Originally, Doug was very involved with his local church in the Seattle area, attending multiple times a week. However, after spending nights and weekends on duty, he was suddenly lucky to be able to attend once a month. With a demanding work schedule and atmosphere, he gradually started to unplug, and he found himself growing more and more distant from his church community and faith.

“He spiraled into a cynical place, so I was crying out to the Lord for someone to find him and meet his need,” Christine Heric, Doug’s wife, says. “So when Chris Green showed up, it really was an answer to prayer.”

In 2018, Doug met Chris, who oversees the Navigators First Responders Ministry, after Chris started talking to him about what Life-to-Life^® discipleship can look like. “He would come on ride alongs with me, and he would meet me at times when church doesn’t happen,” Doug recalls. “And I saw that working in my life. It worked for me, and I wanted to do that kind of ministry for others.”

Coming alongside other first responders the way that Chris did for him, Doug joined the Navigators First Responder Ministry as an associate, meeting men while still working as an officer. After retiring from the police force in 2020 after 12 years of service, he came on full-time staff with the Navigators. Seeing the impact the ministry had in their family, Christine also joined as an associate Navigator to mentor other officers’ spouses who may be struggling. Together, they’ve been pioneering new ways to reach first responders and their families in the Seattle area and beyond.

Meeting the Unique Needs of First Responders

Starting in Seattle, Doug began to contact officers he already had connections with to share the gospel. These relationships led to video calls, meeting for coffee, and walking through Navigator resources like the Growing in Christ Bible study. Since then, his ministry has grown disciplemaking communities of first responders from coast to coast in the United States, reaching from the state of Washington to New York and Philadelphia.

A large part of the Herics’ ministry is meeting and understanding the unique needs and culture of first responders and their families. From post traumatic stress to hypervigilance to long hours with little sleep, first responders often deal with events and emotions that many can’t relate with and often misunderstand.

“They need someone to come alongside them,” Doug says. “The way that we as humans often deal with trauma is substance abuse, addictions, and other unhealthy ways of coping. So we walk with them and understand those things, and we don’t judge them for it, being aware of resources and solutions that can help.”

To build community and relationships with first responders and their families, Doug has started partnering with local churches across Seattle to host “Fellowship of Warriors” events, where dozens of first responders and their families come together to connect and hear the gospel.

“50 to 75 people show up for these events, but that includes spouses and families,” he says. “We want to make sure the families aren’t overlooked — that’s an important part of our ministry.”

Creating Generations of Impact

Doug has been able to see the Lord work firsthand in the life of one first responder whose family now regularly attends the Fellowship of Warrior events. This officer had dealt with a high profile, controversial incident that required him to have a court appearance. Doug met him during this difficult time and began to disciple him, walking him through a Bible study and memorizing Scripture together. As they continued to meet, Doug and Christine watched as the officer’s countenance and perspective transformed.

“When we first started meeting with him, his wife was hesitant because he was already gone so much,” Christine says. “But after a few weeks, even his kids would come up and say, ‘Oh good, Daddy, are you meeting with Mr. Doug again?’ They could see that he changed — he had come back to them. It was such a blessing.”

Now that officer is meeting with another man from the Fellowship of Warriors group, passing on what Doug taught him. “It’s a really encouraging story of generations, where I was meeting with John*, and John’s meeting with Roger*, and Roger is now going to be meeting with his brother,” Doug says.

Christine has also seen the impact and importance of creating support groups for spouses. One woman, Natalie*, started meeting with Christine a couple years ago. Natalie’s husband was struggling with his work as a first responder, and she was having a hard time connecting with the Lord. Christine remembered a teaching she had heard about how it takes 12 minutes every day for three weeks to create a habit, and she challenged Natalie to create a 12 minute habit of spending time with the Lord.

“At the end of the three weeks, I asked her how it went,” Chistine says. “And she said, ‘I want more than 12 minutes.’ And now spending time with the Lord is her priority, and she is working out of that overflow. When I met her, she had never really opened a Bible.”

Now, Natalie has connected with a female first responder and has started to shepherd her in her faith. “[Natalie’s] been drawing her back to the Lord and her faith, and it is like copying and pasting from the books I once read with her,” Christine says. “It’s been fun to watch her engage with others.”

Pray for the First Responders Ministry in Seattle

As Doug and Christine’s ministry continues to grow and thrive, you can come alongside them in prayer. Pray that the Lord would raise up disciplemakers to partner with them in reaching the lost among the first responders community, and that the Herics can continue to build trust and relationships with officers and their families across the United States. 

“We want to see generational discipleship, where we are making disciples who make disciples,” Doug says. “It’s a big country, and we don’t have that big of a group in the first responders ministry. The goal is to multiply, and that is our prayer.”

If you want to hear more about Doug and Christine’s ministry or come alongside them in their journey with first responders, you can visit their page here. 

*Names have been changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

Doug and Christine are so effective at ministering to first responders and their families because they understand their unique needs from their own experience of being involved with the police force. Who are the people or communities in your life that you share distinct experiences with, and how can you meet their needs? Think about how you can grow your pre-existing connections into Life-to-Life relationships to help others know the Lord better.

Then God surprised them with an amazing opportunity. Their school principal asked Ernie to teach a Bible club after school because two young Christian middle school students asked for one.

Following God’s call, Ernie gave the principal a lesson plan, Bible, and copy of the NavPress Bible study Design for Discipleship Book 1. The principal made a presentation to the Board of Education, and it was approved. In 2003, their public school Bible club ministry was born!

Sharing the Gospel in Public Schools

Since then, everyday disciplemakers from other churches have expressed interest in teaching after-school Bible clubs in more schools. With the help of The Navigators Corporate Affairs and Risk Management (CARM) department to develop and implement a vetting process and child protection training, these partnering churches have been able to effectively onboard volunteers. All of the Bible club teachers are trained to share the gospel and morning devotions, as well as teach students how to memorize Scripture, pray, witness, and study the Bible in ways that are engaging and relevant for grades K-12.

Ernie is especially passionate for this ministry because of the research from Barna Group and the National Association of Evangelicals, which states that 85 percent of people who have put their trust in Christ did so when they were between the ages of 4 and 16. This is a testament to Jesus’ special care for children when He said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14 (NIV).

After seeing hundreds of children come to Christ through Bible clubs over 22 years, Ernie sees this ministry as essential for reaching generations for Christ, laying foundations of faith to prepare the youth to be everyday disciplemakers in school, work, family, and life as they grow up.

In addition, Ernie is excited about the fact that the ministry has been grassroots and community-led. Partnering churches love the community impact of the Bible clubs, and church-going parents are thrilled their children are learning the Word of God in their public school setting, not just at church. Children are being transformed by the love of Jesus through the gospel, and the impact is rippling out to families and school staff.

A Growing Ministry for Children

Ernie has devoted much of his time to train churches around the nation to start up Bible clubs in their own local public schools with hopes of expanding and multiplying spiritual generations. As more and more churches reach out to Ernie, he continues to help them navigate the logistics of setting up Bible clubs, leading them with Navigator principles.

Pray for the children that The Navigators Bible club ministry will reach and disciple in public schools. Consider ways you may be able to partner locally to help reach children in public schools near you. For more information, contact Ernie Scalabrin at ernie.scalabrin@navigators.org.

Discipleship Tip:

Judy and Ernie were already involved in the public school system through his kids when he started the Bible Club ministry, using it as an opportunity to disciple children at his local schools. Look around — where are you already involved that you could disciple others? Whether it’s your workplace, neighborhood, school, or community, you might be surprised to see who you could reach in your networks!

Transcript Excerpt from the “Grief & Discipleship” Podcast Episode: 

Norman: When my son was three years old, he started spiking fevers and we didn’t know what was going on. We took him to the pediatrician in a small town in Alabama. We see God’s hand in this now because right away, this pediatrician suspected that our son might be dealing with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), which is a fairly rare condition. It’s just rheumatoid arthritis, but it happens in children rather than the elderly.

Sure enough, she was spot on with her diagnosis. The thing about JRA is that it’s not curable, but treatable, like adult rheumatoid arthritis.

Of course as a young parent, you’re trying to wrap your mind around an unexpected diagnosis. It seemed like fevers and we thought, surely it’s just a virus. Instead, it turned into a little over three-year process of helping our three year old with extremely painful inflamed joints, where at times he couldn’t get out of bed. At three, you can’t understand what’s going on.

Both my late wife, Katie, and I would say that’s where our fake or floral picture of what the future looked like while walking with God got set aside. This was replaced with a much more realistic version of what it looked like to walk through life with God in a broken and fallen world. This was one of the most painful experiences we had ever been through. It’s hard to see a child suffer.

Years later, Katie lived with cancer. She was diagnosed with cancer in her mid 30s. It was breast cancer at an early stage—caught really early. We were hopeful with the diagnosis and the treatment she went through. However, she was one of the statistics where the cancer recurred and then had a third diagnosis where the cancer metastasized. That was seven years for us living with a lot of uncertainty about the future. Katie died from cancer after her third diagnosis.

Probably many people listening have experienced continuously praying for God to do something, and He says, “No.” You ask God, “What sense is there in the death of somebody who loves You, has stayed faithful to You, and has children at home?” This is a test of your willingness to keep trusting God even when you can’t figure out why He’s doing what He’s doing.

We always say experience is a good teacher—it’s not. Experience is not a good teacher; experience is not a teacher. You’ve never had an experience that has interpreted itself to you. Experience can’t teach you anything. You or the people around you are the ones who interpret the significance of the experiences you go through.

This is where God and the Word of God come in. It’s not like experiences of difficulty, pain, or suffering tell me anything. I’m telling myself what these things mean. Am I a trustworthy source to interpret the significance of these things? Or will I look to God and let Him tell me why all of these things are happening or at least tell me who He is in light of all that’s going on?

How To Disciple Someone Through Grief

Norman: Typical of the culture of the ancient Near East, as soon as Job’s friends found out about the devastation that Job had experienced, they showed up. They came to him and sat silently with him as he wept and mourned.

Then things kind of went bad when they started trying to explain to him why all of this terrible stuff had happened to him. I would say stick to doing the first part of what Job’s friends did for anyone who’s suffering.

Show up and continue to do so. For those who have lost a loved one, they tend to have a lot of people rally around them initially, but then very few stay with them over the months ahead, when there’s a lot of emptiness. Showing up to be with people is important.

What Spiritual Practices Help Someone Through Grief

Norman:

1. Spend extended time alone with God, especially in times of grief. When God is the last person you want to talk to, it’s probably a good idea to choose to go sit alone with Him. This way you have no other alternative except to talk to Him and perhaps listen to Him. It’s a very neglected discipline.

Being alone with God is one time you can say, “I am not trying to do anything; I’m trying to be God’s child. I’m trying to face Him, though I feel He’s hurt me or I’m angry with Him.”

There have been multiple times when I have resolved to spend extended time alone with God and I can’t. In those moments, I would say don’t beat yourself up. Try again next week. Trust that God is with you and He’s for you.

2. Memorize and meditate on Scripture — both individually and with a group. I started this by myself and then joined a few friends in memorizing through the book of Psalms. We take a psalm a month, and commit it to memory. When the psalm is long, we take a stanza and memorize that.

The practice of meditating deeply on Scripture has been really important for me.

3. Stay in community. When going through grief, I could easily isolate myself from people. It’s easier to not have to explain what I’m thinking, feeling, or how I’m doing because half the time I didn’t know. Resolving to stay in community, even when I didn’t want to be around people, was a discipline I needed.

Since my tendency is toward isolation, I needed to ensure that I was in community. There are some people whose tendency would be exactly the opposite. That group of people may need to make the opposite decision of drawing aside to be alone.

Knowing your tendencies and fostering and choosing habits accordingly will keep your mind and heart healthy.

“I had a lot of hurt and pain, and because of that, I had completely rejected God in my heart,” Caleb says. “But I was still able to put on the facade of a Christian young man. So I played that game for a couple of years, but behind the scenes I relied heavily on alcohol, women, and drugs — everything that did not glorify the Lord in the least bit.”

Alcohol had quickly turned from something fun into something to get by, and his breakup with a long-term girlfriend felt like the final straw. Unsure of who to turn to, Caleb called Larry Matthews, a Navigator at Cedarville whom Caleb had been meeting up with over the past year. Larry encouraged Caleb to pray and hold onto the Word of the Lord, and suddenly, everything started to change.

Watching the Power of Transformation Happen

“I cannot tell you when or how it happened, but my heart was changed,” Caleb remembers. “I found a Bible that I hadn’t touched in years and I just started reading — I couldn’t get enough. I knew there was something going on inside of me. I wasn’t the same person. But what I didn’t realize is that other people could see that I was different.”

Though Caleb had been involved with The Navigators for a couple of years, that fall semester of his junior year was radically different. Around Thanksgiving, he felt called to share his testimony with a Navigators Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Bible study. To the other cadets, Caleb explained how he had been living a double life and shared how God had transformed him. Little did he know that the Lord would use his story to spark a chain reaction.

“Caleb sharing his testimony about what God was doing in his life at the Bible study that Sunday night broke everything open,” Larry says. “It was like turning on a light switch.”

Immediately after sharing his testimony, two students shared with Caleb how they similarly struggled with living double lives. “I said, ‘Well, let’s meet for lunch,’” Caleb recalls. “So I started meeting with those two weekly. And then I shared my testimony again at another Bible study, and two more people asked if they could start meeting too.”

How Sharing Your Testimony Displays God’s Power of Transformation

More and more students started to notice the changes in Caleb’s life and wanted to see the same kind of positive changes in their own lives. “I started meeting with as many young men as I could possibly fit in a 24-hour day,” Caleb says. “Soon, through prayer and testimony and time, five men became 10, and 10 became 20. Now, there’s a Bible study of 40 young men meeting on Saturday mornings, all struggling with the same things.”

For Larry, who has worked with The Navigators for over 38 years, seeing Caleb’s heart change and the impact on the students around him was a rare sight. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and this doesn’t come around very often,” he says. “Transformation, yes, but how other students responded to Caleb was probably the most visible work that God did!”

Now, as Caleb wraps up his time at Cedarville as a senior, he continues to meet with other students to empower them and walk alongside them in their walk with Christ. Whether it is in college or beyond, he hopes that the Lord will continue to use his story and life to lead others to Christ.

“My goal is to glorify the Lord, serve Him, and spend time with Him.” Caleb says. “I want to be someone who loves the Lord with all my heart and loves to serve others, and that is going to be incredibly important for the rest of my life.”

These weren’t the words Alan expected to hear while he was visiting the extended family of his newlywed wife, Maddie*, but he was intrigued. Mitch is Maddie’s cousin, and he’d attended Alan and Maddie’s wedding earlier in the year. At the wedding, Alan and Maddie made sure that Christ was at the center, showing the role that faith has had in their relationship. 

As one of the few people Mitch knew — other than his grandmother — whose faith was transformative, Mitch often turned to Alan for questions regarding Jesus. Curious to learn more about where Mitch was at in his spiritual journey, Alan asked him, “Why was it important to your grandmother that you get baptized?”

“I guess I can’t say all the reasons, but Jesus was important to her,” Mitch replied.

“Is it important to you to get baptized?” Alan asked. 

“Yeah,” Mitch said. “I mean I want to keep my promise to her, but I don’t just want to go through the motions. I want it to mean something.”

Alan asked Mitch if he had ever read the Bible for himself to learn about what Jesus said and did. When Mitch confirmed that he hadn’t, Alan invited him to start reading the Bible with him.

Becoming a Disciple

Alan had a background with The Navigators, being involved with the ministry in his college years. During that time, Alan saw rapid fruit in his own life and the lives of those he was investing in. It was this foundation that gave him a vision for disciplemaking after college, and now he translates what he learned as a student to his post-grad life and relationships. 

It was this mindset that guided Alan as he started to read the Bible with Mitch. Going through one chapter of John at a time, they would meet over Zoom or the phone to discuss what they read each week. After reading through the whole book together, Mitch started to ask about the meaning of the gospel.

Alan’s faithfulness with his cousin-in-law soon bore fruit — Mitch accepted Christ into his life!

However, since Mitch gave his life to Christ, he’s been faced with challenges. Shortly after his commitment to Christ, Mitch’s father’s health began to decline. Much of Mitch’s time was devoted to being a caregiver, until eventually, his father passed away. 

In light of the difficult time, Alan continued to encourage Mitch in his faith. 

Understandably, Mitch was less available and responsive in the midst of this trying season. Alan acknowledged that he’s had to change his own expectations for the pace at which Mitch will grow in his faith. Alan watched Mitch grow from a nonbeliever to a disciple; yet, he still has a vision to see Mitch become a disciplemaker too, passing on his faith to others.

When Alan started to read the Bible with Mitch, Mitch mentioned that his two younger siblings also have a desire to get baptized. Alan’s prayer is that eventually Mitch might start reading the Bible with his younger siblings, much like Alan did with him. 

Alan recognizes that God is working in and through Mitch. Though he’s in a difficult season, he has the potential to bear new and different fruit, and God will no doubt continue to use Alan’s patience and faithful presence as the Lord continues the work He has begun in Mitch’s life. 

Walking Through Open Doors To the Gospel

Sometimes, God opens doors for the gospel right in front of people around us, and all they need is to walk through. Often they are eager — they just need some guidance from those that have gone before them. 

Alan and Mitch’s story is just one of the stories of open doors happening within the Navigators 20s ministry. Around the nation, Navigators are helping equip young adults as they share the gospel with their friends, coworkers, and families. 

Would you join us in praying for Alan, Mitch, and Mitch’s siblings as they continue to walk towards Christ together? Pray that the Lord continues to open doors to the gospel and equip believers to share their faith with others, helping them to reveal Jesus’ character through reading the Bible with those in their circles. 

*names have been changed

Discipleship Tip:

Think of someone you could ask to read the Bible with you who may not have read it before. Share this name with someone you trust and ask them to pray with you for this person. Take the next courageous step and invite this person you thought of to read the Bible with you and see how God guides you next.

Editor’s Note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity. 

I’m Vicki Gatchell and I’m with The Navigators Church Ministries, which is part of Disciplemakers For Life. I live in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area. 

However, I grew up on a farm in northwest Ohio where I raised sheep. I was in 4-H and I didn’t come from a big family, so often in the summer if I wasn’t in school you would see me outside in the sheep pen playing and leading my sheep. I really enjoyed being a shepherdess growing up.

In high school, I came to Christ through Youth for Christ and then when I was in college someone recommended I get in touch with The Navigators. My meeting with The Navigators turned out to be a meeting that changed my life. 

The equipping and learning I did during my time in Navigators Collegiate is really what I’ve built the rest of my spiritual life on over the years. In fact, the other day I got out my first Bible from a bookshelf at home, I opened it up, and near the back was my first attempt at drawing The Navigators Wheel illustration.

The Wheel illustration is one of our primary tools used to understand disciplemaking. Christ is at the center, our relationship with God being the vertical spokes of The Wheel and our relationship with others being the horizontal spokes. The rim represents being obedient to Christ. It was really fun to find that from my college days! 

I started to look back and think about my time in Navigators Collegiate. During that time, a fellow student of mine gave a presentation on having a heart for people. Until then, I had thought, I’m going to do veterinary medicine! I want to work with animals all my life. 

The more I grew to know and love the Lord and identified with having a heart for people, I realized I’d much rather be shepherding people. 

What Shepherding People is Like

Over time, I realized that the most important work of my life came in those spiritual conversations. The thing I loved most was seeing people grow! God has allowed me to know, love, walk, and shepherd so many people. Shepherding people has been the joy of my life. 

I began to pray and think about what it is I really love. I realized that shepherding people was what I wanted to give the rest of my life to. 

Long story short, in 2020 I onboarded with The Navigators working with Navigators Church Ministries—helping bring every church to help everyday disciplemakers transform their everywhere. 

Discipleship Tip:  

Regardless of how long you’ve been following Christ, can you recall something you initially learned that helped you grow spiritually? Step out in faith and share this discipleship resource with someone you’re discipling. Can’t decide what to share? Check out these Navigators Discipleship Resources.

The following transcript has been edited for clarity.

“Right now we are right across the street from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD). And right past that is Scripps Pier and the beach, and then Black’s (Beach) is that way and La Jolla Shores right here. We’re right on the coast of San Diego.

James and I are about to go surfing and have a good time. We are both amateurs at surfing, but we’re gonna have a blast and hopefully catch some waves.

So I think with being on campus, a lot of the days and hours meeting students, a lot of the students get very wrapped up in school, work, and internships. I think surfing has been really helpful to take some students out of that environment or continuous focus and grind.

Some of the guys we’ve been able to get out here on the waves we’ve had really good conversations spanning from relationships to a certain Scripture or verse. We talk about life and enjoy time together. 

I think that’s been huge with building relationships one-to-one, where we’re in the Word—which is awesome and great—but also getting to experience God’s creation and life together and do fun things!

We’re right here next to the beach and a lot of the students have never surfed before. That’s a big reason the students say, ‘Before I leave college I gotta surf at least once!’ It’s been a sweet time and we’ve had some sweet moments with new students and even old students.”

Discipleship Tip:

Who are the people you hang out with when you’re out doing something you enjoy? Think of questions you could ask them that might help you get to know them better the next time you’re together. Pray for an opportunity to share more about your relationship with Jesus. Ask the Lord to help you see the opportunity and for the courage to step into it.

A law at that time prohibited missionaries from preaching in government-owned buildings, and Kari knew the way she could minister was through teaching. National Taiwan University offered her a faculty position as a literature instructor, and Kari was eager to share Christ with her students.

By the second week of class, she wrote in her diary, “I had a chance to introduce the gospel in my literature class. Haven’t been fired yet!!!”

Kari began to lead Bible studies with women from the university and was elated to see seven young women come to Christ in the first six months.

The study rapidly grew, and Kari helped open a student center created to be a place where students could come and learn the gospel. More than 70 students attended the first meeting on April 26, 1953.

A year after her arrival in Taiwan, Kari wrote, “I am introducing them to a living Christ. Praise Him for thirty-five students who found Christ last year, but oh, there are 3,000 more to be reached!”

She returned to the United States in 1954 and married fellow Navigator Bob Malcolm that August in Glen Eyrie’s first Navigator wedding.

Kari and Bob went on to serve in ministry together in Chicago, Minnesota, and New York, later moving back to serve in the Philippines until 1974. Kari authored three books and demonstrated a lifelong passion for encouraging women to use their gifts for the kingdom of God.

Discipleship Tip:

What’s your next step to help someone grow spiritually? Maybe it’s asking someone to meet, praying together, or exploring God’s Word for answers on a challenging topic. Ask God for courage to take a step of faith believing He will provide exactly what you need.