By Chee Hoe Koay
In 2019, The Navigators dropped a small missions pebble into a pond. Now, three years later, God is causing ripples from that pebble to spread and grow into an exciting new wave of missions sending around the world.
The event that started this ripple effect happened in September 2019 in Antalya, Turkey, when 140 Navigator leaders from around the world gathered for the Global Missions Consultation (GMC). That momentous gathering was followed by the Pioneering Forum in which 55 pioneers from around the world met to bring clarity to the question, “What do Cross-Cultural Pioneers do?” As part of the fruit of these gatherings, the Borderless Missions Workgroup (BMW) was formed in December 2020 to “serve and champion cross-cultural missions throughout our Worldwide Partnership.”
Among other functions, the BMW strives to raise awareness, connect people to one another and to opportunities, and to promote prayer for missions sending to the nations, particularly “closed” or unreached places. A motivating Scripture for the BMW’s desire to keep the missions flag flying high is Isaiah 62:10: “Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see.”
Members of the BMW are currently influencing their regions into exciting cross-regional initiatives including pioneering in new socioeconomic strata in Africa, sending laborers to critical unreached countries in Asia Pacific, and hosting the first-ever Navigators Missions Gala in North America.
Africa
The Africa Region has a faith direction to advance the Gospel together into all Africa and beyond. The 2019 GMC solidified that faith direction, raised more awareness about missions sending, and increased the Region’s desire to see the work accomplished. Many Africa ministries prior to that had been focused on campuses and middle class populations, but the new direction spurred on initiatives to reach rural, high population density areas which require creative means to access.
Mutinta Silenga, The Navigators Africa Missions Director, says, “We are trusting God to help us get into new spaces to change the spiritual landscape of our continent.” The Africa Region is praying to plant a pioneering team in ten specific countries (Guinea Conakry, Gambia, Senegal, Liberia, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Benin Republic, Eswatini, Lesotho and Somalia) over the next five to ten years. These countries have each been adopted by an existing national ministry in the Africa Region. The Region has sent one missionary cross-culturally within the Region (Malawi to Rwanda) this year. They are preparing to send five missionary units-- four couples and a single-- in 2023, including a couple and a single who are in the process of relocating to Haiti. Several survey trips into new areas are already being planned for next year.
One of the challenges to overcome in the Region is raising funds for missions. In response to this challenge, the Region has launched the “Operation $2” fund. Everyone associated with The Navigators in Africa has been invited to donate $2 per month toward sending. This will create a pool of funds to cover vision trips and relocation costs.
Asia Pacific
The Asia Pacific Region has also launched some exciting new initiatives since the Pioneering Forum in Antalya. The most noteworthy of these is a push to re-pioneer our work among the majority religious group in one high priority country in South Asia.
Grant Dibden, Asia Pacific Missions Point Person, explains that one particular country in South Asia became a top priority after a video was shown at the GMC highlighting its vast population of unreached people. After the GMC, the Asia Pacific Region went through a process to refine its ten-year goals, including missions sending. During that process, the Region’s national directors voted to make that South Asian country the top sending priority of the Region. The Lord is now bringing together a team of laborers with a heart for that nation. Five people have expressed interest in moving to that country, have completed a vision trip there and are all currently in the sending pipeline. This will be the first time the Navigators have sent missionaries to work with the majority ethnic and religious group in that South Asian country in the past 20-30 years.
The Asia Pacific Region also has a Missions Team to help facilitate both sending and receiving to and within the Region. National ministries in the Region have also begun adopting other countries to provide prayer and financial support to them.
One driving passage for Asia Pacific missions sending is Isaiah 49:6, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” The Region contains about 60% of the world’s population and 80% of all unreached people groups.
In the next few years, the Asia Pacific Region is praying to grow some of their ministries among other religious groups as well as to send laborers from within the Region to pioneer several more countries.
North America
The U.S. Navigators, as part of the North America Region, hosted a Missions Gala in March of 2022 to highlight and encourage missions sending. Bryan Gibbs, Director of World Missions, said the gathering was designed “to challenge leaders who will influence and inspire the next generation to go to the nations and also to spotlight sending priorities for Navigator ministries worldwide.”
The Gala featured video interviews with regional directors in which the directors each described their regions’ unique character, challenges, and sending priorities for attendees’ prayer and mobilization. Mike Treneer spoke on the history of Navigator overseas missions and International President Mutua Mahiaini charged the attendees with spreading a heart for the nations.
Attendees were given the opportunity to fill out “prayer pledge cards” and make three-year commitments. As a group, the attendees pledged to initiate over 2,900 mobilization conversations to encourage others to go to the nations. Four people present expressed their own desire to serve overseas. The Region plans to continue fanning the flames of missions sending by hosting the Gala every three years.
In 2022, the Region launched 26 long-term staff and an iEDGE class of nine people overseas to all regions served by The Navigators. There are already ten more appointees in the pipeline to launch next year.
Bryan Gibbs likes to use the metaphor of “scaffolding” to illustrate the kind of missionary laborers that the US Navigators hope to send out. He uses this metaphor to emphasize that missionaries are mobile and temporary and that they exist for the specific purpose of raising up foundational generations of local laborers.
Please pray for The Navigators as missionaries come and go “from everywhere to everywhere.” Pray that the ripples of this new post-Covid resurgence of missions sending will continue to grow. Pray that the Holy Spirit will fill the BMW with stamina to keep flying the flag of cross-cultural missions throughout the Worldwide Partnership.
P.S. Save the date for Worldwide Day of Prayer!
You are invited to join Navigators all over the world during our Worldwide Day of Prayer on Saturday, March 18, 2023. There will be three 90-minute Zoom calls, each with a similar format of a few opening comments from one of our International Vice Presidents or Regional Directors, followed by breakout groups where you can pray with Navigators from other countries. You may join any or all of these three calls:
Friday, March 17, from 7 – 8:30 pm MT
Saturday, March 18, from 8 – 9:30 am MT
Saturday, March 18, from 12 – 1:30 pm MT
For more information, contact Connie Ekberg at connie.ekberg@navigators.org.
