Stewarding a Legacy
Christian Leadership Alliance President and CEO Tami Heim recently interviewed Marvin Campbell, U.S. President for The Navigators, a role he assumed on Nov. 1, 2021.
Marvin came to faith during his first year of high school after being shaken by the death of two friends. He met The Navigators in 1985 at the U.S. Naval Academy when a Navigator student invited Marvin to read the Bible. Upon graduation from the academy, Marvin served as a Surface Warfare and Engineering Duty Officer. He served more than 13 years on active duty with the U.S. Navy before leaving the military for full-time ministry. Marvin completed his 20 years of military service in the reserves, retiring as a Commander.
Since beginning volunteer work with The Navigators in 1994 and joining full-time staff in 2002, Marvin has served in various leadership roles in The Navigators. He has served with The Navigators’ Military, Neighbors, Collegiate, the 20s, Workplace, and Cities ministries. Notably, he was the founding director of the Bowie State Training Center at Bowie State University. This initiative, was established in 2008 to recruit, develop, equip, and prepare African American kingdom leaders for world impact. In addition to serving for more than 25 years as Discipleship/Outreach Pastor across four states, Marvin most recently served as senior vice president and U.S. Field director for The U.S. Navigators before becoming the U.S. president.
Marvin’s blended military and ministry experience gives him unique insights into leadership training and development. It has also given him insight into church discipleship, organizational change management, and team dynamics.
Marvin and his wife Pamala have invested their lives in cultivating a multicultural network of believers from diverse backgrounds. They are committed to The Navigators’ motto, “To know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same®.”
You have spoken of stewarding the legacy of God’s favor on the work of The Navigators. What strategies are you pursuing to accomplish this outcome?
Established in 1933, the Navigators has enjoyed a 90-year legacy of equipping everyday people to be confident and contributing gospel ambassadors. We have poured into many Jesus followers who are now scattered next door to everywhere, both in the U.S. and across many nations, as part of an international movement since 1947. We'd love to continue to serve these friends and many more in relevant ways while expanding our reach and increasing our depth in new places, among more people groups, and employing more connection platforms.
We've served more than 40,000 friends through a 12-week Digital Disciplemaking Journey program...
We want to come alongside more friends right where they are to encourage focused, intentional disciplemaking and instill the confidence that "you can do it; we can help." We've served more than 40,000 friends through a 12-week Digital Disciplemaking Journey program, exploring how they might become disciplemakers, and we regularly conduct invitational disciplemaking weekend workshops around the country through The Apprentice Approach to equip and encourage practical, personal disciplemaking.
Can you share about The Navigators’ Life-to-Life® discipleship model, and its impact?
Our Life-to-Life® disciplemaking model is highly relational, biblically rooted, and focused disciplemaking. It involves inviting someone in your life to grow in Christ – together – by reading the Bible together, praying together, learning to hear from the Lord, and sharing everyday life. We have found that majoring in intentional, relational, transformational, and generational disciplemaking creates an easily replicated simplicity and relevance to those yet to know Christ. Investing deeply in a few such that these few can invest intentionally in the lives of others is the manifestation of 2 Timothy 2:2 and the crux of our strategy, which has historically focused on military, collegiate, church, and community discipleship ministries.
We want to instill confidence and competence in the Scriptures...
Our motto, “To know Christ, to make Him known and help others do the same®” summarizes our methodology and reproducible pattern used on college campuses, military bases, in workplaces, churches, neighborhoods, and hard-to-reach places around the world! Recent Barna studies have revealed that the number one reason that people do not pursue disciplemaking is that they lack the confidence that they will know how. We want to instill confidence and competence in the Scriptures for one to live and share their faith through disciplemaking.
The Navigators’ has a heart for knowing God’s Word. How has that influenced you as a leader?
Romans 11:36 states, "For from him and through him, and for him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen." Understanding and embracing that the Lord is the beginning, end, and source of all things, all leadership is a stewardship of what the Lord has entrusted us. The Scriptures have deeply formed my life perspective and purpose, and subsequently inform all aspects of my leadership. In submission to the Lord and his authority, I strive to be a leader who serves and stewards his creation — his sons and daughters and his Glory displayed through our collective lives.
Isaiah 43:7 establishes that we are a people called by his name and created for his Glory. So, in all ways, I want to steward and propagate his glory as an ever-praying, Scripture-obeying, Holy Spirit-powered servant leader. In this season of leadership, I've been continually challenged and inspired by the leadership example of Nehemiah. Throughout the book, we see Nehemiah fasting and praying for the Lord's vision, his contribution to the vision, the Lord's provision, and ultimately, for the Lord's glory to shine forth and be exalted. I am trusting the Lord with our fantastic leadership and staff to lead similarly as The Navigators desires to see God's glory increasingly shown through everyone everywhere. I want to be a leader who leads from the Word, into the Word, and through the Word of God.
Our theme is “Therefore,” and as you think of that action word in Scripture are there some verses that come to mind that apply to the work of The Navigators?
I love the selected theme of "therefore" because it captures the very essence of Christianity — the creative, redemptive, all-inclusive work of God and our proper response as his Creation. We are created in his image (Gen. 1:26) and for his glory (Isaiah 43:7) to manifest his glory (John 17:22-23) through physical generations (Gen. 1:28) and spiritual generations (Matt. 28:18-20).
The word "therefore" in the Scriptures links preceding principles and truths to the subsequent expected response or behaviors. It serves as a flashing light to remind us to go back and investigate more thoroughly what the "therefore" is there for. It's like the teacher kicking the podium for specific questions during an exam review. You'll want to pay attention. Key verses that reflect "therefore" imperatives for us as The Navigators are 2 Timothy 2:1-2 “You therefore…” (NKJV) which tells us to pass it on relationally and generationally, and Matthew 28:18-20 which says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (NKJV).
What encouragement would you share for other ministry leaders as they seek to steward a ministry vision in today’s world?
Jesus' last human words inform our main human work, made possible by the statement of fact that: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matt. 28:18-19)
The Great Commission is instructional, not aspirational, and collectively we still have work ahead — focused, intentional, disciplemaking among everyone everywhere. The vision to make disciples of all nations is accomplished by and through God's power and authority that is endless and never fails.
In Mark chapter 4, verses 26-29, Jesus explains the connection between the seed, the sower, and the supernatural. He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself, the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
We are all called to sow faithfully, but the Lord of the harvest is the one who brings the increase!
God has outlined expectations for how we sow as well. It is in Matthew 5:43-48 that Jesus implores us to be people who display God's glory through his perfect love. Let's aspire to be more "perfect" as we live, lead, and lay down our lives to ensure an advancing gospel!
It matters for God's glory!
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Marvin Campbell will serve as a Main Stage Presenter at this year’s Outcomes Conference in Jacksonville, FL, April 9-11. Register to attend >>
