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An Easter Reflection

By Grant Dibden "To me it makes as much sense as bunny rabbits handing out chocolate eggs ..." Easter in Australian society is thought of as a holiday time.  And many – most? – people don’t understand the significance of Easter, and often they don’t want to. A local Eastern Sydney ...

Living with Christ as Lord

By Scott Brown, Sydney City Leader (first published in Compass Autumn 2023) From the earliest days of the Navigators, Dawson Trotman’s Wheel Illustration highlighted the importance of living with Christ as Lord, or as he termed it, with Christ the Centre. Galatians 2:20 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 ...

Living the Mission

By Owen Dibden, Sydney Labouring Community On an ordinary workday, I was sent to do final touches on a bathroom renovation. My friend Faran*, the glazier who installs our shower screens, rocks up. Fortunately, we were able to do our work in side-by-side rooms so we could chat. I hadn’t seen ...

What or who is a Disciple?

By Robin Dennis Discipleship is nothing new. We find the concept of a disciple – that is, a person following a master – among Plato, Socrates and Herodotus; in ancient Hebrew culture, Elisha (2 Kings 4:38), Isaiah (8:16), Samuel (1 Sam 10:5), then we know that John the Baptist had ...

Foundations of Resilience

By Bruce Clarke. First published in Compass, Autumn 2022. The global pandemic has significantly changed our lives through lockdowns and restrictions affecting employment, relationships, travel, gatherings, sport, etc. We are cut off from so much of what is important to us as creative, social ...

The shocking call to discipleship

by Colin Duthie, first published in Compass, Spring 1997 Among the most threatening words in the Bible for me are those of Jesus in John 20:21, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." The fact of the commission is clear. The scary bit comes from reflecting on the underlying question, ...

On Mission

A three-part piece by June Sparks The God of Mission It is hard to separate God from His mission. God’s mission in the world and history is to reveal Himself. He has entered the world through Christ, bringing reconciliation between humankind and Himself. When we look at it, we see the focus on ...

Easter Thought

By Grant Dibden The year has been a bit of a blur. I got started in earnest after Australia Day, had trips to Brisbane, Sydney and Tasmania, and an early Easter. But what really makes it a blur is my father-in-law’s death twelve days after diagnosis. Arthur’s death puts things into ...

Remembering Dr John Ridgway

By Mike Swan I met John for the first time on 19 June 1972. In a few months, that will be fifty years ago. I know the date as well as I know my birthday, because it became my ‘new birth’ day. In the space of 48 momentous hours, I travelled ‘the road less travelled’ from unbelief to faith ...

A Life Transformed by the Gospel

By Phil McMaster I first met 'Derek', a trainee Army cadet, in January at a voluntary church service during Year One Familiarisation Training (YOFT) at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA). He came from a small regional town in Victoria. It wasn't clear whether he had any sort of faith ...

Would You Win an Arm Wrestle?

By Philip McMaster, from their ministry newsletter, McMaster News, October 2018 Did you arm wrestle when you were growing up? I used to love arm wrestling with my brother and my dad when I was younger (and stronger!) It was great fun trying to win and you never quite knew what would happen ...

The Foundation of Many Generations

By Doug Utley, Melbourne Labouring Community We escaped to Hamilton Island in August for a week. Glorious sun and warm water, beaches and coral reef. One night, I got up for a drink and was stopped in my tracks by the night sky entering through the balcony doors. It was a moonless night and with ...

Your Questions Answered - Navigator Discipleship

Fran Johnson from our Melbourne Labouring Community answers some of your questions about Navigator discipleship. Why have you enjoyed Navigator discipleship, in group and individual settings? Navigator one-to-one discipleship began my spiritual transformation. I was quite broken spiritually ...

Labouring for a Lifetime

By Grant Dibden I’ve been to several funerals lately. All were sad. Some were vacuous. Others were great tributes to the Lord. But one really stood out to me. It was Dave Crowe’s. I’d met Dave when I was a young man and Dave was on Navigators staff, and then heard about him and his ...

Halfway There

By Paul Bailey, Melbourne Labouring Community Here we are, midway through 2025, reflecting on all the good the Lord has done, but also looking ahead in faith for what is to come. It has been a number of months since I was able to give a comprehensive update on all that's been happening! So ...

An Alien View of God: Western Culture 1

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now ...

Sharing Hope in Community

By Julie McIntosh, first printed in Compass, Summer 2021 Cancelled. Postponed. Online. In contrast to the event-oriented lifestyle many of us were previously accustomed to, these words seem to characterise our current schedules. Today, perhaps more than ever, we are faced with the truth that we ...

Another Student Receives Christ

By Luke Midena, Canberra Labouring Community Your prayer has been answered! Yesterday the Burmese student I asked you to pray for in August received Christ. I love how God brought this about. As I sat down with this student yesterday, the pressing question on his mind wasn’t, ‘How can I be ...

Easter Reflection - The Coming of the King

By Grant Dibden What Christ's triumphal entry means for us Easter is the most important time of year for Christians as we reflect even more deeply on Jesus' death and resurrection. As I have reflected on Christ, I hope to share some thoughts from scripture to encourage you. As Jesus approached ...

Viewing Human Achievement: Western Culture 4

   “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3 Each day we are surrounded by people’s incredible achievements. We can purchase almost any food at any time of the year, we have social welfare systems that assist in times of need, ...

Spiritual Decline: Western Culture 3

As the deer pants for streams of water,     so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.     When can I go and meet with God? Ps 42:1,2 The prophet Isaiah had a vision of heavenly creatures declaring: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the ...

The Good Life: Western Culture 8

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s ...

Easter in a Covid-19 Environment

Dear Nav Family, A little over 2000 years ago tonight, the disciples ate the Last Supper, and the next day Jesus was crucified. Jesus had told his disciples that he would be killed, that he could even be crucified, but the disciples didn’t really understand. They didn’t really get it. We know ...

Joy to the World!

A Christmas message from National Director, Grant Dibden It is a wonderful blessing to be grounded by the rhythm of each year, so as we approach the celebration of the birth of our Lord it is important to reflect and remember the most important things. Recently I saw a piece on Jonah being a ...

For the Sake of the Nations

By Scott Brown If you closed your eyes and imagined what it means to embrace something or someone, I wonder what you might envision. Does the word embrace invoke ideas of a friendly smile and an arm over your shoulder? Or perhaps it stirs notions of a warm and hardy handshake. For me, ...

Generational, Relational, Intentional, Personal

By Dustyn McLaren, South-East Queensland Labouring Community It is such a privilege to serve the Lord in the Great Commission and, even more so, to enjoy His friendship. John 15:15 says, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have ...

How do we care for international student graduates?

Caring for our co-labourers is a vital ingredient in keeping our communities strong. Kanini Mapperson and her husband, Tim, are community leaders in our International Student Ministry in Melbourne. June Sparks took the opportunity to sit with Kanini to get some tips on how to continue caring for ...

Jordan got baptised!

By Andrew Oldfield, Canberra Labouring Community. One of the highlights of this year's ministry at ADFA was seeing one of the cadets, Jordan, get baptised. I’d met Jordan for the first time at the start of the year as I started with Navigators at ADFA. Before this he had met with Thomas, ...

Your Questions Answered - The Chain Illustration

This year, we look at some “discipling” tools and how we can use them for our own ministries. In the last issue, Robin Dennis discussed how we could apply The Word Hand illustration. In this issue, he looks at The Chain Illustration - How to claim a promise, with an example of how to use ...

Foundations for Life

By Levi Swatzentruber, Canberra Labouring Community University students are at a pivotal time of life, they are forming convictions, making life-direction choices and often forming what they believe for the first time. Yet, one opportunity which God has given me has reminded me that there is ...

Reinforcing our Relationship with God

By Ray Ewers, first published in The Compass, Volume 4 No. 5, September, 1981   One of the things that gripped me when I was first exposed to The Navigators was the motto: "To know Christ and to make Him known." I prayed over it. I preached on it and I shared it as the real purpose for ...

Identifying as a Labourer

By Robin Dennis, from Compass, Spring 2018 The Navigators define a labourer as: “Ordinary people who are growing in their intimacy with Jesus and who are working in the harvest (living and discipling among the lost) with a generational mindset.” To work in the harvest (living and ...

Growing in Godliness

By Thomas Bielenberg, first published in Compass Summer issue 2023 What would you say if asked, “What is godliness?” You might think that godliness is good conduct, or bearing the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, etc. But godliness is more than that, as I thankfully ...

From Grant and Scott to You

Dear Friend, Transitions happen continually. Some are distinct and profound, like the transition from living at home with your parents to moving out. Or from being an unmarried couple to being husband and wife. And most dramatically and profoundly, transitioning from unbelief to becoming a ...

Why Celebrate ANZAC Day?

By Grant Dibden A little over 100,000 Australians have died in wars. Several hundred thousand more were wounded and countless others suffered psychological damage. Of these casualties the vast majority were between 18 and 25 years old. Just think that if you had been born 100 years earlier it ...

John Ridgway - The Influence of One Man

A Tribute by Robin Dennis “The least one shall become a thousand and the smallest one a mighty nation” ~ Isaiah 60:22 I was working in Canberra at Parliament House and living in one of the many public servant hostels, Lawley House, which had two sections – the old and the new. Newcomers ...

Get To Know Doug and Geneve Utley

Doug and Geneve Utley are lifelong labourers from our Melbourne community. Doug has served previously as National Director, and he and Geneve have worked with many students and graduates, couples and emerging leaders over the years. He has produced resources such as the Enriching Your Marriage ...

Conformity and Challenge: Western Culture 2

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; ...

Beyond the Age of Reason: Western Culture 5

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,  Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts". Isaiah 55:8-9 Western culture has made a sharp distinction between ...

The Road to Freedom: Western Culture 9

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery… You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire ...

Theresa Leads a New Generation Closer to Jesus

Theresa works full time as a nurse for Red Cross and is also leading groups of disciples in the Navigators’ International Student Ministry. This is her story. I grew up as a Buddhist. My family worshipped many gods, each god representing a different aspect of life. To me, religion was just a ...

The Power of Example

By Grant Dibden Ever been challenged by Example? Landing at the airport in Tonga for a conference, I was met by a softly-spoken man—Tevita Palu (CEO and Owner of Palu Aviation, which owns several companies including Real Tonga Airlines). I was later informed that Tevita has invited ...

Personal Discipleship

Dear Friend, We live in a time when it is easier than ever to access good content. You can download podcasts or listen to great preachers from our era and previous eras. You can subscribe to great courses and walk through various subjects. YouTube may be a wasteland of cat videos and movie ...

Making God Your Home

by Dr Ian John ‘Whom do I have in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’ (Psalm 73:25-26) The psalmist was wrestling with his own versions of status anxiety, self-pity and ...

Get To Know Lynn Pak

Lynn Pak is our National Administrator and has been with Australian Navigators for 15 years. For our Winter 2024 issue of Compass, we asked her a few questions to help us get to know her better. While the printed newsletter gave us a snippet, we get a deeper insight into her heart for the ministry ...

Disciples in Prison

Matt’s life had been going pretty well. In his late 20s, he was a successful tradie and had a nice girlfriend and loving parents. Suddenly, one night, he found himself in jail charged with a serious violent crime, the result of a drunken fight he’d had. Soon convicted, life was no longer going ...

Advancing the Kingdom in Indonesia

Indonesia has 259 million people, 86% of them are Muslim and many are poor. Poverty doesn’t just affect the present for these families and children in Indonesia … it affects their entire futures. Many children drop out of school because their families cannot afford for them to go.  The ...

What is the cost of discipleship?

Robin Dennis has been a Christian for 46 years and a Navigator for just as long! In his own words, discipleship is the most exciting journey as well as the saddest. Compass caught up with Robin to ask why living life alongside people is a labour of love that’s truly worth it. What has ...

Caring Like Christ

By Grant Dibden “People are our most important asset.” I often hear that from organisations, but it’s a lot less common to see it actually being lived out. Of course, there has to be a balance with getting the task done, but the task and caring for the people can be symbiotic. Christian ...

Born to Reproduce - A Story by Tony McLennan

First published in Compass, Autumn 2014. Dawson Trotman gave a signature message called "Born to Reproduce" which sets out the normal expectation that mature believers are to reproduce the spiritual life they have by bringing the Gospel to new people. The passion to be involved with the Holy ...

Lifetime Kingdom Labourers

By Frank Tully It was my first week living back in Australia when at the end of a Navigators conference I needed a ride back to my temporary home in Sydney. Mike & Siân said they lived near my friend’s house and would be glad to drop me along the way. Little did we know, that was ...

From Grant To You

from Compass, Spring 2018 Dear Friend, As Navigators we are passionate about seeing lives, generations and — ultimately — nations transformed for the glory of God. We are committed and relentless in our drive to see the world won to Jesus! We want to play our part in seeing that "great ...

Connected for Life

By Bruce Clarke The New Testament gives us a few tantalizing details of a married couple named Priscilla and Aquila. They were living in Rome working with leather, making tents (Acts 18:1-4). Then Caesar Claudius decided that the Jews were undesirable and forced them to flee Rome. They arrive at ...

Meditation: The Missing Link

By R. B. Ewers, first published in "The Compass", November 1984 A Christian said to me recently, "I read my Bible each day, but it doesn't seem to make much difference to my life." This honest statement could be true for many Christians. When we consider all that the Word of God claims to do ...

One-to-one: Matters of love and encouragement

By James Broad, first printed in Compass January 1986, Vol 9 No 1 The first seminar I ever attended on the subject of one-to-one ministry was in a car, in Derbyshire, on a rainy March day in 1967. There was only two of us in the car and the subjects covered were the importance of the individual ...

Nurturing Those In Our Community

A story from one of our Melbourne Communities, first published in Compass, Autumn 2019 Cheny* (not her real name) first joined our group two and a half years ago. Reading Scripture was a first for her. She said, “If God exists, I’m afraid of Him and so I’ll ignore Him.” But Cheny loved ...

Go And Make Disciples

By Grant Dibden Looking at the spiritual condition of our nation it’s easy to see a picture similar to that described in Matthew 9: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The ...

I Heard the Voices of Angels

Earlier this month, our National Director, Grant Dibden, and his wife, Jeanette, joined the Tonga Conference and celebrated 40 years of Navigator Ministry there. Here is just a snippet of what happened as shared by Grant... What an inspiring experience our trip to Tonga was! Not only did we ...

How Do You... ?

With Dan Pass, first published in Compass, Autumn 2020 Q&A with Dan & Beth Pass From Gingerbread House-making to Ping-Pong-athon ... we get the insight on howDan and Beth Pass "do" their engaging and interacting with both Christians and pre-believers, living out their Christian identity ...

Compass Feature: David Turner

Interview by June Sparks David Turner Reflects on Compass David Turner has been behind the scenes or at the helm of Compass for over 30 years. He’s seen its transition from no colour to two colour to four colour to full colour. Compass has always been about connecting with the Australian ...

Cultural Shifts

By Kristin Coulson, first published in Compass Winter 2020 edition. In January, our staff gathered for the annual training in Canberra. One of the key topics discussed was about living and discipling in today’s western culture. The culture we live in influences us in ways we often don’t ...

Kingdom Community

By Frank Tully, first published in Compass, Autumn 2019 In order to follow God’s calling in our lives – To advance the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom - we need to have a context. For Navigators, that context is authentic community deeply rooted in the Kingdom of God. We don’t consider ...

Community in Focus

By Grant Dibden, first published in Compass, Winter 2019 I used to play a lot of sport before I got injured and old. As a young man I did athletics training five days a week and competed on weekends with three colleagues and our coach. Later, I practiced squash four days a week and played in ...

Leadership, Partnership and Discipleship!

Next Gen Leadership Forum and Staff Finance Seminar By Levi Swartzentruber  We had the privilege of having Chee Hoe and Bit, Mike, and Glen from the Asia Pacific (AP) leadership team join us for a weekend of learning about “Leading Like Jesus”. We heard examples of other leaders in ...

The Need of the Hour

By Frank and Tim Mapperson, first published in Compass, Summer 2020 As Navigators, we stand for life-on-life discipleship, living among the lost, leading all closer to Jesus and a Jesus-centred lifestyle. COVID-19 has made this both harder and more fruitful. Light shines brightest in ...

"As the Father has sent me..."

By Bruce Clarke, first published in Compass, Spring 2019 The word “mission” has its origin from the Latin “mittere” used to translate the Greek “apostele”, giving us the word “apostle”. It has the meaning of God sending and people being sent for the purpose of salvation and ...

Your Questions Answered! - by Theresa

The abridged version of this interview was first published in Compass, Spring 2019. Being on mission looks different for each of us. Some are compelled to go to far-flung nations while others are called to stay right where they are. What does being a local missionary look like? Theresa Suan ...

Perseverance That Overcomes

By Lindsey Swartzentruber, first published in Compass Autumn edition 2021 Living as a labourer, bringing others along as we pursue knowing Christ, takes perseverance that stems from convictions on God’s character. When I first met Skye in 2011, she was a hard-working, soccer-playing, leopard ...

A Link in the Chain

There are many gospel tracts and websites you may stumble upon today that ask that age-old question: "If you died today, where would you go: heaven or hell?" Perhaps you've asked yourself that question, too. Have you ever asked someone else? And if you did, what was their response? There ...

Q & A with Russ Skelton

Russ Skelton is a member of our Board of Directors. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have been married for 48 years. They have four children and nine grandchildren. He has lived on the Central Coast of NSW since 1964, graduated from the University of New South Wales as an Engineer in 1973, and ...

Meditation: Western Culture 10

Some of my strongest childhood memories come from the times I spent on my uncle’s dairy farm. The heat of summer, the cooling of the milk refrigeration room, the sound and smell of the cows. I would seeing them constantly chewing and later learnt they had 4 stomachs and were often “chewing ...

To Know Christ - And Make Him Known

By Judy Leow, Melbourne Labouring Community "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14 NIV   It is good to remember during the Christmas season that Love ...

How Do You Begin a Grassroots Ministry?

Grassroots ministry is the starting point of advancing the gospel and building the next generation, beginning with people around you who haven’t heard the good news of Jesus. As a labourer living and discipling among the lost, how do you begin a grassroots ministry? 1. Pray for: • ...

Lest We Forget - Anzac Day 2022

By Grant Dibden You can learn a lot about a country from the people or events they celebrate in their monuments. In the USA there’s a great bronzed statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting in his mighty marble temple in Washington. Down the street is a thirty foot statue of Thomas Jefferson. In ...

Q & A with Jane Sheppard

Let's get to know another one of our new Ministry Apprentices. This time from our Melbourne Labouring Community. How did you come to be with Navigators? As a young adult I had asked God to provide me with a godly woman who could be a spiritual mentor to me. After persevering 20 years in ...

From Grant to You

Dear Friend, Jerry Bridges was a friend of mine from whom I learnt a lot. He wrote and spoke a great deal about godliness, which this issue (Compass Summer 2023) is focused on. In his book ‘Respectable Sins’ (content warning – don’t read it if you don’t want to be convicted) he defines ...

Resilience to Labour for a Lifetime

By Robert Bolton, Brisbane Labouring Community Resilience is the ability or capacity to recover quickly – to bounce back from difficulties and setbacks. Sometimes, everything in us wants to quit or at least slow down, it’s in these times that our need for a resilience outside ourselves is ...

Learning Godliness

By Sergio Echegoyen, Southeast Queensland Labouring Community, first published in Compass Summer 2023 issue My name is Sergio. I’m originally from Mexico and it is a privilege to have been in this beautiful country for the last few years. I was raised in a Christian family as my parents are ...

The Lord Establishes

By Leah Brown, Sydney Labouring Community (first published in Compass Autumn 2023) Over the last three years, the Lord has been bringing my attention to the truth of Proverbs 16:9, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” He’s done this in two ...

From Grant to You - God's Word is Flawless

Dear Friend, Ps 12:6,7 says “The words of the Lord are words that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect”. Proverbs 30:5 tell us, “Every word of God is flawless.” Psalm 119:160 says, “All your ...

The God Who Saves

By Luke Midena, Canberra Labouring Community  I wonder, have you shared about Jesus with someone who seemed to recognise the good news for what it is, but never embraced the message? I’ve often wondered where the process has broken down. Was it me – did I overlook a vital element of the ...

The Harvest is plenty; Pray for Labourers

By Paul Bailey, Melbourne Labouring Community As there are two sides of the same coin, I am often wrestling with the feeling of weak, lost, afraid, anxious, impatient and concerned, whilst on the other side a deep sense of peace, trust, comfort and belief in God, and His sovereignty and will to ...

From Grant to You – All about Mission

God is a missionary God. He is a sending God. The Father sent the Son to earth to bring His people into a right relationship with Him. And the Son went. As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends His disciples into the world to share the good news of the gospel with every nation (John 17:18). God ...

Knowing God

By Scott Brown In the Autumn issue of the Compass, Mike Johnson clearly laid out a few simple and crucial rules to follow when reading and studying the Bible in order to interpret it accurately. If you haven’t read that article on How to Read the Bible Better, I recommend you give it a read ...

God's Word Impacting Young Hearts

By Rob Allen (with Angie Allen), Queensland Labouring Community, first published in Compass Winter 2024 issue. Angie and I thank God for having the opportunity to share God’s message of love and hope through His Word with young people over the decades. Many are under enormous social, ...

The Authority of the Word of God: A Pillar of Faith

By Grant Dibden, first published in Compass, Summer 2024. In Australia we live in a time characterised by shifting moral values and diverse worldviews. Popular culture tells us to look within to find out who we really are, to ‘be true to ourselves’, which is the key to living full and happy ...

The Power of God's Word From Neighbours to Nations

By an Australian Navigators Labourer Our neighbourhoods are a wonderful place to advance the gospel. My friend, on numerous occasions, has met neighbours from differing cultures with different exposure to Jesus and the Scriptures. With great regularity, I hear how she shares the Scriptures with ...

Our Apprentices Settling In

By Levi Swartzentruber Normally January is a gradual ramp up toward the start of the ANU year in mid-February, but not this year. Four weeks ago, on January 5, we were waiting with eager expectation at the Canberra airport for our two US apprentices, Laine and JT, to arrive. Let me share briefly ...

Get To Know Sarah Vernon

Sarah has been part of our Australian Navigators family for several years and recently joined one of our Short-Term Mission Trips. We interviewed her for the Winter 2025 Issue of Compass, our newsletter, where an abridged version of her interview was first published. How did you come into ...

Third Culture Kids

By Leah Pieri, first published in Compass Winter 2025 “A ‘Third Culture Kid’ (TCK) is a child who spent a significant portion of their formative years outside their parents’ home culture, often in a different country or environment. This experience leads them to create their own unique ...