As we start the New Year, the Navigators staff at Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma University are gearing up for ministry in the Spring semester. Below are some ministry highlights from each campus:
Paul, the Apostle, masterfully likens the body of Christ to the human body in his first letter to the Corinthians. He says there, “…the body does not consist of one member but of many.” Like the human body with its diverse but integrated parts (Paul calls those parts “members”), the body of Christ has many members, each with diverse gifts, personalities and skills.
Claire, a Junior Business major, is but one of the diverse members laboring in our OSU Nav group. She has been with the OSU Navigators since showing up at the campus her freshman year. We have an acronym that we regularly use in our ministry– FAST–to define, in part, the desired outcomes of our discipleship efforts with those who know Christ. Claire is FAST– Faithful, Available, Self-Initiating and Teachable. She already had an inclination toward these attitudes and behaviors when she came to OSU but she has fully embraced them in their fullest, spiritual sense as she’s grown and matured in her faith while here.
Claire is careful to include people socially, is quick to encourage, is ready to serve wherever she’s needed, teaches others in natural ways and leads by example. This year, she has taken the lead in a Bible reading group in her dorm that they call “Story Time.” There have been as many as 17 students pile into her room for their weekly meeting. In addition, she mentors 3 student women Life-to-Life.
To learn more about the The Navigators at Oklahoma State University visit https://www.osunavs.org/
It’s no secret that men as a whole in our day are not doing well. They have very few clear, compelling pictures of what it means to be a man. They have still fewer avenues to help them mature into strong, godly, humble, servant leaders. The pornography industry has shaped the psyche of the overwhelming majority of young men. Our universities are not helping as they offer courses called “Toxic Masculinity.” They would seek to reduce men to pitiful, passive, harmless individuals.
Fifteen years ago, I created a Biblical discipleship course for men. I called the course Noblemen, taken from Isaiah 32:8 “The noble man makes noble plans and by noble deeds he stands.” The 90-day course is quite comprehensive with daily and weekly assignments required to complete the course. So far, more than 1000 college-aged men have completed Noblemen.
The last few years, college ministries around the country, both Navigator ministries as well as other campus ministries have been shrinking. By God’s grace, men in our ministry as well as others who have completed Noblemen are thriving. As they spread out around the world after graduation, people are taking notice. I have been getting more and more requests in the U.S. and abroad to make Noblemen available to wider audiences.
Accordingly, this fall I have devoted a significant amount of time to further developing the course and making it readily available to any ministry who would like to implement Noblemen with their men. (We also have a version for the ladies that we hope to prepare for distribution in the future.) This spring we will beta test Noblemen with twelve more ministries before we release a final version of the course next summer. We’ve also been in discussions with a ministry in East Asia who wants to implement the course with their leaders.
Would you pray with us as we finalize the course? Pray that we get helpful feedback from the ministries who will beta test the material. Pray that God would use this tool to reach thousands more!
To learn more about Nobleman visit https://noblemenministries.com/
