Navigators
| Navigators eV | |
|---|---|
|
|
| purpose | Evangelism |
| Chair: | Frank Schlichtenbrede |
| Establishment date: | 1957 (as eV) |
| Seat : | Bonn |
| Website: | www.navigatoren.de |
The Navigators are a Christian missionary community founded in the USA in the 1930s , which in 2007 was represented in over 120 countries around the world. In the beginning it worked almost exclusively with seafarers, in the later years of its existence it turned to other target groups: students, professionals, families.
history
Dawson Trotman († 1956), born in California in 1906, is considered the founder of the Navigators . His friendship with a young sailor turned into a spiritual learning community, the so-called twosome , which is still part of the basic structure of navigators today. From Dawson's private twosome , which in addition to pastoral care and spiritual exchange of ideas, especially Bible studies and common prayer were cultivated, an extensive network of twosomes among American seafarers developed during the Second World War . Trotman accompanied the establishment of this network by publishing practical instructions for missionary discussions with contemporaries.
After the end of World War II, the movement founded by Troman also reached civil society. At schools and universities, in factories and neighborhoods, a new network of pairs emerged - initially in the United States, but then also in Europe and in countries on other continents. The maritime designation navigators was retained.
The navigators came to West Germany as a missionary campus work in the mid-1950s. Navigator groups at university locations in the former GDR gathered under the umbrella of the Evangelical Church in the GDR under the name Timotheusarbeit . After reunification , the two German navigator branches merged. There has been a joint national management since 1991.
Working basis
The most important starting point of the navigator work is the spiritual relationship lived in a twosome. According to the Navigators, Christian faith arises and deepens primarily in the binding relationship with God and one's neighbor.
The focus of the German navigators is student work. There is also a school group and working groups. Interest and age-specific free time and conferences complement the local programs.
The navigators' faith is based on the confession of the Evangelical Alliance . You are open to cooperation with Christians from churches and free churches and are represented in netzwerk-m .
organization
The navigators have been active in Germany since 1951, since 1957 in the legal form of a registered association. The seat of this association is Bonn. The association's chairman is currently (2014) Frank Schlichtenbrede. The mission leader was Wolf Christian Jaeschke, who was replaced by Daniel Ackers in 2014. Michael Schönfeld is the managing director.
In addition to the association, there has been a Navigators Funding Foundation since 2000, whose funds support the work of the Navigators in Germany. Michael Schönfeld (chairman), Andreas Boltenhagen and Franz-Josef Stockhausen form the foundation's board of directors.
The Navigators also own their own publisher, the NAVpress Publishing Group in Colorado Springs , Colorado .
literature
- Alfred Wehmeyer: Article Navigators , in: Helmut Burkhardt, Erich Geldbach , Kurt Heimbucher , Evangelisches Gemeindelexikon , Wuppertal 1986, ISBN 3-417-24082-4
- Reinhard Hempelmann (Hrsg.): Handbook of evangelistic-missionary works, institutions and communities . Christian publishing house Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 978-3-7675-7763-3 , p. 272ff
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hempelmann, p. 272ff
- ↑ Change of management at the mission organization "Navigators" . idea.de, notification from November 3, 2014.
- ↑ Navigator full-time employees (accessed June 1, 2010)
Web links
- Navigators - international - web presence
- Navigators Germany - website