Art Allen, The Navigators Military and First Responder Southeast Division Director, first met Mike through an Army friend who was part of The Navigators Military Ministry over 20 years ago. At the time, Mike was a detective with a local police department. One day, Mike and Art met for lunch, and Art explained the Great Commission and how God could use Mike to spread the gospel.

However, Mike was hesitant. After Art showed Mike the potential of reaching other first responders in his agency with the gospel and discipleship, Mike declared, “I am not the kind of guy who would be willing to talk to others about spiritual conversations!”

Art understood his reluctance because, like many other Christians, Mike didn’t have the confidence to approach others, often unsure what to say or share. Mike was mostly interested in discipleship for his own growth, to strengthen the foundation of his faith. Meeting Mike where he was in his spiritual journey, Art decided to walk Mike through the NavPress Growing in Christ study together.

That same day, the two men worked to draft Mike’s personal salvation testimony, and Art walked him through explaining what hope in Christ is by drawing out The Bridge to Life Illustration on a napkin. As they were leaving, Mike asked if he could have the illustration and joyfully took it with him.

From Detective to Disciplemaker

Back at the agency, Mike pinned the napkin with The Bridge onto the wall of his cubicle. A short while later, a fellow officer and former Marine found Mike and shared a life issue he was struggling with. Mike explained to this officer that he was currently meeting with someone who was helping him understand that Christ is the true source of all we need.

Step-by-step, Mike walked his colleague through the drawing on the napkin so that he could connect with Jesus. Although Mike had said he wouldn’t engage others in spiritual conversations, he did just that — armed with a tool and confidence in what he had learned.

When the opportunity came, he was ready.

Art and Mike met again two weeks later, and Mike was anxious to share about his experience. Art and Mike continued to go chapter-by-chapter through Growing in Christ. Art asked him, “When you take another person through this study, what do you want them to get from it?” Art wanted Mike to think about how he could shift his mindset from being discipled to helping others grow in their faith.

The next time the two men met up, Mike had another development. He had met a Texas Ranger who he thought Art could also disciple, saying, “I got another guy for you.” Though Art considered the possibility of mentoring this new arrival, he realized that this was a “Dawson moment” — a chance to pass the baton and encourage Mike to take up the mantle of discipleship himself.

Turning to Mike, Art reminded him that this was his opportunity to minister to those in his agency and engage the Great Commission like they had discussed the very first time they met up. Mike asked if Art thought he was ready, and Art encouraged him to give it a try.

After only a few weeks of intentional discipleship, the man who said he wouldn’t engage others about faith is now helping another young Christian grow in his.

Becoming bold for Christ

Making disciples as commanded by Jesus often seems like a daunting task; however, with foundational equipping, faith, and a touch of boldness, anyone can be on the way to generational ministry, reaching the world with the hope of Christ. As Mike is faithful to use the tools he has been equipped with, accompanied by a little boldness, the eternal impact on his agency, his family, and friends will be significant.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV).

*Name changed for privacy.

Discipleship Tip:

Through being discipled by Art, Mike gained the confidence to disciple others around him. Consider — what may be keeping you back from being bold with your faith? If you feel unsure about discipling another person, consider asking a trusted mentor to guide you, helping you practice sharing your faith with others and having discipleship conversations.

However, only a couple years prior to his current ministry, David remembers a time where he almost gave up on his faith.

Raised in a Christian home, David always believed in God but had never made his faith his own. Over the years, he married his wife, Hannah, served in the Air Force, and became a firefighter in 2016 in Grand Junction, Colorado. However, the things he had seen in the military and as a firefighter weighed on him, and it made him question if his beliefs were grounded in something real.

“I started to grapple with the idea of truth — is this something I can be confident in?” David recalls. “I was going through a crisis of faith.”

During that time, David met a couple at his church who happened to be related to Darren Lindblom, The Navigators First Responders U.S. Director. The couple passed David’s phone number along to Darren, knowing David was a firefighter and hoping Darren would reach out.

Months later, David had a breakthrough where he decided to re-surrender his life to God. He prayed for the Lord to use his life to impact others and to make it obvious how he could do so. To his surprise, he got a call from Darren the next day.

“Darren told me that he had my phone number for four or five months, but hadn’t felt led to call me yet,” David remembers. “So when he called, it felt like confirmation — God saying, ‘I’m real, and I’m working in your life.’ It gave me purpose.”

Leading a Firefighter Bible Study

Darren began to disciple David, developing his personal walk with the Lord in his role as a husband and father, as well as in the workplace, encouraging David to live out his faith in the firehouse with the other men. At the same time, Darren’s wife, Gina, began to disciple Hannah, pouring into her life and sharing how she could be an impact to the other first responder wives.

“In our work with first responders — when we get around guys who are passionate about the Lord — we call them fire breathers,” Darren says. “David is a fire breather. It was easy for me to come alongside him and point him in the direction of walking with Jesus and being a part of the Great Commission right where he is.”

Since then, David has been growing a Bible study in his firehouse. After the end of their shift once a week, the men will meet at a coffee shop to share about their lives and go through Scripture and prayer. David has designed the group to be a safe place where non-believers and believers alike can feel heard and seen, pointing each other to truth.

“A lot of times, we will just sit and talk and ask questions and build trust,” he says. “Rather than being talked at, people want to be known. So we recognize that it’s a journey for everyone, and that things will come with time as they continue to seek.”

Many first responders, firemen included, experience hardships and trauma on a regular basis, and these difficulties can lead to serious mental health struggles or deteriorating personal lives. Though there is a rise in resources to help, a lot of solutions are secular and don’t give a “why” for the brokenness of the world.

For David, speaking the Christian worldview into these settings is vital. “The more I understand the Christian narrative, the more beautiful it becomes — why would I not want to share that with others?” David says. “I want them to know they have a personal God who wants to know them and loves them. We see a lot of suffering in this job and world. No other worldviews can really answer that.”

Sometimes, the people saving lives are the ones who need help the most. David is a good example of The Navigators First Responder Ministry’s approach at large: to encourage everyday disciplemakers on the inside of police forces, ambulances, and firehouses to share the light of the gospel where they are.

“It’s easy for first responders to write people off in the church because they don’t understand what we’ve gone through,” David explains. “So I want to say, ‘I’ve gone through this too, and I believe I have answers and can help if you’re willing to listen.’ Having Christians inside their world, doing life and running the same calls as them, seeing how you respond and handle situations — that’s how you build trust and make a difference.”

With long, unpredictable hours and trying work conditions, first responders’ families are often impacted and in need of support and community. Hannah has also taken up the mantle of discipleship, mentoring the wives of men in David’s firehouse. “I’m getting to know some of the wives really well, being able to pray for their families and support each other,” she says.

Moving Forward with First Responders

As David and Hannah continue to follow the Lord and grow their connections, they are excited for where the Lord is leading them. David is working to become an associate staff with The Navigators, which will give him resources to expand his network to reach more firemen across his area.

“David and Hannah have a vision and heartbeat to see God work among firemen and even police in Grand Junction,” Darren says. “He’s going to help us grow our firefighter ministry and fan the flame around the country as he is able.”

From being discouraged in his faith to being discipled and becoming a passionate disciplemaker of others, David’s journey has been an encouragement and representation of the exciting work taking place in The Navigators First Responder Ministry.

“We have an unprecedented spiritual interest among first responders in our country, and God is doing work among them,” Darren says. “Pray that He would see the gospel advance fruitfully, and that He would raise up disciplemaking leaders in agencies and firehouses around the country.”

Discipleship Tip:

David and Hannah have both benefited from being discipled by Darren and Gina, being inspired to live out their faiths in their home and community. Do you have someone discipling you, encouraging you and keeping you accountable in your faith? If not, consider praying that the Lord would place someone in your life to guide you as you seek to share the gospel with others.

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.

The glow of thousands of faces lights up the room, a powerful testament to the spread of the gospel from generation to generation. 

This was one of the many special moments from The Navigators 2023 National Staff Gathering.

Last month, over 1,300 Navigator staff came together in Irving, Texas. The theme of the weekend was Heartbeat: A Vital Movement of the Gospel, focusing on 2 Timothy 2:1-2: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (NIV).

The gathering held five plenary sessions, which were designed to inspire, uplift, and challenge staff attendees to continue the work to which they’ve been called. Staff heard insights on the Lord’s vision for grace, necessary aspects of prayer, and how He works through each and every one of us to reach the nations and spread His mission.  

Staff members also enjoyed times of fun and laughter, along with encouraging ministry stories from new and old friends, breakouts to equip and multiply disciplemakers, precious times of prayer and worship, and motivational messages from fellow Navigators and international leaders. 

For many, the National Staff Gathering was a reminder of why they became Navigators — to be a part of a vital movement of the gospel by connecting, resourcing, and developing everyday disciplemakers. 

Though this conference looked back over the past four years since our last National Staff Gathering, we also took time to look forward to the work that is ahead of us as a ministry. You can partner with us as we continue this work for years to come! 

Pray that the Lord works through The Navigators to reach the unreached and create new disciplemakers. Come alongside us to spread the gospel and disciple those in your circles, from family members to coworkers to neighbors and beyond.

Whether you serve on staff or through your everyday life, we are excited to see how the Lord moves through this next season of ministry!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV).

Discipleship Tip:  

Pull out your phone and find a photo of someone you’re discipling or have discipled. Pray for that person and reach out to offer them encouragement.

When we read the gospels and observe Jesus’ life and ministry we most often notice what he did for the crowds.

He taught them, fed them, healed them, and even John noted that if every work Jesus did while on this earth was written down, the world could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). There’s no question that Jesus had and still has a heart for the world! 

Because of that, it comes as a surprise to many that amidst all that Jesus did for the masses He spent approximately 85% of His time with just 12 men.

It wasn’t because of a lack of care for the masses that Jesus focused on the few…but rather quite the opposite!

Jesus focused on the few for the sake of the many! His method for reaching the world was through building deeply into a select few and teaching them to do the same.

Jesus loved everyone, helped many, but invested in just a few. If we hope to take the gospel to the ends of the earth His method must also become our method.

“Ask God to give you one.” The same challenge that Dawson Trotman gave to Les Spencer in 1933 that started The Navigators can be our starting point today.

Steve barely had a chance to breathe before the next blow hit him. During a police training exercise that he was leading, he made a sudden movement and blew out his achilles tendon. You could hear it snap from across the room.

Then a winter front descended on Bend, Oregon, where he lived and his pipes froze, causing significant house damage. To top it off, a tree fell on in his driveway, smashing his Jeep.

And then the knockout blow landed. His brother, Gene*, who had only just retired from a long and exemplary career as a police officer in California, died of a heart attack.

Gene was the oldest of six brothers and had paved the way for four of the brothers to enter law enforcement as a career. Gene’s death was really hard to handle. But it wasn’t the last. Steve kept getting pummeled by a low season of hardships.

Another friend had a heart attack. Another friend died in an on-duty motorcycle accident. Meanwhile, Steve was in severe pain, needing a knee replacement. And a close family member attempted suicide.

“I was in a dark, dark place,” Steve recalls. “My knee was killing me. Everything was crumbling around me.”

In the midst of all his pain, Steve created the Johnny Lawrence Project in honor of his friend who’d died. He didn’t want to see other first responders die because of unseen symptoms. So, he applied for a grant to provide a comprehensive health screening for police officers in his town. It included a heart scan, a sleep study, a diet study, a functional fitness test, and a PTSD suicide screen. He put 57 officers through the screening and won a Department of Justice award.

Even though it looked like life was going well for Steve and he was helping others, inside he was dying. He had a foundation of faith and had been ministered to by Navigators First Responder Ministry, but during this dark period he withdrew, isolating himself and not letting anyone else into his dark thoughts.

“I was dark, bro,” Steve says of that time. “I went underground. Drinking was the only tool I knew how to use. I didn’t reach out to anyone for help.”

Steve went to Phoenix to give a speech on officer wellness while far from well himself. It was there that he heard an audible voice in the night.

“Get on your bike,” he heard. “It’s gonna save your life.”

Whoa! What was that?

The voice came again. Demanding. Insistent. Yet not scary.

“Get on your bike. It’s gonna save your life.”

Previously Steve had been invited to join some other officers from his town to the Police Unity Tour, a 300-mile bike ride ending in Washington, D.C. Steve had brushed off the idea until the voice in the night insisted on it. The day of the dream was his brother Gene’s birthday. So, he decided to get on his bike and ride in honor of Gene.

Training for the ride wasn’t easy. Not only was he rehabbing from his knee replacement, but unusual weather kept him from riding on the streets for a month.

Despite the obstacles, the day of the Police Unity Tour arrived, and Steve was as ready as he was going to be. The riders left him in the dust, and he finished the first leg 20 minutes behind the next-to-last rider.

“Dude, you’ve got to pick up your pace,” a rider said has he passed Steve. “It would have probably helped you if you lost some weight first.”

That was so demoralizing, it launched Steve into a round of negative self-talk.

The second day started out well. But the ride was 111 miles, including 2,500 feet of elevation gain. And Steve was close to last again.

“My legs were almost completely blown,” he said. And there were still two more segments to go.

He made it to the lunch break, but despair set it, knowing the next 25-mile leg included a 1,500-foot elevation climb. His mind crowded with negative talk and self-doubt. “I’ll tell them my knee hurts and I need a break,” he said to himself.

So, he started looking for the sag wagon, for those who need a break. The internal battle was brutal, calling himself a quitter and searching for the fortitude to press on. Steve texted his wife and kids, asking for prayer, and they inundated him with encouragement, love, and prayers.

When the whistle blew for the start of the dreaded leg, he could barely move. That’s when he heard a voice from behind him. “Where did you get that old school Torrance patch?”

Steve had a patch from Gene’s old uniform shirt on his biking jersey. 

“It belonged to my brother,” Steve replied. “He was a Torrance cop for 29 years.”

“What was your brother’s name?”

“Gene Victor.”

“Dude, I was your brother’s partner for five years,” the other rider said.

The coincidence brought tears to Steve’s eyes immediately. As they continued to talk, he discovered that the Torrance department had never been in this race before. Not only that, the rider he met was retiring and wouldn’t be doing the race again. Their meeting seemed providential.

“Your brother was a gentle giant,” the officer shared with Steve how much Gene was loved by his fellow officers, how much he was missed.

The break ended and the two made their way to their bikes. And before too long, they hit a hill that went straight up. And Steve could feel his legs fail beneath him and his bike began to slow down.

“There’s no way I’ve got this,” he thought. His legs felt like they were on fire.

But just before he was going to veer to the side of the road, step off his bike, and flag down the sag wagon, he felt a hand grip his bike seat.

“I’ve got you brother,” he heard a voice say. “What you are doing in honor your brother is amazing and there is no way I’m going to let you fail.”

It was his brother’s partner who got him to the top of the hill.

Steve bombed down the other side of the hill, hoping to build up enough momentum for the next hill. But he slowed down.

Another hand grabbed his bike seat—another Torrance officer who knew Gene. Together they conquered the second hill.

On the third hill, another hand grabbed Steve’s bike seat. “I worked with Gene in traffic,” the rider said. “We’re not going to let you fail, brother. You’re going to do this.”

The fourth hill was an easier climb and Steve made the top on his own.

The fifth hill was a monster. But, again, a hand grabbed his bike seat and eased the strain on his legs. This guy was different. “I never knew your brother,” he said. “But we’re not going to let you fail.”

With the help of the Torrance officers, Steve finished the day among the top riders.

The final day wasn’t easy, but it was the home stretch and Steve was able to keep pushing himself until he made it.

“I have never felt as close to God and my brother as during that ride” he said of the experience. “In the moment of despair, in my darkest time, I reached out to God. And He sent these officers to help me. I was physically and mentally broken. I was full self-doubt, exhausted, and ready to quit. But I reached out. I said, ‘I just need a little something.’ And I got it in those four guys. It reaffirmed my faith in God and others.”

When Steve thought he couldn’t make it over the next hill, the Lord provided help right when he needed it.

Praise God for the many ways that first responders support each other through difficult seasons. Pray that many more will live out the gospel and grow generations of disciplemakers among first responders.

_{*Names changed.}

As the deputy approached the vehicle, the suspect decided to flee. With the recruit in the driver’s seat, it was decided the best course of action would be to “PIT” the vehicle. PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique) involves the patrol car tapping the back bumper of the fleeing vehicle, forcing the suspect’s car to spin around nearly 180 degrees. The vehicle moves backward against the transmission’s forward motion, causing the engine to stall.

It worked! The suspect’s car spun around and stalled out.

Unfortunately, the patrol car rolled over six times, with Deputy Z hitting his head several times as it rolled. In spite of side airbags providing some cushioning, he still had a serious concussion and a traumatic brain injury. He spent months with severe headaches and loss of memory, seeing specialists just hoping to get back to normal. Finally, he was cleared to go back to work.

My name is Chris Green (Navigators First Responders ministry) and I regularly meet with first responders to support and encourage them in their faith. Once I heard about the Deputy’s accident, I followed up with him to have lunch and see how he was doing. Deputy Z was ready to get back on patrol, but something new came up in their conversation. He wanted to begin talking about God with his fellow officers, and he was eager to learn how to start these conversations in a meaningful way with his co-workers.

We were able to talk about the importance of Christ, and the need for police officers to bring the gospel to their fellow officers through conversations in daily life. Deputy Z is now meeting every week, learning to share the hope of God’s salvation and love to his fellow co-workers.

This was a new step of faith for Deputy Z and a hope-filled conversation for all those working in the daily stress of law enforcement. No one ever knows what will happen on any particular day on patrol—and every person needs a chance to hear and respond to the Good News!

For more information about the Navigators First Responder ministry visit: https://www.navigators.org/ministry/navigators-responder

I’m a 911 dispatcher and my fiancé is a deputy sheriff in the same county, so sometimes we work the same incidents from opposite sides of the radio.

About a year ago, I worked one of the toughest calls ever—my fiancé responded to a horrifying officer-involved shooting. At times during the following weeks, I found myself struggling to reconcile my role as a dispatcher and the daily stresses of being in a relationship with a deputy.

After that incident, Amy and Anna of Navigators First Responder Ministry reached out to me to say that they cared and that they were praying for me. Usually 911 dispatchers remain behind the scenes, unnoticed and without support. I’d never had anyone encourage me to stay healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually. Navigators understand the unique make-up of first responders and their spouses, and genuinely connect. They show love and support with their time, energy, eagerness to learn, and their words of encouragement—and let’s not forget the donated treats and coffee cart!

The people I’ve met through The Navigators are true friends who genuinely care for me and all of my co-workers. I consistently get messages checking in and asking about prayer needs. It truly does make an impact on my overall well-being.

Through The Navigators, I’ve met many other first-responder spouses, which has been a huge encouragement. It’s a whole different world, and just knowing what I am feeling is normal and not unique to me is a blessing. It has inspired me to also reach out and encourage others. Navigators build supportive relationships with those who go through the rollercoaster of life that comes with loving a first responder.

Pray that the Lord would keep our first responders safe as they serve communities across the country while we are in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Pray that the Navigators First Responder Ministry would continue to share hope and love that only God can bring. Praise God for the ministry to police, fire fighters, and paramedics who work daily to keep our communities strong and safe during this hard season. Amen.

*Name changed.

Before he started following Jesus 15 years ago, Tom dealt with stress in the same way many officers do—excessive drinking, hard partying, and going to strip clubs.

“When I met Jesus, my life completely transformed. I wanted to tell everyone, including the people I worked with, about Him. I’m on the SWAT team and at our annual training week I decided to a do a Bible study every night. The first few years, just a few guys participated, but over time it has grown. At our last training, we had 21 of the 27 officers from our team come to the Bible study!”

Having more and more officers follow Jesus has resulted in a culture shift on the team. Previously, the SWAT team parties were truly wild affairs. Now they are family-oriented times for the team to enjoy fun and games together.

Transformation from the Inside Out

The transformation has happened from inside the department. Tom describes the importance of people authentically living out their faith as insiders: “While it may also be true in other professions, for law enforcement, trust is a huge issue. To have someone come from outside and lead a Bible study or share their faith won’t have much of an impact. We don’t trust people who don’t understand the daily realities of being a deputy sheriff or police officer. So living for Jesus inside the department gives more opportunities to share Jesus with raw honesty.”

In addition to the SWAT Bible study, Tom intentionally walks alongside three men doing Life-to-Life^® discipleship, helping them grow in Christ through spending time in the Word, prayer, and everyday life. They are motivated to share Jesus with others. Sometimes officers Tom doesn’t even know will approach him to talk about faith. One deputy sheriff sought out Tom for advice. His family was falling apart, and he had spiritual questions. Over time, as Tom met with him and shared biblical principles, the man came to faith and his family has been restored.

When Tom first became a Christian, he joined a Bible study that Steve* was leading in their department, addressing questions of daily life in law enforcement from a biblical perspective. Steve continues to lead Bible studies, providing a place for those who are Christians to find connection and encouragement together, and to discover those who want to be discipled to go deeper in their faith. Currently he leads an early morning weekly Bible study for deputy sheriffs before they start their morning shift, equipping them to face the day.

Steve shares his vision, “I think of my career in law enforcement as a calling, to live out my faith even in the hard situations. I have been inspired by Chris Green and Navigators First Responders to consider how to be more intentional in disciplemaking. While I continue with the Bible study group, I also come alongside one of the younger deputies, to disciple him so he can disciple others and carry the work on to the next generation.”

A Fire Spreading for God

As more officers are living for Christ, God is igniting a fire to spread naturally—multiplying to more disciplemakers among the first responders. Tom, Steve, and others disciplemakers go on to disciple others, and others, creating multiple generations of disciplemakers.

This network of disciplemakers is spreading beyond the local area. Andrew*, a deputy sheriff who was part of the ministry in Oregon for several years and discipled those who disciple others, moved to California. He has started a Bible study in his current department, and he is praying for God to raise up other disciplemakers. One of the Christians he first met on the force in California has moved to Idaho and is reaching out to first responders there.

The need in the first responder community is great! Daily life as a law enforcement officer is increasingly stressful, with suicide rates above the national average. Those who are sworn to protect the public are also at risk for damaging personal trauma, along with intense media attention for their every action. While departments work to provide counseling and other support, the hope of Jesus is an essential foundation for wholeness.

“Life-to-Life involvement is so important in law enforcement,” Tom says. “It helps these guys make sense of things, helps them understand the human condition, why there is tragedy, why there is suffering. I have the honor of inviting these men into a reliant relationship with Jesus, the only truly trustworthy One.”

*Names changed.

Meet Chris Green of the First Responders Ministry

Navigators First Responder Ministry, Oregon

This topic is of great importance to us as believers, especially since the way we accomplish the Great Commission to make disciples can sometimes feel awkward or intimidating. In years past, the Church’s evangelism strategy focused more on a “reaping” mentality versus one of “sowing.” But the world is filled with millions of people who are on a spiritual journey. Many are not yet ready to attend church or make a decision to follow Christ, but they are open to relationships and to making small decisions that will move them closer to Christ.

I believe that if we redefine evangelism to mean leading each person we encounter a step closer to Jesus, we would approach outreach with more gentleness and confidence.

Several years ago, my wife, Pam, and I decided to pattern our lives in a way that would cause frequent and organic interactions with people in various stages of their faith journey. Rather than frequenting five different coffee shops, three grocery stores, and seven different restaurants, we brought focus to where we spent time. Now, we are “regulars” at a handful of places where we sow relationships through regular interaction. These small, casual interactions lead to real relationships through which we connect about meaningful matters of the heart.

We’ve also made a concerted effort to be “sowing” through acts of love and hospitality in our neighborhood. This has led to a number of fun relationships that are moving people toward Jesus!

1 Peter 2:12 commissions us to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Perhaps the best way to accomplish Peter’s command is to reach out to serve and connect with those in our community. As we naturally befriend those yet to know Jesus Christ, we draw others closer to Him.

What would it look like if our outreach was less agenda-driven and more characterized by love, patience, and confidence that the Spirit knows the right timing? Every encounter we have with another person, believer or not, has purpose. Through patient sowing, we can see people wooed ever closer to the Kingdom of God through the presence of Christ they experience through us.