| Founder(s) | Dawson E. Trotman |
|---|---|
| Type | Christian discipleship ministry |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Location | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Area served | 103 countries |
| Method | one-to-one mentoring and small groups |
| Employees | 4,628 staff of 69 nationalities |
| Motto | To know Christ and to make Him known |
| Website | http://www.navigators.org |
The Navigators is a worldwide Christian para-church organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its main purpose is the discipling (training) of Christians with a particular emphasis on enabling them to share their faith with others.
The Navigators works alongside local churches by providing resources such as Bible study booklets and study aid materials, Scripture memory aids, and Christian-oriented books. These are produced through the organization's NavPress publishing group, which also offers The Message Bible paraphrase. It also supports full-time workers who work mostly within local communities. Currently, more than 4,600 Navigator staff of 69 nationalities minister to college students, military personnel, business and professional people, communities, and churches in 103 countries.
On 1 January 2005, Michael W. Treneer succeeded Dr. Jerry White as The Navigators' international president. White had served in that capacity for the previous 18 years.
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The Navigators was founded in 1933 by Dawson Trotman. As a result of mentoring United States Navy sailor Lester Spencer aboard USS West Virginia, 135 additional Sailors on Spencer's ship became Christians before it was sunk at Pearl Harbor. By the end of World War II, thousands of men on ships and bases around the world were learning the principles of Christian discipleship.
The collegiate chapter of the Navigators was founded in 1951 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The organization was established by a group of students in the Sigma Nu fraternity house who along with Trotman decided to spread the organization onto the college campus. The collegiate organization of the Navigators has since spread to over fifty different campuses.
Since WWII, The Navigators has grown into a worldwide organization with representatives in most countries. In 1953, it acquired its current location at Glen Eyrie through Billy Graham's sale of the then-vacant property to Trotman's organization. As a result of a well-organized fund raising effort despite an extremely tight deadline, friends of The Navigators provided the money needed to purchase the site.
The Navigators organize and offer over 100 Christian conferences, retreats, and programs each year at Glen Eyrie. The general public is allowed on its grounds during the day to visit its bookstore and café. Tours of the Castle—originally the home of Colorado Springs founder General William Jackson Palmer—are available to the public for a nominal fee, although advance reservations are required. The Castle also serves as a conference and retreat center available for use by various groups.
The Navigators' modern administration headquarters building, located in the northeastern part of the Glen Eyrie property, is viewable from 30th Street, south of Garden of the Gods Road, off Interstate 25.
The Navigators was cited in a lawsuit[1] against the United States Air Force Academy by Michael Weinstein in 2005. The lawsuit alleged that Darren and Gina Lindblom, assigned to the Academy through The Navigators, were favored by the Air Force to the exclusion of other religious groups in violation of the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. This lawsuit was later dismissed. Additional lawsuits[2] by Weinstein's organization, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, have named The Navigators in similar complaints of alleged proselytizing in the military.