Your Virtual Coach for a Winning Brand Strategy
The collegiate ministry of The Navigators ministers to college students on nearly 200 campuses across the U.S. Its aim is to help young men and women grow in their relationship with Christ through discipleship and train them to pass on what they have learned to others. I served on staff with The Navigators at Florida State University from 2007 to 2014, then in the National Collegiate Office at Navigator headquarters in Colorado as the director of collegiate communications from 2014 to 2016.
The Navigators is an international, interdenominational Christian ministry established in 1933. We are people who love Jesus Christ and desire to help others know and grow in Him as they “navigate” through life. The organization’s slogan, “To Know Christ and To Make Him Known,” aptly describes what The Navigators are all about.
Starting Saturday I’ll be back in Florida for about a week and a half for two big events for The Navigators. The first is EDGE Summit, an event that takes place once every six months that gathers all our first- and second-year EDGE Corps staff together for training and fellowship. The second is The Navigators National Staff Conference, an event that takes place once every four years and brings together over 1,500 Navigator staff from all over the world!
In November The Navigators are holding their national staff conference in Orlando, a gathering that takes place once every four years. The Collegiate mission was asked to create a 30-second commercial that advertises part of our work.
Right now thousands of students are returning to campus for fall launch (the start of the fall semester) meaning our Nav campus ministries are at their busiest. It’s a key time to make connections with students, particularly with freshmen. It’s critical that our staff at headquarters offer prompt and effective assistance to our campus staff.
As communications director most of the questions I receive revolve around how to create or update campus ministry websites. Over 40 of our campuses use websites built by our IT Department. I help our campus staff get the most out of what they’ve been given.
I encouraged our campus leaders to add the hashtag #NavsFallLaunch to their social media posts during start of the year activities. I’m then able to search for these posts, providing me with a unique, on-the-ground look at how students are being engaged by our staff and student leaders during this critical time of year.
Campus Navs is kicking off the fall semester with a great book giveaway! You can win one of five copies of Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples by Francis Chan.
This summer I’ve had the opportunity to teach roughly 100 new Navigator staff joining our EDGE Corps program on the subject of communication best practices. I shared on topics such as the importance of representing The Navigators well in the choices they make on social media and how to properly use Navigator intellectual property like our various logos. I also talked with them about where they can find tutorials to help them effectively and appropriately communicate with their students online.
For many of these staff, working as a campus minister with The Navigators is their first job out of college. They’re confronted for the first time with the necessity to consider the ramifications of their actions as it pertains to their professional reputation and ministry effectiveness. One of the goals I had for my session was to anticipate the potential pitfalls and challenges they may face, then guide them in how to respond well.
In addition to teaching these sessions I was also able to meet with several staff one-on-one to discuss their individual communication strategy with their ministry supporters. I really enjoy building relationships with our staff serving in the field and helping them fulfill their specific ministry needs.
Last week my wife Kathy led two workshops on résumé writing for EDGErs transitioning away from The Navigators. These workshops were tailored specifically to their needs, teaching them how to communicate effectively the valuable skills they developed through ministry work.
