The year. 1955.

The place. Stratford Court Hotel just off Oxford Street in London.

The reason. God had just called six men. Major-General Sir Wilson-Haffenden. Sir Cyril Wilson Black. Rev George Cripe. Rev Joe Blinco. Dawson Trotman, founder and leader of the Navigators. His vice president, Lorne Sanny. Daws and Lorne trained the Billy Graham Counsellors in a fresh idea, ‘follow up’ of new Christians.

The purpose. To raise life-long disciples equipped to raise more life-long disciples. To establish a Navigator network in the UK.

On the move (60s and 70s)

London. Daws and Lorne invite Joyce Turner from San Francisco to run the UK Navigator office. Some women start meeting at Joyce’s home to study the Bible. Soon there are 60. This grows to 300. Ed and Ruth Reis join Joyce from Kenya. 

Manchester. Gordy and Margaret Nordstrom move from Paris. Robb and Meg Powrie-Smith begin discipling young people from their church. Some leave for university.

Loughborough. Robb and Meg move house to help these undergrads reach out to their friends. The students graduate and move into jobs near to other universities.

By 1973 the Navigators work in 19 universities, developing group leaders and skilled individual equippers.

Big questions (80s and 90s)

The process. Evangelism. Establishing. Equipping.

The reach. Students, communities and churches. Britain, but also Africa and other Commonwealth nations.

The issues. Secularisation. How to reach people who reject traditional Christian truths? How to develop life-long disciples of Christ? How to structure missional communities?

The response. Navigators share Jesus through relationships. We don’t bring a package; we bring a Person living in a person.

Interdependence (2000s & 2010s)

Renewed ethos. Passion to know Jesus. To value every person. To live in relational networks.

Renewed vision. To be ‘insiders’ in families, businesses, churches, campuses and communities. To live like Jesus. Raise new Jesus-followers. Help them grow.

Renewed reach. Professionals and workplaces. International students. Multi-ethnic communities. As well as students, communities, churches and missions abroad.

Now

The Navigators could be described as ‘the largest missionary organisation that you’ve never heard of’. Our worldwide partnership exists in over 100 countries with about 6000 partners. 

Across the UK, 100 Navigator Representatives and Associates disciple in universities, churches and communities. They each invest deeply in a few, helping them to go deep with Jesus and with another few.

Future

We want to pass the baton to the next generation of disciple-makers, training them to pass it on again. Our vision is for people next door to everywhere sharing Jesus in all of life, alongside others life-to-life, for the whole of life.