Building God’s Kingdom in Boston

The city of Boston is known for attracting the best of the best. Filled to the brim with prestigious universities and industry experts, it’s a place where intellect is cherished and there is a high barrier to Christianity.

In the midst of the city, however, the Lord is shining His light in the darkness, making the gospel known. In college campuses, workplaces, churches, and even prisons systems, The Navigators are making disciples who are passing their faith on to the next generation, multiplying God’s kingdom.

One of these disciples is Sophia, who has dived into her faith and seen the Lord move through her time in Boston. Throughout college, summer missions, and now the workplace, she has seen The Navigators mission come to life.

Pursuing the Lord in Every Season

Raised in Brazil, Sophia originally came to Boston to study neuroscience at Boston University. She grew up going to an international Christian school, where she first developed and deepened her faith in the Lord. However, when she started getting involved with The Navigators towards the end of her college years, she learned what it looked like to be in Christian community.

“When I first got connected with The Navigators, what appealed to me was this aspect of community,” Sophia says. “I didn’t always meet people who knew God at school, so seeing people that I could talk to about real things and who knew God drew me in.”

Though she started going to Navigators events her senior year, Sophia primarily grew in her involvement with International Student Ministry (ISM) on campus. At ISM, international students would meet once a month for meals and faith-based discussions. “It was an equally welcoming space for people who weren’t Christian,” she remembers. “There were opportunities to build relationships, and people of all faith and cultural backgrounds would come.”

When Sophia attended a Navigators retreat, she learned about opportunities for students to go on mission trips over the summer. Growing up surrounded by many cultures in Brazil, Sophia was always drawn to missions. Not sure what life would look like after graduation, she applied for two Navigators mission trips — Uganda and Croatia — thinking she would only be able to attend one. To her surprise, she ended up doing both in a single summer.

“As I prayed, I thought, ‘God, this is kind of scary,’” Sophia recalls. “I didn’t know how I was going to fundraise that much money. But I knew the Lord would provide if he wanted the door to be open. So I said yes.”

For four weeks in Uganda, her team worked with villages for community development — meeting spiritual and physical needs — and saw what ministry looked like in urban and university settings as well. Then, she headed off to Croatia for two and a half more weeks to help with a children’s summer camp.

Through both trips, Sophia learned about service and meeting others’ needs. “There are going to be times in my life where I think I don’t have anything left in me, and I learned what it looks like to rely on the Holy Spirit to give me strength and see the significance of what I’m doing,” she explains. “It’s important to be able to set aside the things that I need at certain points to be able to see others’ needs above my own.”

Now Sophia continues to serve others through her work as a clinical research coordinator at a hospital in Boston. Her heart for discipleship has continued to grow, and she remains involved with The Navigators through the workplace ministry in the city, Gospel at Work, where she and other professionals meet every other week to discuss how they are making disciples and seeing the Lord move through their individual jobs.

“After coming back from missions, I still wanted to be involved with The Navigators, so finding a group of people who are working as well, thinking about how we can serve God in what we do, has been great,” Sophia says. “God is allowing us to pour into others’ lives who don’t know Him yet, and we are able to do that for our communities.”

God’s Kingdom in Boston and Beyond

Sophia is just one of the many passionate disciplemakers in Boston who are trying to shine the Lord’s light on the city, and she is an example of the interconnectivity of the greater Navigators ministry in Boston.

“Sophia’s story is special to us because she represents our vision for what we want this ministry to grow into,” Robert Meyer, a Navigators Representative at Boston University, says. “She started out at a college campus, and now she’s moved into the workplace. As she grows as a disciplemaker, she will have an impact across the city. People like Sophia can help us launch our ministry in new directions, in ways we haven’t even imagined yet.”

As Sophia looks back on her journey over the past few years, she can see the thread of how the Lord has used The Navigators in her life, encouraging her faith and surrounding her with a community of like-minded believers in Boston.

“From being involved with campus ministry to being on missions trips to then getting involved with Gospel at Work, having this group of people who love Jesus and want to be a part of God’s kingdom is so critical,” she says. “I cannot imagine doing life with anyone in any other way.”

Pray that the Lord continues to use Sophia and other disciplemakers in Boston to make an impact, softening hearts in college campuses, workplaces, and beyond.

Discipleship Tip:

Sophia is passionate about engaging others for Christ — at college, around the world, and in her workplace. Think about your surroundings, peers, family, friends, and coworkers. Who is around that you can engage with in a faith-based relationship? How can you make the most of the season of life that you are currently in?