From: alan k andrews <alan_k_andrews@navigators.org>
To: NAV_FIELD_STAFF_SUPPLEMENTAL@navigators.org
Subject: September Nexus
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 07:24:30 -0700

“Dear staff,

“What a wonderful summer I’ve had visiting some of our vital ministries across the country and celebrating major milestones here in Colorado Springs. . . . During the past decade, God has led several staff to develop ministries with Catholics, starting with the Hispanic ministry in Albuquerque in the mid 1980s. In 1993, Rich and Gail Cleveland began to experiment with Catholic ministry in Colorado Springs, AND WERE WELCOMED BY THE LOCAL BISHOP AND SEVERAL PARISH PRIESTS. RICH NOW DIRECTS THE SMALL-GROUP MINISTRY AT THE LARGEST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN COLORADO SPRINGS, leading more than 200 people each year through a three-book discipling tool, Emmaus Journey, that he’s designed especially for Catholics. This series, which INCORPORATES CATHOLIC TERMINOLOGY, THEOLOGY, AND REFERENCES while preserving Navigator values and distinctives, has been well received by Catholic leaders and laymen across the country. It’s also spun off into a web page, putting Rich in contact with individual Catholics all over the United States who are interested in evangelism, discipleship, and small groups.

“God has consistently demonstrated that He will open doors of ministry opportunity,” Rich explains, “as long as we come with a desire to help Catholics know Christ and MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE THEIR CATHOLICITY. Every indication is that God is going before these ministries, opening doors, and making the rough places smooth, and that He desires Roman Catholics to participate fully with the Navigator ministry.”

“Because of the initial success of Rich’s ministry and others like it, the National Leadership Team asked Rusty Stephens to convene a special task force on ministry with Catholics. . . . The task force concluded that, for the U.S. Navigators, THERE IS ‘ROOM TO RUN’ IN MINISTERING WITH CATHOLICS AS CATHOLICS. CATHOLIC DISCIPLES CAN ENRICH THE NAVIGATOR CULTURE, particularly in the areas of devotion to Christ, care for the poor and needy, and accepting the mystery of God and His work. . . .

“IN JUNE, THE NLT AFFIRMED THE LEGITIMACY AND STRATEGIC VALUE OF MINISTRY WITH CATHOLICS. We believe the Holy Spirit is doing a new and unique work of evangelism in and through Catholic communities, and the NLT and I are excited to be a part of it.”

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