Atlanta: Five Contexts, One Goal

When the Atlanta Navs launched Collegiate Navs and Nav20s ministries two years ago, there was one goal: spiritual generations. Today, with three new ministries and mounting momentum, that goal hasn’t changed.
“We’re still doing one thing, but we’re doing it in five different contexts across the city,” says Associate City Director Aimee Hodges.

About 80 recent college grads are currently connected to the Nav20s ministry. There are Collegiate Navs ministries at Georgia State, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State. Navigator Church Ministries fosters a disciplemaking culture in the local church. Discipling for Development, a part of NavMissions, is focused on whole-life discipleship among the many communities of New Americans.

“The I-58 Navs ministry, named after Isaiah 58, focuses on youth in Atlanta’s most blighted neighborhoods,” Aimee says.

“What makes this compelling and exciting is that we have an array of people with different gifts in ministry, but are all committed to the same vision,” says NavCity Director Matt Letourneau. That vision includes partnering with other organizations and ministries in town. The Atlanta Navs are consulting with the Atlanta Mission to help the Mission develop a comprehensive follow-up program with the homeless men going through their rehab process. “We are also attacking that problem on the front end by seeing that there is an enormous need to address the broken system of urban education here,” Matt says. “We’re partnering with a school, where we’re going to be building and running after-school programs including homework help, Bible studies, and life skills training. We’re building bridges in the community.”

That kind of synergy and potential is exciting to Atlanta Collegiate Navs Director Dave Bowman. “There are diverse opportunities to collaborate in Atlanta,” Dave says. “Students here have opportunities that not all students have.”

There is a consistently strong sense of investment and shared ownership.

“We’re looking to the Collegiate Navs ministry and Nav20s ministry to provide the volunteer army to work with our urban youth, in our outreach to refugees, and to sign up for internships to learn how to do community development and discipleship in third world contexts,” Matt says. “We’re looking to the local church to provide volunteers on the campus and in mentoring young business professionals.”

“It’s all connected.”