As many of you may already know, I recently got out of the Army. I am currently on staff with The Navigators ministry organization here at Fort Bragg, NC, which simply means we are full time missionaries to Soldiers. In addition, I am attending Seminary online in pursuit of the chaplaincy. So, you ask, what in the world does a missionary to Soldiers at Fort Bragg do? Great question, I'm glad you asked.
Let me begin with a brief explanation of The Navigators organization. It is discipleship ministry whose overall mission is to know Christ and make Him known. Within the Navigators there are several different ministries such as the Collegiate ministry, Metro ministry, Church Discipleship Ministry, 20s Mission, NavMissions (overseas ministry), and the one that I am a part of, the Military ministry. There are over 4,000 Navigator staff of 64 different nationalities serving in over 100 countries. This ministry is not new; it was founded over 75 years ago with a man named Dawson Trotman who began discipling men in the Navy. If you would like to read more about the history of The Navigators, click here.
The Army Navigators recently adopted a new vision or mission statement - Matthew 28:18-20. I know, I know, we are not at all creative, but we felt like we could not say it any better. So, with that in mind, my priority during the week is to focus on helping Soldiers become disciples of Jesus. I regularly meet with between 8-15 Soldiers one-on-one during the week. The best time to catch them is typically during breakfast, lunch, or in the evenings at our house. So, I will plan my week around breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not a bad gig, huh? Of these 8-15 Soldiers there are about 3-4 that I try to see at least 5 times a week at various events and one-on-one. Betts has her own little discipleship group - our 3 little girls (about to be 4) named Grace, Bella, and Chloe. She invests the majority of her time during the week to home schooling and discipling them.
On Monday, we have an in depth Bible study for the leaders called STS (Search the Scriptures), which is based on Acts 17:11. We take a chapter, topic, or character from the Bible and spend about 2-4 hours in personal in depth Bible study throughout the week before getting together on Monday to discuss. So, I get to see most of the leaders at STS.
On Tuesday night we have an outreach Bible study. Most of the leaders who attend STS lead a small group on Tuesday night. The focus on Tuesday is similar, we are trying to help others study the Bible for themselves and ultimately become more like Jesus. Both nights are a great time of fellowship and sharpening (Heb. 10:24-25). Tuesday afternoon I spend about 2 hours at the local PX mini-mall in evangelism. I invite Soldiers out to our Bible study and/or share the gospel with them. I get nervous before I begin every single time, but once I get going, it's actually a lot of fun. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite times of the week.
On either Wednesday night or Thursday night, Betts and I will have someone over to our home for dinner and fellowship. On the opposite night, if I am being a good hubby that week, I may try to take Betts out on a hot date.
For the last two years we have hosted fellowship dinners on Fridays. Between 15-25 people attended on average. We eat a big home-cooked meal prepared by my lovely wife, then someone would share a short devotional. After the devo we would enjoy some fellowship until around 10 p.m. These dinners were great on many levels. 1) There are many Soldiers who may be scared off by the title Bible Study, but they are more than willing to eat a big home-cooked meal at our house. So, they get a home-cooked meal and a little bit of Jesus at the same time. 2) All of the leaders get a chance to teach periodically (I have learned a while back that we learn best by teaching). 3) These dinners also gave us a chance to spend time together in a less formal environment and be an encouragement to one another. I could go on, but needless to say we have really enjoyed these dinners. They became part of our lives, which makes it very sad that we have recently decided to decentralize this fellowship. Several of the key leaders are now going to have folks in their small groups over to their houses on Fridays. Sad, but exciting as well.
Betts and I have recently declared Saturday a Sabbath because we need it. In just a few shorts weeks in full-time ministry, we have found that it is not even close to a 9-5. We could easily work 24/7 and never feel like our work is complete. So, in a tough Lordship decision, we decided to take it easy on Saturday. No work and no ministry. This probably takes more discipline than any other aspect of our ministry. It is hard to rest.
On Sunday, we try to make it to Chapel on post to support Fort Bragg's finest - the Chaplains. Fort Bragg is blessed to have some of the best Chaplain's in the military. While I was in the Army, my recent battalion chaplains were two of the finest men I have ever known - Chaplain Philip Kramer and Chaplain Michael Smith. God bless you both and thanks for your investment in me. Chapel is also a great place to meet Soldiers who may be curious about Jesus. Many of the folks from our ministry then get together afterwards at the Mall food court for some Sunday fellowship.
So, that's it in a nutshell, since you were wondering. If you have any questions about us, or you would like practical discipleship resources, please feel free to email me at ben.kayser@gmail.com. I've got several of resources that may be of help, whether you are a small group leader, or you are trying to witness to your neighbor.
I almost forgot, you may have been wondering how I fit seminary into this schedule. My current goal is to complete seminary during the week in order to free up the weekends a bit. So far, so good because it's all online. I am able to squeeze in the approximately 40 hours of seminary into the weekdays now. I wake up around 5 a.m., spend some time with Jesus in the Bible and then head on post to meet one of the guys for breakfast. I bring my laptop and all my books with me and stay on Fort Bragg the rest of the day since we live about 25 minutes away. In between meetings with guys, I squeeze in Seminary. Praise God for laptops, WiFi, and Starbucks!
