An Investment That Pays – Big Time!

Eleven years ago, as a student, Danielle Clapper chose to spend 10 weeks of the summer investing in her relationship with God at The Navigators Summer Training Program (STP). “I’ve never regretted it,” she says. ”My relationship with Jesus grew like a weed.”

That summer, her team leader, Rachel, invested in her and two other girls. “I remember learning from her relationship with Jesus. As I watched, I learned to tackle the question of why God allows certain things to happen in life. It all comes back to who He has revealed Himself to be in the Bible—good, just, and unfailingly loving.

“Now, when I don’t understand something, I fall back on His character, as I learned to do that summer. That was also the first time I really caught a vision for discipleship, realizing that, if I chose to invest deeply in a few, who invested deeply in a few, the impact is exponential.”

Today, Danielle serves on Nav staff at the University of Colorado Boulder. Last summer, 11 years after she spent her summer with STP, Danielle was back at the same program as a staff member, meeting with two team leaders, Kate and Julia (pictured).

Julia later shared about Danielle’s influence on her. “I know my understanding of God is something that will always be growing and expanding, but I owe its foundation to my time spent learning from Danielle and reading with her from God’s Word. I am so thankful for the time I was given with her this summer because it will continue to have a lasting impact in my life for years to come!”

Danielle and Julia demonstrate what discipleship is all about—one person passing on what they’ve learned to those who will be faithful to pass it on to someone else (see 2 Timothy 2:2). It’s what Navigators like to call “generations of disciples.” From Rachel to Danielle to Julia. And only God knows where it will go from there.
To learn more about The Navigators 2015 Summer Training Programs, visit www.campusnavs.org/Get-Involved/Summer-Training-Programs.
The Navigators