work with God and are part of seeing it happen. I think it would really boost their own faith in the process," says Glen.
The Navigators in New Zealand have student works in Auckland, Massey and Canterbury universities, and they are looking for people in whose hearts God is already working. The message is the gospel; the vision is the world.
In November, Glen Morris will
be attending a gathering in Sydney with a small number of European,
Australian and Latin American Navigators. Glen is looking forward to
exchanging creative ideas that will benefit New Zealand ministry. Mike
Shamy is facilitating the event. Following
this meeting, emerging leaders from Australia and New Zealand will meet
to talk about The Navigators' core values. Six from Auckland and one
from Wellington will attend. It is hoped the discussion will help the
leaders "own" the Navigator vision.
New Zealanders Mike and Audrey Shamy have resettled in Auckland. Mike is an International Vice President of The Navigators and has spent the last eight years in US-based, travelling ministry. He has emphasised that he is not changing his job, just his location.
Des Barton from Waikato spends Wednesdays "inside" at the Waikeria Men's Prison. He is on the chaplaincy team there, and takes the gospel with him when he visits prisoners. Mercia Barton shares the Bible with a group of five women "outside." The couple also teach Bible In Schools. A hundred and twenty children are expected at a Northland kids' camp.
Jim Chew, resident in Wellington, has stepped aside from his Pacific responsibilities. Roko (Fiji leader) and Palasi (Tonga leader) joined for the recent Pacific Region leadership meeting. Jim will continue his responsibilities in Asia Missions. He celebrates his 70th birthday in December.
Kyle Gregory, a professional jazz musician involved with the Navigators in Verona, Italy will be performing at a jazz evening in Auckland on November 17. It is hoped that his music and the story of his life will bring others closer to Christ.
The New Zealand board of directors is working out the best way to recruit new staff to the university works. "It is difficult for young men and women to step up to such a role and raise sufficient funding," they say.
New Zealand staff member Sandy Fairservice has seen the publiction of the first of two books about the Navigator pioneers who brought the gospel and the Navigator vision to Asia. The book, called "The Asia Legacy: Stories of Navigator Pioneers", includes a chapter on the founder of the New Zealand work, Joe Simmons. Ten pioneers are in book one, and ten will be published in book two. Sandy has been working on the project for about four years, with a break due to cancer surgery and chemotherapy. More information here. Sandy has just returned from three weeks in the US, where he taught "The Life Cycle of the Disciple" to the Kost congregation of the Evangelical Free Church of America for two weeks.
If you are moving, or changing your postal or email address, please give your new address to John MacClure at the office.
The promises of God
Mike Treneer, International President
"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)
I remember as a second-year university student how this verse grabbed my attendtion. Four of my unbelieving friends had just agreed to look into the Bible with me to investigate the claims of Jesus. I wrote their names in the margin of my Bible and began praying that God would use his word in their lives as he had promised.
Soon afterwards I was warned about taking Bible verses out of context, so I began to look into the context and wrestle with the meaning of Isaiah 55 as a whole. How could I know to whom God was addressing these promises? And if God was addressing them to me, how should I respond? Surely the promises of God mean what God intended, not what I take them to mean. No amount of believing or "claiming" can change the meaning of God's promise.
God used his word in the lives of my friends and all four came to a living faith in Christ. And I began a lifelong journey of faith to study, reflect and pray over the promises of God. In Christ, God has given me a treasure chest of promises. I began to unpack them during university, and today I continue to discover more of my heritage.
As Navigators we value "expectant faith and persevering prayer rooted in the promises of God" (Core Value 5). We hear stories of Dawson Trotman, Lorne Sanny, and other early Navigators who claimed promises from Isaiah and other Old Testament passages. Verses are underlined and dated in mny of our own Bibles to record when God has given us promises and we have claimed and prayed them. Promises have given us confidence in launching new ventures of faith and strengthened us to persevere in the face of uncertainty and disappointment.
God's promises declare his purposes, reveal his intentions, and express what he is doing and will do in our world. When we reflect and pray over the promises of God, it is not our faith that brings them to life as we "claim the promises." Rather it is God's promises that ignite our faith and shape our lives as they "claim" us, drawing us into their fulfillment. We are like driftwood caught up in the mighty ocean currents of God's purposes.
One of the most discouraging aspects of my own spiritual journey is my inability to keep my promises to God. At the death of a dear friend, I desired to rededicate my life to the Lord, yet felt that any promise I made would be worthless. As I wrestled with my discouragement, the pastor of our church spoke of Peter's empty vow to never deny the Lord. Jesus, however, made a promise to Peter. "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail (Luke 22:31-32).
Like Peter, I continually discover that I am unable to keep my promises to the Lord. Also like Peter, I find that the Lord always keeps his promises to me. So I seek to live on the basis of God's promises to me, not mine to him.
Briefly
About The Navigators
The Navigators is a global movement guided and refreshed by more than 4,600 staff in 103 countries and 161 languages.
1109 or 26% of these staff are cross-cultural missionaries, 321 in their own countries and 788 in other countries.
753 or 18% of our staff minister in 31 of the 59 countries of the 10/40 Window, 37% of our 2063 staff outside the USA.
80 or 11% of our staff, including 350 or 44% of our foreign cross-cultural missionary staff, minister in 40 of the 83 Restricted Countries.
Americans account for 2489 or 59% of our staff…and 588 or 53% of our cross-cultural missionaries.
1162 or 28% of our staff are citizens of the Developing World—Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, Middle Easterners, Oceanians.
Nationalities with the most staff:
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Americans 2489,
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Koreans 279,
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Britons 138,
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Canadians 138,
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Indonesians 133.
Our strategy is generational: we raise up labourers with godly passion and biblical depth to reproduce the Christ-life among their friends and relational networks.
We have over 500 spiritual workers who are committed solely to ministry among Muslims and are active in half the 41 countries classified as Islamic.
We have active ministry in 20 of the 24 Asian countries that contain 52% of the world's population.
Eighty-five countries of the world are opposed to the open sharing of the Gospel. We minister in over half those countries through authentic presence, living grace before speaking truth.
We are contributing energetically to the desire of missiologists of going from every nation to every nation. Further world missions facts.
The Navigators—we are 75 this year
Nineteen thirty-three was was the year athlete and philanthropist Murray Halberg was born in New Zealand.
In the USA, Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated as 32nd
president saying, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
Bing Crosby was crooning “You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me.” Ethel
Waters was singing “Stormy Weather.”
And it was the year The Navigators were born.
Dawson Trotman had been working among young men part-time for a few years. But in 1933, a handful of sailors offered to financially support Dawson and his wife, Lila, so that Dawson could quit his job to pursue the ministry full-time.
Dawson Trotman with his sailors
Today, internationally, The Navigators have more than 4,600 staff in 103 countries and 161 languages—and we are still growing.
Six critical factors for a Navigator ministry
Over the past couple of years, Navigator leaders have been considering what is essential for any Navigator ministry to be fruitful and multiply. Former International Executive Team member and Navigator thinker, Jim Petersen, produced an extensive Bible study on the subject. For this website, however, we offer the following summary:
Stage 1: Laying Foundation
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Clear vision and faith in the
promises of God -
Access for the Gospel
Stage 2: Evangelism
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Skills
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Teamwork
Stage 3: Making Disciples
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Survival of converts
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Discipleship goals
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Transformation of life
Stage 4: Developing Community
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Understanding church
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Ekklesia and Oikos
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Form and Function
Stage 5: Leadership
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Spiritual parenting
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Interdependence
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Passing on the Vision
Stage 6: Spiritual Generations
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Multiplication
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Understanding God's Purposes
View links to Navigator websites.
For soft, mostly US news and inspirational articles click here.
You can give through this website. Just click the giving button at the top right.
Rev John R.W. Stott's commentary on Second Timothy.
The Navigators' Core Beliefs.
The Navigator Heritage
Some tried and true resources
www.navigators.org has many pages, but the one you want is the ministry tools page where you can He recalled the very important link between the Church and The Navigators and said that he hoped that the churches would become passionate about discipling and discipleship, using the unchanging principles of the Chief Disciplemaker, the Lord Jesus Christ. download helpful things such as the Bridge Illustration, the Wheel Illustration, and the Hand Illustration. Print them out and use them as you help others.
www.discipleshiplibrary.com is the radio outreach of The Navigators. Here you can listen to streaming audio talks by the pioneers, such as Lorne Sanny, Dawson Trotman and LeRoy Eims, including classic addresses gathered over 60 years. LeRoy's Daily Walk page is set out as a year's supply of daily, three-minute sermons in simple English. Everything is also available in MP3.
New Zealand Government travel advisories http://www.mfat.govt.nz/travel/index.html
World Misssions News
"Evangelical Christians are the fastest growing major religious group in the world today and it is the only one growing rapidly by conversion." —Patrick Johnstone
Respected Christian scholar Dr Alistair Petrie estimates that 200,000 people become Christians every day.
Alongsiders coach insiders
Mike Treneer, International President
People need encouragement throughout their lives. Labouring among lost and broken people in a fallen world is demanding work. Our Calling as Navigators is to labour in the harvest and to believe God for spiritual generations of new labourers. As Navigator staff we are also set apart to lead, encourage, help and support the labourers God has already given us. "Insiders" need "alongsiders"!
Another word I hear being used in many parts of our work is the term "coach." I find this concept very helpful in expressing what I can do as an "alongsider."
If we are to see workers for the Kingdom next door to everywhere labouring fruitfully among the lost, we are going to nee many alongsider-coaches who are able to help others live out or Core. Some of us are natural coaches, gifted at drawing alongside others, entering their situations, listening, observing, asking good questions, and bringing encouragement.
At one of the International Gatherings the International Executive Team hosted this last year, one group developed this simple framework of questions to use in coaching a person in life or ministry:
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What are the realities you face?
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Where are you headed?
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What steps can you take from Point A
to Point B? -
What have you been doing that helps
you get there? -
What has been hindering you?
This simple set of questions can help us in our coaching.
Scripture: "And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose, and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God.—1 Samuel 23:16 RSV