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The Navigators
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The Navigators is a Bible study group which originally formed among military members just before World War II and has since expanded into a full-fledged "ministry" not specifically targeted at military members. They are active on many military bases as well as college campuses. They are based in - surprise, surprise - Colorado Springs.
Mission
The stated mission of The Navigators is to "advance the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the Nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among those who don't yet know Him." The Navigators is an international, interdenominational Christian Organization, whose objective is to help fulfill what they see as Christ’s commission, making disciples of all nations. They individually teach the basics of the Christian life to new believers who then teach others. They work on campuses, military bases, and among lay men and women on every continent.
Conversion Tactics
They promote a particularly simplistic approach to personal religious conversion using two themes:
- The Four Spiritual Laws, an assertion that there are four naturally-occurring spiritual laws in the universe everyone is subject to. The Campus Crusade for Christ originated this concept.
- The "bridge" illustration: Pride originated sin, which leads to the fall of man from a presence with God. God is on the other side of this bridge, and through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, we are able to reconnect with God, if we choose to accept His heavenly gift.
The Navigators also do a lot of tract-giving and practice a strong emphasis on members being "accountable" to each other and placing themselves under the moral authority of their Bible study leader, a practice that assists obedience to Christ. The Navigators have worked closely with and are promoted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Bill Bright's Campus Crusade for Christ. Their NavPress publishing house is nowadays one of the major publishers of evangelical Christian books, many of which are aimed at young adults and teens.
