For Korryn Shoge, Navigators Collegiate, one of her greatest joys is seeing college underclassmen choose to follow Jesus and grow in their dependence on Him. She sees them grow over the years into upperclassmen who make the most of opportunities to disciple freshmen by coming alongside them and helping them to know God better through prayer, Bible study, and everyday Life-to-Life® discipleship. This path of discipleship and investment is exemplified by two young women Korryn invested in at Penn State.
One of those women, Emily, reflected on her experience: “I got involved with a Navigators Bible study as a sophomore. I believed in God but had no understanding of Jesus and definitely not a personal relationship with Him. At that point in my life I was very self-reliant and rarely looked beyond myself for help.”
As Emily became friends with the women in her Bible study, she was impressed with the way other students expressed their dependence on God. She says, “When Danielle (one of the women in the group) was going through a hard semester, she was honest about her struggles with the group. After sharing, Danielle realized that she needed to depend on God rather than trying to manage life on her own. I didn’t understand this perspective—I wanted to tell Danielle that she was a capable woman, she didn’t need this ‘guy’! But everyone else in the study agreed with her. It made me wonder if there was more to Jesus and God than I understood.”
Several months later, Emily made the decision to follow Jesus with her whole life and put her dependence on God. “My exclusive self-reliance went out the window. I’m grateful that Danielle had such an impact on me, by teaching me early on the importance of humbling myself and relying on my Creator.”
Korryn shares how these two students matured spiritually over their college years: “As a senior, Danielle chose to be used by God as a resident assistant in a freshman dorm. Emily invested her time as a Navigator leader and began meeting with a freshman student, engaging in spiritual conversations and sharing the gospel. It is amazing each year to see how God uses those who have come to faith and are growing as disciplemakers to reach the next generation. I would not want to do anything else with my life! Life transformation is the best kind of reward as I watch God change the hearts and direction of people’s lives.”
Pray that many more students will choose to put their faith in Jesus and rely on God for everything in their lives. Pray that as students grow, they will become disciplemakers, investing in the next generation of students.
It was wonderful to come across your story on Navigators! I graduated from Penn State many years ago and wished I had come across Navigators and had the opportunity to take part in a Bible study as a student. I am part of a Bible study now and certainly value this experience.
Right on and wonderful!!