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Listeningby Thomas Chua, National Director

We are really encouraged to see how you have responded

to our efforts to connect with you through the NavNews, our website, and various other means. Four of

these responses are featured in this issue. Thank you. Please keep the communications c o m i n g . W e a r e listening.

On the subject of listening, Lee Brase,

Director of The Navigators’ Prayer Ministry, who was passing through Singapore in August said, “We instinctively think of prayer as asking God for things (even the salvation of the Lost). We need to move from seeking the Lord for things to seeking the Lord for himself.”

During our staff retreat from September 2-6, Jan Johnson, author of When the Soul Listens whetted our appetite to connect with Christ in deeper ways. Ron Bennett, author of HighQuest in his talks on leadership reminded us that central to leadership is knowing God and his ways.

Pray for us that we will enlarge our capacity to “know Christ and make him known.” (emphasis mine)

P.S. Jan Johnson also spoke at three other sessions. Two were organised by The Navigators, Singapore and NavMedia on September 1. The session on September 8 was co-organised with Bethesda Frankel Estate Church. v

How would those around you rate your listening quotient?

Write to us if you have a comment or storyangel@navigators.org.sg

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Contents by Mike Treneer, International President At the Asia Church Discipleship Consultation

Paul’s disciplemaking meant teaching people to live well, to understand well, to rely on the Lord, and to keep helping one another.

Meditate on 1 Thessalonians 4 – 5 1. Instruct. “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God… For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

All of Paul’s letters, even the most personal ones, have significant teaching content. Jesus often teaches. His teaching is not limited to one method. It is wonderfully diverse. Spurgeon said, “The greatest crime a man can commit is to bore people with the Word of God.” Keep learning how to teach and instruct well.

2. Urge. “...Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1

Tell them why. Show them how. Get them started. Keep them going. Disciplemaking involves the urging that takes that teaching and helps people see it become a conviction which they live out. Repeated encouragement and urging is important if people are not just to receive information but develop a lifestyle of discipleship.

3. Develop the ability to encourage one another. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up...” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

A major part of the content of Paul’s discipling has to do with creating community and helping people learn to encourage one another. Disciples need community to benefit from one another. As we do that, people learn to minister to one another. They gain the confidence to become fellow workers and to disciple others. 4. Point them to the Lord. “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

People have God and his Word to depend on. It greatly affects the atmosphere of our discipling relationships if we have that confidence. The load that we carry in the ministry can be so crushing. But somehow we have got to believe that God is faithful. He’s able to care for people. He’s at work. We’re his agents. Ultimately, people belong to him. We must point those we disciple to the Lord. v

Lessons on Disciplemaking – Part 3 of 3

Printed by Seng Lee Press Pte Ltd

by Aurelia L. Castroasia and beyond

The calling of The Navigators is to advance the gospel of Jesus and his kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of labourers living and discipling among the lost. Views expressed in published articles are those of the individual writers and may not necessarily be the views of The Navigators Singapore.

THE NAVIGATORS SINGAPORE • National Director: Thomas Chua • Editor / Design & Layout: Angeline Koh • Writer: Aurelia L. Castro 117 Lorong K, Telok Kurau, Singapore 425758 • Tel: (65) 6344 4133 • Fax: (65) 6344 0975 • E-mail: admin@navigators.org.sg

www.navigators.org.sg

Gospel servings, gourmet styleJeremiah* tells his story...

We started a fastfood-restaurant business to help serve the local community and

provide employment for the local people, good service, and good product in the local market. It also gives us an opportunity to stay there longer and live among the local people, our staff, employees, customers, contractors, and suppliers. Our vision is to contribute to the country and the people that we serve, not only in bringing them the good news but also in other practical aspects of their lives.

After about seven years, some of the key managers and employees in my company put their faith in Jesus Christ. The people working with us are being developed in their skill to make a living for themselves. Some of them have been promoted to become managers and a few have gone out to take the business with them through our franchise system.

One of them now owns three outlets. The most amazing thing is that he has also become a believer and later led his wife to Christ as well! He is eager to learn and be trained on how to reach out to his relatives and employees.

We want to raise up local labourers who will do what we do – serve their own people and in time, we want to see that this country send out missionaries to the rest of the world.

We will stay there for life, unless God gives us a clear indication to move on. v

In 1992, National University of Singapore Navigator alumnus Jeremiah* grabbed a job opportunity in East Asia, making his dream to serve Christ in that country a reality. He and his wife left Singapore three months after they got married. The family with two children have been living and ministering in East Asia since then.

*Names have been substituted.

Singaporeans fit well in the mission field

“What a tremendous resource you have for missions. They have been quite productive in advancing the

gospel in their workplaces and network of relationships,” country leader Barnabas* said of the Singaporean workers in different cities of East Asia.

There were about ten house churches that got started through one Navigator couple. Paul* travels around and produces apostolic kind of people. A general manager for a multinational company, Philip* has a broad ministry with the 2:7 discipleship programme. In the last ten years, he has trained about 500 trainers. His goal now is to recruit 500 trainers a year. We are in the process of publishing 20,000 copies of the material which their networks will use and distribute in the countryside and house churches.

“We are now seeing the first generation of labourers being raised up in different cities and we’re in the process of trying to think through how to link them nationally. We hope to raise up people who would carry the gospel and the vision as well,” he said.

“One of the things that I really appreciate about missionaries from Singapore is that they come to East Asia with very teachable hearts and a sense of shepherding, which is quite important to the longevity of the staff in the mission field. Asia Missions Director Jim Chew comes and shepherds Singaporean missionaries. Navigators Singapore Missions Director Yap Kim Meng also visited your missionaries there.”

“Singaporeans are everywhere. They are pioneering businesses in East Asia. Similarly in the Christian scene, Singapore is very strategic. The Navigators in Singapore are placed strategically to contribute and partner with other countries in Asia in taking the gospel to the nations,” Navigator Asia Director Alan Ch’ng said. v