Bill Tell

I am a National Staff Development Specialist with The Navigators. This means I specifically focus on developing our young leaders. In my forty three years on staff with The Navigators, this is the best job I have had since starting out as a new staff and leading The Nav collegiate ministry at the University of Illinois at Urbana from 1972 – 1981. I love it!!

From 1982 – 1988 I served as the Navigator State Director for IL and was involved in the student ministry at Bradley University. In 1988 we moved the family to Sacramento, CA where I directed the Nav ministry in California and the Pacific Northwest. I assumed the role of Associate U.S. Collegiate Director in 1991, then joined that National Leadership Team in 1998 serving as the U.S. Student Ministry Director.

I then served as a Vice President of The Navigators for 13 years before sensing God’s call back to direct field ministry and helping people live in the reality of gospel freedom.

Sue and I have been married for 43 years. We first met as students at Hope College in Holland, MI. Sue was an elementary education major and I was a chemistry major. After graduation Sue taught school for a couple of years and I attended seminary. Sue and I co-authored Well-Versed Kids.

We have two grown sons, two awesome daughter-in-laws and five fantastic grandchildren. A golden retriever is also a part of the mix.

It was while I was serving as Vice President that I took a years sick leave to deal with severe burn-out and a deep and dark time of depression. I tell the story of this time in my book "Lay it Down –Living in the Freedom of the Gospel." It was during these days that I began to take new footsteps through the gospel and discovered a new gospel-freedom I never knew could be mine. I had been trapped in people pleasing and held captive by my shame. Discovering and experiencing this incredible good news of the gospel proved to be a major turning point in both my life and ministry and it is this good news that shapes this book.