NATIONAL CONFERENCEahl with Mike Jord From grunting durian trees and an affectionately crazed kitten to sober stories of the hard times in his life, Mike Jordahl brought to life biblical principles that drew us back to the feet of Jesus and the power of his Word. A gifted, sensitive and humourous teacher, Mike, one of the national leaders of the U.S. Navigators, had the crowd repeatedly in stitches as he punched home scriptural truths about abiding in Christ and being fruitful. 240 adults and students actively involved in our ministries packed the hall in The Navigators Headquarters on 20th July for our first National Conference in a long while. Apart from the messages, we were encouraged by updates from our ministries which included testimonies from many whose lives are being transformed and used by God. An experienced Nav labourer summed up the day well, “I presumed that Mike would be sharing on ministry skills but instead, he crystallized the heartbeat of fruitful discipleship to a simple ‘follow Jesus.’ And I like his emphasis that knowing the Master takes precedence over doing the Ministry.”
Mike enjoying himself as much as the audience enjoyed him!
Watch Mike’s engaging messages! Message 1 Life in Jesus Message 2 Lordship of Jesus Message 3 Labouring for Jesus
Staff and volunteers from different ministries sharing experiences in a lively discussion.
Doug Erdmann National Director Something from the conference that stuck with me was when Mike said, “You can’t give what you don’t have.” Having just started my walk with God not long ago, many things are new to me. Matthew 11:27 says, ”...no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” For me to minister to my Timothy, I first need to have the Love and Peace of God in me. And that means for me to walk with God consistently and deeply, through daily quiet time and prayer. - Russell Lin, 20s-30s
The Navigators are looking to make a big impact for Christ. It stands to reason, then, that we would want many people to join our staff. Since a major part of our ministry is to students, we especially want many young staff. However, young people often have no idea whether they are “called” to full-time ministry, let alone long-term full-time ministry with The Navigators.
I am blessed by the message by Mike, especially the part about staying connected with Jesus through the different seasons of my life. Sometimes, I may just be meeting up with people, other times I may share the gospel and do follow-up. This may be my season for ploughing and sowing but as long as I am mindful to stay connected to God, I will bear fruit! - Grace, NTU Navs
This is the reason that I’m so excited about our new EDGE program. It allows a young graduate to join our staff for one to two years. During this time they give themselves to full-time gospel ministry … sharing the love of Christ with nonbelievers, discipling young believers. Being close in age, they can connect naturally and freely with the studemts with whom they are working.
When I saw the videos and presentations from all the ministries, I felt so encouraged to see that everyone is so faithful, especially the graduates who come back to serve. - Letitia, Alumni Ministry Watch the latest ministry updates: InterPoly Navs NTU Navs SP Navs Alumni Ministry NP-SIM Navs
Upcoming Event by Alumni Ministry SERVING IN THE KING’S PALACE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 2:30PM - 5:30PM THE NAVIGATORS SINGAPORE HQ 117 LOR K TELOK KURAU Speaker : MR FOCK SIEW WAH, Group Chairman PSA Int’l Pte Ltd
Attendance is by registration only. Email to ykm@navigators. org.sg or sms us at 91067531 For details, go to www.navigators.org.sg
Another thing is also happening. They, and we, are getting a sense of whether full-time ministry with The Navigators could be their long-term calling. At the conclusion of the program, if we decide that is not the case, no problem. They have made an impact for God’s Kingdom, and learned some good ministry and leadership skills which they can take with them into the marketplace or another ministry. If we do sense Navigator ministry is their long-term calling, then they can continue with us on staff with more confidence that they are doing what God wants. On the next page, you will meet our first EDGEr, Chloe Cai. May she be the first of many!
SHARING CHRIST ON CAMPUS
Chloe is our first staff in the EDGE Program and she certainly acts out what it means to communicate Christ’s love to students...literally. Here is a photo of her Commencement Ceremony. NaVNews asks Chloe to describe herself in 5 words:
cheerful hearty outrageous
lively
encouraging
Chloe Cai came to know Christ at age 15,
and by the time she was 17, she desired to give God the best years of her life. This included serving Him full-time in ministry for a couple of years after graduation. “Since I was 15, I have been involved with The NavTeens, a youth arm of The Navigators, to be trained in Christian basics and bible-study leading skills. For the past 6 years, I have been personally mentoring Secondary and post-Secondary students and leading them in bible-study.” One of the women whom Chloe has been mentoring is Jolene Ng. Chloe has been meeting her regularly for almost 3 years. They work through spiritual disciplines like scripture
memory and prayer, and talk about issues that Jolene faces in her life. At the beginning of this year, Chloe encouraged Jolene to lead a bible-study group. Today, Jolene is meeting 4 Secondary School girls to study the bible every Saturday. Chloe is excited to see spiritual multiplication and hopes to do more as a full-time staff. “I am excited over the opportunity to be serving God in a high capacity and seeing lives transformed. I think of the possibility of conquering new schools for Christ. I am also excited to learn about the workings of a campus ministry when I attach myself to NUS Navigators for 3 months of training, beginning in January next year.”
The EDGE Program is a one- to two-year opportunity for recent graduates and young adults to communicate the love of Christ among students. In return, they will receive mentoring and training that will impact them for a lifetime. The acronym EDGE stands for Evangelism, Discipleship, Growth and Experience. Through the program, we want to train and raise a generation of young leaders who will give of themselves to passionately follow Jesus, impact this generation of students and help fulfill the Navigator calling on schools and campuses.
Not Ridiculous but
REAL!
by Alicia Chong
Alicia Chong studies Engineering with Business in Singapore Polytechnic. When she joined The Navigators in April this year, she was struggling with a persistent sense of emptiness that she put down to “something spiritual”. This is her story of how God made Himself real to her.
Shaky Foundations “That’s ridiculous! Then who did I pray to for 17 years?” I thought irately to myself after Nav staff Lee Yin suggested that I did not truly have a relationship with Jesus. After all, I come from a Christian home and was baptized as a baby. Lee Yin observed that I had a one-way relationship with God—I talked to Him but did not let Him talk to me. Subsequently, Lee Yin taught me to have a daily Quiet Time with God. Kylie (who leads my Bible Discussion group) shared the gospel to me several times using the “Bridge to Life” booklet. In it was a checklist of what I must do to receive Christ and I couldn’t get past the one that said: ‘Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave.’ It was a startling revelation when I realized that subconsciously I found the resurrection UNBELIEVABLE. The very idea was ridiculous to my mind. The irony was that I very much wanted to believe but I could not. That was a very troubling period, and with other issues, I slid into a mild state of depression. Unbeknownst to me, the women in the ministry were praying for me through this time. This Day, Right Now My Quiet Time verse on Friday, 2 August was “for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance [also salvation].” (Philippians 1:19, NIV) It was amazing how that the ensuing events of the day would turn out exactly as the verse said. That afternoon, class ended an hour early. When the classroom emptied, I placed my head
Alicia (right) with Kylie, her Bible Discussion group leader
down on the table and fell asleep. I dreamt. In the dream, there was a calm blackness. Slowly a suffocating heaviness grew upon me until it became unbearable. I asked God for deliverance, but the oppression did not go away. I awoke disturbed, and then I had the strong impression of God revealing to me that the overwhelming sense of suffocation and isolation was a small intimation of what it would be like in hell where I would be eternally separated from Him. There was a deadline to accepting Jesus. When I die, that deadline was up. Greatly perturbed, I went to my Bible Discussion group. I was praying, “God, I got your message. What do you want me to do now? Give me a sign if you want me to receive Jesus into my life.” The Bible Discussion that night was based on John 19 which described the events before and after the crucifixion of Christ. It must be the Holy Spirit then who made the description come to life for me. Then we were asked to read John 3:7 and 5 words caught my eye: YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN. This was God’s very direct answer to my prayer—‘RIGHT NOW. Right now, I want you to hear, believe and receive my son Jesus.’ Wow. That night, when Kylie shared the “Bridge to Life” again with me, I could say “yes” to every requirement on that checklist and received Jesus as my Lord and Saviour!
discipleship in action
NTU Navigators had the privilege of having Associate Professor Doug Matthews, Head of NTU Psychology Division speak to more than 50 students at their Welcome Dinner.
Simple, hard work with lots of heart, NUS Navs
In an energetic address, Dr. Matthews urged them to challenge and encourage each other to be committed to doing things that matter, drawing on Hebrews 10:24-25 .
Students and staff from NUS Navigators paddled through tubs of rice, washed and chopped mountains of food as they spent 2 days helping out at Willing Hearts Soup Kitchen. Willing Hearts cooks and delivers 2500 packets of food daily to needy families all over Singapore. The students learnt to put lessons of servanthood and compassion into action.
NTU Freshmen soaking in words of wisdom from Dr. Matthews.
“I went through a time in my life when being successful was very important to me. When you guys finish university and start your careers, you guys are going to be great. BUT John 6:27 tells us, ‘Do not work for the food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life. ‘ This food refers to the souls of men. Jesus Christ has good works for you to do —works that last. Wouldn’t it be great to imagine what God can do through you, all of you together? To reach the students in NTU for eternity.”
On campus, the ministry spent several weeks covering the entire NUS Kent Ridge campus in prayer through a Joshua Prayer Walk as they prepared for God to use them to reach out during the Freshmen Orientation.
Mogan Mannar, CDM Director, in a light moment of afternoon sharing.
The Church Discipleship Ministry shared the vision of disciplemaking with 24 youth pastors and leaders from Nagaland, and interacted over the need to create, in their churches, environments for disciples to be raised.
www.navigators.org.sg The calling of The Navigators is to advance the gospel of Jesus and his kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of labourers living and discipling among the lost. Views expressed in published articles are those of the individual writers and may not necessarily be the views of The Navigators Singapore. THE NAVIGATORS SINGAPORE • National Director: K. Douglas Erdmann • Editor/ Design & Layout: Patricia Lian 117 Lorong K, Telok Kurau, Singapore 425758 • Tel: (65) 6344 4133 • Fax: (65) 6344 0975 • E-mail: admin@navigators.org.sg • www.facebook.com/singaporenavigators Printed by Seng Lee Press Pte Ltd