Jim Downing

Jim Downing, beloved patriarch of The Navigators, went home to be with the Lord on February 13, 2018. He’d undergone surgery in recent weeks, and was unable to rally. He was known as Navigator #6, one of the first servicemen discipled by The Navigators founder Dawson Trotman.

The Navigators U.S. Director Doug Nuenke says, “Jim was an influence among us for walking with God and having our life’s work flow from our knowledge of the Word and walk with Christ. Jim has influenced me by being a man who finished well—with a spirit of humility and faith, not demanding influence but having influence because all see the character of Jesus in his life.”

Jim was born August 22, 1913, in Oak Grove, Missouri, a small community on the eastern outskirts of Kansas City. While his family moved around frequently during Jim’s early years, he spent most of his childhood in Plevna, Missouri, where his father owned the local hardware store. “At the time I left home in 1932, I had never lived in a house with indoor plumbing or electricity,” Jim said.

He joined the Navy at age 19, primarily because it seemed the best way for him to earn a living. “Down deep in my sneaking heart I had a suspicion God might have some design on my life, but, like Jonah, I felt that by going to sea I would get away from Him for another four years,” Jim said. He discovered God was waiting for him aboard the first ship he was assigned to, the USS West Virginia.

Jim’s shipmates introduced him to Dawson Trotman, who was just beginning to work among a small group of sailors in southern California, a ministry that would become known as The Navigators. “Through the combined influence of the five shipmates of mine whom Dawson had trained, I gave my life to Christ in April 1935,” Jim said, making him Navigator #6.

“My life’s ambition was changed when I became [Dawson’s] spiritual descendant. I had planned to attend law school and enter political office. After meeting Dawson, my life became all about availability to his Lord and mine.”

After seeing one of his Navigator friends quoting Scripture as he talked to a fellow sailor, Jim realized he, too, wanted to have key Bible verses committed to memory. He ordered a Scripture memory course from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago with 108 verses.