Bryan & Erin Thigpen
Navigators - New Zealand
The Navigators Calling:
to advance the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost.
"To Know Christ and To Make Him Known,®" aptly describes what Navigators do. Befriending those who don't know Jesus or those just starting out in their relationship with Him, showing them how to grow, and how to help others grow, too.
Helping people "navigate" life by establishing life-on-life mentoring—or discipling—relationships with them, equipping them to make an impact on those around them for God's glory.
These life-changing relationships are formed on college campuses, on military installations, in neighborhoods, churches, and even high-rise apartment buildings.
The mission is based on the Bible, God's Word. Desiring to fulfill 2 Timothy 2:2, Navigators seek to forward the grace and teachings of Christ from one believer to the next—what we call "generational multiplication."
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2).
Bryan, Erin and family are living out this calling in Christchurch, New Zealand. They are working with national students at Canterbury University on the southern island of New Zealand.
About New Zealand:
New Zealand is a Post-Christian nation that is 97% unchurched with the highest teen suicide rate in the world.
It is a small country broken up into two islands located in the South Pacific Ocean next to but not really all that close to Australia. It inhabits a little over 4 million people with approximately the same square mileage as Oregon.
New Zealand is home to the indigenous Maori people. It was settled first by Dutch explorers in the 17th century, and then by the famous British Captain james Cook (i.e., Cook Islands, Cook Straight) in 1768. After becoming home to many Maori tribes and European colonies, the nation was unified under the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. This agreement made New Zealand part of the British Empire, a status they maintain to this day, though they now are fully self-governing.
Please pray for the impact that the Thigpens will have on the students at University of Canterbury and that God’s grace and truth will reign in a lost and unbelieving nation.
Bryan's Birthday is Aug 8th, Erin's Birthday is Oct. 4th, and their wedding anniversary is 10/29
