The Navigators is a worldwide

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

para-church organization based in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Overview

On May 4, 2025, Joe Maschhoff succeeded Mutua Mahiaini as the sixth International President of The Navigators. Mahiaini had been international president for 10 years, after Michael W. Treneer. Marvin Campbell is Navigators' US president.

History

The Navigators was founded in 1933 by the evangelist

Dawson Trotman Dawson Earle Trotman (March 25, 1906 – June 18, 1956) was an evangelist and founder of the Navigators. Biography Trotman was born on March 25, 1906, in Bisbee, Arizona, US. Ministry Trotman founded the Navigators in 1933. He lost his life o ...

, who mentored

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

sailor Lester Spencer aboard . Due to those efforts, 135 additional sailors on Spencer's ship became Christians before it was sunk at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, thousands of men on ships and bases around the world were learning through The Navigators. The collegiate ministry of The Navigators was founded in 1951 at the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. This ministry was established by a group of students in the

Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1869. Since its founding, Sigma Nu has chartered more than 279 chapters across the United States and Ca ...

fraternity house who, along with Trotman, decided to spread their outreach onto the college campus.

Move to Glen Eyrie

In 1953, The Navigators acquired its current headquarters location at

Glen Eyrie Glen Eyrie is an English Tudor-style castle built in 1871 by General William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs. The castle is owned today by The Navigators, a worldwide Christian organization. It is open for public tours and event ...

through the

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response. The BGEA operates the Billy Graham Train ...

's sale of the then-vacant property to Trotman's organization. The 330-acre Eagle Lake property was included in the purchase, on the condition that it be used for youth work. In 2014, over 4,700 campers participated in Eagle Lake Camps. The main administrative center for the Navigators is situated towards the northeast region of Glen Eyrie's territory. It serves as the main hub for coordinating their various activities and operations.

MRFF lawsuits

The Navigators organization was cited in a lawsuit against the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

(USAFA) by Michael L. "Mickey" Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) in 2005. The lawsuit alleged that Darren and Gina Lindblom, assigned to the USAFA through The Navigators, were favored by the Air Force to the exclusion of other religious groups in violation of the

Establishment Clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' an ...

of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. This lawsuit was dismissed. Additional lawsuits by the MRFF have named The Navigators in similar complaints of alleged

proselytizing Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between Chris ...

in the military. In Korea, The Navigators sued six former members of the MRFF for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

in 2011. The case was initially dismissed, and again dismissed on appeal.

Overseas Groups

The Navigators came to the UK through the Billy Graham crusades of the 1950s. They are now based in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, England. Apart from the US and the UK, the Navigators have missions in 19 other countries, including Brazil, Austria and Eurasia.

References

External links

Navigators US websiteNavigators UK websiteNavigators Worldwide websiteNavPress, Navigator publishing armGlen Eyrie Conference CenterNavigators Audio Messages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navigators, The Evangelical parachurch organizations Religion in Colorado Springs, Colorado Non-profit organizations based in Colorado Evangelicalism in Colorado Christian organizations established in 1933 Organizations based in Colorado Springs, Colorado 1933 establishments in the United States