I serve as the strategic communications manager for The Navigators. I keep my ministry supporters up to date through regular updates. Below is an archive of those posts. For a general overview of my work with The Navigators click here.
In this video update I give an overview of a project I’ve been on for roughly a year now: the refresh and clarification of The Navigators brand. I go into what makes up a brand in general, why The Navigators felt it needed to address the state of its brand, and what roles I’ve played throughout this project.
This is the first of four video updates I produced covering The Navigators brand refresh. Click the links before to view the other updates.
A little more than a year ago I took a new position at Navigator headquarters, leaving the collegiate ministry and joining our communications department as the new strategic communications manager. God has let me be a part of some great work in this first year:
As I look ahead I am so excited to begin my second year in this role. God is doing some amazing things in The Navigators and I can’t wait to share them with you!
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that Harvest episode 04 is now available for streaming. This episode covers the discipleship process and maps out three crucial insights that will help you as you disciple others. You can watch it below.
This episode of Harvest was completed several weeks ago, but I chose to delay the release until today. I wanted it to be one of the first new blog posts on the new Navigators.org website. The site went live later than we had originally anticipated it would, which in turn pushed the video’s release date back.
Prior to the release of this episode I made the decision to shut down the dedicated website and social media presence for Harvest. The website address harvestseries.tv now takes you to a page dedicated to Harvest on The Navigators website.
From the inception of the series I’ve wanted these films to be first and foremost about advancing a movement, not an organization. I still feel it’s important for the videos themselves to be free of Navigator branding and references in order to keep it clear to the viewer that discipleship is a biblical imperative and not an organizational invention. However, I’ve come to believe that not having the videos housed within the organization’s main web presence is overkill. Increasing the visibility of the project is far more important.
These Harvest episodes have typically been released about a year apart from each other. Sometimes that’s due to funding, sometimes it’s due to other outside factors. But episode 05 has already been paid for and the teaching segments have all been filmed. What remains is filming the b-roll footage and the post-production work. I’m projecting that the next episode will be released early next year.
Each Harvest video has been made possible by your financial support. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. Thank you for your continued support of my ministry with The Navigators!
Earlier this week I wrote about the launch of the new Navigators.org website. It was a project months in the making. Everyone involved is extremely proud of the final product. For those of you who are interested in how websites are made I thought I’d share with you some of what’s being used behind the scenes.
While I usually find myself in the position of designing and developing Navigator website when they’re needed, on a project of this profile and scope the organization hired a large firm called Masterworks to handle it all. And I’m glad they did—the level of technical expertise needed to achieve the different database integrations is well above my skill level.
I am absolutely thrilled that we used self-hosted WordPress as the CMS for the new website. The site is being hosted on WP Engine servers, one of the better hosting options out there for WordPress websites.
The site uses a custom theme built on the _s starter theme. This goes against my personal preference of using a parent/child theme setup. Throughout this project I did my best not to tell the developers how to build the website, rather I shared only what we needed the website to do. It wasn’t always easy for me to bite my tongue, especially on this point, but I trust their team to make good decisions for us.
Numerous plugins are used on the new website. Here are some of the key plugins we’re using.
On the previous version of our website it was very difficult to add new features when we needed them. That’s not the case now. When we see a need for something new we’ll be in a position to add it much more easily. In fact, I already have a desire to add a timeline showing the history of The Navigators.
I hope you enjoyed this peek behind the scenes of our new website. If you have questions or thoughts to share leave me a comment below.
Ever since joining the communications department back in November I have been part of a team of people helping to create the new Navigators.org website. I’m happy to announce that this new website is now live! Click here to see it!
There are a few features and improvements over the previous design that I’m particularly excited about.
Regarding the blog, I will be serving as its managing editor. We will be publishing two kinds of blog posts: stories of what is happening in our ministry and tools that resource those who are making disciples.
If you have a moment, visit the new website. I would love to hear what you think! (You can also click here to see my new staff profile page.)
Today Jim Downing, Navigator #6 and survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, turns 104. I’ve had the privilege to work with him more since I joined the communications department last year. He’s an incredible man of God with a fascinating life story.
This photo is of Jim, me, and my son Benjamin at a book signing this past November. Jim is the author of “The Other Side of Infamy” in which he recounts his experiences at Pearl Harbor and what it means to follow Jesus in the most dangerous of times. You can pick it up on the NavPress website.