By: Lydia Rogers ~Campus News Editor~

The Xavier Navigators is a spiritual community on campus that welcomes all students regardless of how they practice their faith.
The club helps students grow in their relationship with God through a community of Christ- followers who can inspire each other to “seek heaven on earth and find hope through Jesus.”
The Navigators’ motto, “to Know Christ and to Make Him Known,” encourages students on campus not only to explore their own faith, but offer their support to fellow group members in their spiritual journey as well.
“The mission of Navs is to advance the gospel of Jesus and his Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost,” Navigators Campus Director and Guest Campus Minister Mark Bruner said.
The Navigators Christian Ministry was established in 1933 as an outreach for followers of Jesus Christ who wish to help others get to know him and grow in him as they navigate through life.
The Navigators came to Xavier in 1997 when Xavier student Mike Neuroth collaborated with Navigators staff member, Evan Griffin, from the University of Cincinnati. Neuroth, a Protestant, wanted to create a club that helped Protestants and Catholics grow in their faiths. Today, the organization still upholds that value.
“Navs helps provide a place for both Catholic and Protestant students to come and grow their faith together in a way that helps build relationships beyond doctrinal differences in the various branches of Christianity,” Bruner said.
The Navigators help students accomplish its mission of advancing the gospel of Jesus and his Kingdom by providing weekly faith building communities through small group Bible studies, weekly and occasional service opportunities, leadership training, individual mentoring, large group gatherings, social activities, summer faith-growing programs and multiple retreats each year.
“Also, we are focusing a lot of our service efforts on Norwood to help build bridges between the two communities and to help our student’s value investing in the community you live in,” Bruner said.
The club will be hosting a number of events throughout the Week of Welcome, including a volleyball tournament, an Orange Leaf frozen yogurt giveaway, ultimate frisbee on the soccer fields, a bonfire and a pancake giveaway.
Ultimately, the Navigators hope to benefit Xavier by giving students the opportunity to “join one another in our journey to understand God through the Christian tradition and become people who are authentic, hope-filled, trusting and extremely loving.”