A Heart for the Nations in New York City
When you think of New York City, do you envision Central Park, the Macy’s Day parade, or maybe your favorite sitcom (one that implies you can work at a department store or coffee shop and afford to live a very full New York lifestyle)?
Having made her home in the heart of Times Square, Navigator Sarah Esselborn has come to see New York City in a different light, as God has given her His eyes for this city that He loves. Life in NYC seems to move at an overwhelming pace, and the streets hold harsh realities for many—it’s a city where the nations have come to live, a place in desperate need of the hope of the gospel. It’s also a city where workers for the Kingdom are being launched to places with potential for great influence—from Google, to Hollywood, to the local Starbucks—everyday.
As Navigator staff, Sarah is uniquely positioned to facilitate collaboration among various Navigator Missions. Splitting her time between Train – Develop – Care (TDC) and City ministry, Sarah serves on the City team for Staff Professional Development to equip and develop staff for lifelong disciplemaking while serving on the ground with the five different Missions present in NYC (Collegiate, International Student Ministry, Military and First Responder, Disciplemakers for Life, and Encore). Sarah can be found serving in a wide variety of ways, from helping with Fall Launch on her old Collegiate stomping grounds, to working alongside an everyday disciplemaker to lead 20s Ministry, to encouraging folks in her local church as they embrace the call of disciplemaking. In all of these ministry contexts, Sarah has found that her skills in development and coaching are incredible tools in God’s hands for the work of multiplying disciplemakers—making Christ known and helping others do the same.
Disciplemaking Through Coaching
“Does God love everyone equally?” Iman*, a Muslim student at NYU-Tandon, posed this question to Sarah during Fall Launch.
In many ways, Fall Launch week took Sarah right back to her days serving full-time in Collegiate. Just a few years later, Sarah gave this student a much different response than she would have back then. Instead of attempting to provide a clear-cut answer that would suddenly “fix” Iman’s doubts, Sarah leaned into her coaching skills, asking Iman: “What do you mean by ‘equally’?”
This open-ended question sparked a deep conversation; Sarah listened intently as Iman shared. During the conversation, the Holy Spirit revealed that Iman’s question about God’s love stemmed from her compassion for a wide range of people groups. Iman went on to express feeling “spiritually lost,” saying, “I’m exploring all of the gods right now.” Later on, Sarah approached one of the student leaders, a young woman Sarah had discipled in the past: “Have you shared The Bridge ™ with Iman?” Sarah asked. “No,” the student leader said, “but I’m going to next week.”
Sarah rejoiced to see this example of God at work through spiritual generations: “That’s how this student leader is becoming a disciplemaker. I discipled her years ago when I was working on that campus full-time. It’s cool to see the parts of people’s stories that God gives us to be in. I mean, the kindness of God, right? To bring me back so that I can see her growth. It’s just so cool that God has allowed me to see that. He doesn’t owe us that at all.”
Sarah brings practical training to Field leaders.
With a heart for staff development and attunement to daily rhythms of the Field, Sarah says: “I really think we in TDC have so much to offer the Field, and I think we have a duty and obligation to meet them where they’re at and bring practical resources to them.” God is working through Sarah and other staff as they meet fellow Navigators in the midst of their struggles, bringing training to them and making it relevant to their current needs. The goal is to make use of training and coaching resources to help disciplemakers “be who God has made them to be,” Sarah explains.
Disciplemaking Across Missions
Sarah’s position on the NYC City team has also allowed her to see what God can do through Missions when they work together. “We owe that to how our City leadership has knit the team together—which is no easy feat, because we technically live in the same city, but we could easily live an hour from each other!”
Sarah (left) with Rhoda Owuor (right), a key leader of the Disciplemakers Intensive in New York City
City Director Peter Trautmann and leaders that came before him have cultivated a shared vision to see New York City transformed by the gospel through cross-Missional collaboration—and they’re seeking to do so in a way that other Cities and Missions can replicate. Working together to build rhythms of connection into the year—like an annual Mission planning day, team-bonding events that gather staff, their families, and members of the broader community for fun and fellowship, monthly prayer calls for staff to share updates, and the Disciplemakers Intensive—has fostered this remarkable unity among NYC’s Missions. As we see in Romans 12, where members of the Church care for each other as members of the same Body, the different NYC Missions aim to support and provide for each other, asking questions like: If one Mission is suffering and needs momentum, what can we do to help? What resources can we share? What events are we already putting on that could bless and re-energize this other Mission?
Everyday Disciplemakers in Action
With one Collegiate staff working part-time and other staff spread across various contexts, the NYC City team is seeing God answer the prayer for more laborers through everyday disciplemakers.
Sarah (left) with Miranda (right), an everyday disciplemaker from the music industry who leads 20s Ministry in NYC.
Last year, the staff who was leading 20s Ministry in NYC brought an everyday disciplemaker from the music industry, Miranda, alongside her. When the staff member stepped down, Miranda stepped in to lead as a volunteer, with support from Sarah and the City team.
Anthony is another everyday disciplemaker who met The Navigators while studying at The University of Connecticut. Graduating with a software engineering degree and a heart for discipleship, he became part of the 20s Ministry in NYC. In 2022, he began volunteering with Collegiate at NYU-Tandon. Sarah reflects back on her season as interim campus director saying, “He was one of the biggest helps to me.”
Local churches are also getting on board: “We have a local church partnering with our Collegiate work at one campus in NYC and are exploring if this is a fruitful way forward!”
Lives Transformed by Jesus
Ultimately, it’s Jesus who is transforming New York City through Spirit-led, Life-to-Life® discipleship, as faithful disciplemakers encounter people from all nations and share gospel hope.
Sarah recalls a young Chinese student who wasn’t following Jesus at all when he came to NYU last year. He started hanging out around Navigators who patiently invested in his life over the course of the school year. When he came back to campus after summer break, he had read the entire Bible, completely captivated by the Word of God. Now, he’s one of the student leaders on campus. Within thirty minutes of meeting Sarah this fall, he told her: “My life has been totally transformed by God this year. I can’t believe what He did in my life—the things He’s freed me from.” Sharing in his joy, Sarah asked: “And who’s in your life that you could share this with?”
Sarah’s question models the turning point that is vital to our Navigator Calling. As Jesus exhorts the man healed in Mark 5, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19 ESV). This is how the gospel flows freely through relational networks, out into the nations.
*Name changed for privacy.