On June 3, 2017 the OSU Navigators hosted their first of many Partnership Banquets in Corvallis. We were very grateful to Ted and his staff at Old World Deli downtown for the great food and facility.
Members of the community joined us for an evening of thanking God, and discussing how we pray to see God use our efforts at Oregon State to see Lifetime Laborers sent to the world through OSU.
Throughout the evening guests heard student testimonies from students like Audrey Bernard. Some of our friends and Partners in the community were not able to join us for this great evening. We missed you, and hope you are encouraged by reading what Audrey had to say.
Audrey: "
Well,
like any great story, it starts with Ultimate Frisbee. My roommate has an
intense love for Frisbee so when we saw some people playing on the field, we
decided to join. Immediately after walking onto the field, the staff greeted us
like we were old friends. They asked for our names and actually remembered them.
Someone mentioned that it was a Christian group called the Navs (which was
completely lost on me what the name actually stood for). I began researching the
“Navigators” and found that their values and beliefs matched mine. Their goal
was to “know Christ and to make Him known.” From then on, I knew that I wanted
to be a part of their mission. Afterwards, I was invited to a worship night and
got connected to a Bible Study where we studied Romans. Quickly, I knew God was
convicting me to put my faith into action.
I
guess I should also explain my back story. I was saved when I was pretty young,
and as with many things, I became bored of the whole “God thing” extremely
quick. I memorized the material enough to get a pat on the head, but I never
actually did anything. Even through middle and high school, I would just go
through the motions because I thought that’s what all good Christian do and
that God would punish me if I didn’t. Until college. After going through
Romans, I knew I needed to get on fire for God. Winter term came around and a
program called Timothy Team was put on. For the entire term, we learned
different aspects such as a daily quiet time, realizing where our priorities
are, and most importantly, how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. They presented
practical things I could do to grow in my relationship with Him. The biggest
thing about Timothy Team was the witnessing. Honestly, that scared me… a lot. Talking
to people about things that are uncomfortable? No thanks! However, I learned
ways to initiate the conversation such as World Surveys and how to present the
gospel in a way that doesn’t put them to sleep such as the bridge illustration.
After each encounter, I knew that this is what God wanted me to do all along
and funny thing was, I found that I actually enjoy talking to people!
The
Navigators really helped me this year figure out where I was in my spiritual
walk. Through Timothy Team and meeting with the staff weekly, I know that being
a life-long disciple maker is what I need and want to be. One night at our
worship night, we talked about the people in our lives that are Paul's, who is
the disciple makers, and Timothy's, who are the disciples themselves. After
Timothy Team, I knew that I wanted to be a Paul to someone. Luckily, I have
already begun training a disciple myself so she, in return, can train another
one. One by one, we can reach a lot of people on this campus if each one of us
tries to reach someone else. Despite spending a lot of money going to college
to get a degree, my true treasure is lying in Heaven. I would rather progress
the kingdom of God than progress the success of myself. And that is what God,
and the Navigators, have taught me this year."
Thank you so much for your encouragement and support. We couldn't be at OSU without you!
To Know Christ and to Make Him Known,
Kyle and Katie Nelson
