Stepping Into Faith: Follow God Across the Jordan

A family photo opens the narrative, showing Stacy, Nate, and Naomi and framing two decades of ministry with the Navigators. A clear 2026 vision centers on ordinary people sharing the gospel where they live, work, and play, and training everyday believers to make disciples without needing a special title. Stories from campus and small groups illustrate a coaching model: gather to scatter, equip leaders to run Bible studies, and send them back into daily life with practical skills and confidence.

Several discipling relationships illustrate long-term investment. A college student met at a campus event matured into a leader after eleven years of one-on-one care. A hesitant man learned to lead Bible study through steady coaching and later encouraged others to step forward. A chance encounter in a furniture store became the entry point for a man who embraced faith, then shared it with coworkers and family. Marriage counseling and pre-marital coaching demonstrate how gospel-centered priorities shape relationships and prepare couples for lifelong commitment.

Joshua 3 supplies the theological backbone: God leads people into unknown territory, and required consecration precedes divine action. The ark and the priests stepping into the river become a vivid metaphor for faith that moves communities, not only individuals. The text pushes believers to distinguish between apparent guidance and true leading, to cultivate spiritual disciplines like regular Bible reading, and to test inner promptings against Scripture.

Personal testimony reinforces the call to risk. A letter from 2002 shows vocational conviction to serve college students; a decisive step into full-time ministry came amid financial uncertainty and a collapsing real estate market, yet faith held. The story of a child born with Down syndrome reframes grief into gratitude through Psalm-centered trust, showing how hardship deepens reliance on God. A practical "drawer" analogy asks listeners to let God into every compartment of life—relationships, work, hobbies—challenging selective surrender.

Concrete applications appear throughout: identify one next step of faith, share it with another person, and pray together. Simple acts—canceling social media, giving away harmful media, inviting someone to a Bible study—become tangible ways to obey. The message consistently urges active trust: step where God prompts, prepare by purifying the heart, and expect God to make a way for others to follow.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Take one faithful step Small, explicit obedience clarifies God’s leading more than endless analysis. When the priests stepped into the Jordan, the action created a path for an entire nation; personal faith often becomes communal blessing. Choose one concrete act that aligns with Scripture and move. [48:17]
• 2. Consecrate before the next step Spiritual breakthroughs follow visible preparation: turn from hindering sin, purify motives, and ready the heart for what God will do next. Consecration protects the move of God from being misread as mere enthusiasm and aligns desire with God’s promises. Make holiness a practical precursor to risk. [47:30]
• 3. Discipleship multiplies ordinary lives Investing time in one person transforms neighborhoods and workplaces over years, not instantly. Coaching believers to lead Bible studies and share stories equips them to reproduce spiritual formation in contexts where titles don’t matter. Prioritize patient relationships over programs. [34:55]
• 4. Trust God in unexpected outcomes Loss, surprise diagnoses, and failed plans can redirect toward surprising fruit when anchored in God’s Word. Psalm-shaped trust reframes fear into gratitude and opens the door for new ministry pathways that wouldn’t exist otherwise. Let hardship deepen dependence, not despair. [56:23]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:42] - Family & Navigators Introduction
• [33:21] - Vision for 2026: Share and Disciple
• [34:55] - Twenties Group: Gather to Scatter
• [36:16] - Campus Partnerships and Coaching
• [36:52] - Encounter with Skip: A Conversion Story
• [38:16] - Marriage Counseling and Relationships
• [39:22] - Joshua 3: How God Speaks
• [47:30] - Consecrate: Prepare for God’s Work
• [50:56] - Early Testimony: 2002 Calling Letter
• [55:46] - Stepping into Full-Time Ministry
• [56:23] - Naomi: Trusting Through Hardship
• [70:13] - Drawer Analogy: Let God In
• [73:19] - Closing Application and Prayer

Bible reading
Joshua 3:1-17 (ESV)
*Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. When the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.” So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.*

Observation questions

1. What specific instruction did Joshua give the people before they crossed the Jordan River?
2. What did God say would happen when the priests' feet touched the water?
3. What role did the priests play in the crossing of the Jordan?
4. How does the sermon describe the relationship between taking a step of faith and God making a way for others? [50:19]

Interpretation questions

1. Why was consecration necessary before God performed wonders among the people?
2. What does it mean for believers today to "consecrate themselves" before taking a step of faith? [47:30]
3. How does the act of the priests stepping into the river illustrate the relationship between faith and action?
4. In what ways can a personal step of faith create a pathway for others to follow God? [50:19]

Application questions

1. What is one specific area where you feel God prompting you to take a step of faith this week? How can you share this with someone who can pray with you about it? [01:01:56]
2. Is there any "drawer" in your life - relationships, work, hobbies, or habits - that you've been keeping closed off from God? What would it look like to open that area to Him today? [01:10:13]
3. What practical step could you take to "consecrate yourself" - whether turning from sin, purifying motives, or preparing your heart - before God does something new in your life? [47:30]
4. Who is one person in your everyday life (work, neighborhood, or activities) that you could begin investing in through simple acts of care and sharing God's love? [33:21]
5. When has God used an unexpected circumstance or difficulty in your life to deepen your trust in Him? How can that experience encourage you in current challenges? [56:23]
6. What's one thing you need to let go of - whether entertainment, habits, or attitudes - that might be hindering your ability to hear God clearly and follow Him fully? [01:11:18]
7. How can you take what you're learning in Bible studies or church gatherings and scatter it into your daily contexts where people need to encounter Jesus? [34:55]