{"id":265454,"date":"2025-02-17T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=265454"},"modified":"2025-07-08T13:23:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:23:38","slug":"how-to-build-boldness-sharing-the-gospel-in-jacksonville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/how-to-build-boldness-sharing-the-gospel-in-jacksonville\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build Boldness: Sharing the Gospel in Jacksonville"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does it look like to step out of your comfort zone into bold faith<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past summer, 58 students from across the Mid America and Central Plains regions gathered in Jacksonville, Florida, for a life-changing experience with The Navigators Summer Training Program<\/a> (STP). For eight weeks, they not only received biblical and discipleship training, but were challenged to live out their faiths in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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58 students from across America gathered to learn about discipleship this past summer in Jacksonville, Florida.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For many, the summer wasn\u2019t just training \u2014 it was a transformation that changed their confidence in disciplemaking long after the STP ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning Theory Into Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Living in dorms at the University of North Florida, the students balanced full-time jobs with an intense discipleship curriculum. Between Bible studies, worship nights, speaker sessions, and one-on-one mentorship, they dug deeply into what it truly means to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery week, we\u2019d focus on a different topic, whether it was the Word, walking with Jesus, or what it means to have an identity in Christ,\u201d Navigator Cassidy Purdy says. Cassidy and her husband, Adam, were the STP directors for the summer and are full-time Navigators staff at Northwest Missouri State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturdays, however, discipleship theory turned into action. Armed with newfound skills and the Bridge to Life illustration<\/a>, students headed to the beach to evangelize \u2014 approaching strangers with the gospel and stepping far outside their comfort zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to give them reps to build their confidence, letting them see how God shows up and that they can actually share their faith,\u201d Cassidy says. \u201cComing into it, they were afraid, but when they left, it\u2019s what they were most thankful for. They saw how God met them in their fear, showing them that He is the God of the universe \u2014 and that includes Jacksonville Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Fear to Boldness: Stories of Transformation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This past summer, the students had over 700 gospel conversations with strangers. From those discussions, 22 people gave their lives to Christ and were connected with local churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne pair of students went out sharing and ended up leading a whole family to Christ,\u201d Cassidy explains. \u201cThe parents and the kids, too. It\u2019s so powerful, and now those students will have that story in their heads for the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one student, Ethan, sharing his faith on the beach led to a renewed heart for evangelism back home. At the beginning of the summer, Ethan was nervous about sharing his faith with strangers. After sharing his feelings with Adam, Adam gave him a challenge: \u201cDo it scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first day on the beach, Ethan was terrified. However, the Lord showed up, and Ethan ended up leading a man to Christ. \u201cEthan\u2019s whole attitude towards sharing his faith shifted after that,\u201d Cassidy says. \u201cHe realized that it could actually change people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethan went back to Northwest Missouri State University this fall semester after the STP with a new energy for sharing the gospel with his friends. Since then, he has led four guys on his cross country team to Christ. \u201cHe\u2019s now got this confidence that God can use him anywhere, and four men\u2019s eternities have been changed here at Northwest because of that,\u201d Cassidy says. \u201cIt\u2019s really powerful to see how his life looks so different from before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, another student, Karinne, has seen the ripple effects of her summer experience back at her university. Asked to be a team leader for the summer, Karinne accepted but didn\u2019t feel qualified for the leadership position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe felt like her whole life needed to be perfect, living up to the standards that she or someone else has set for her,\u201d Cassidy shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe explained that the reality of her work is defined by Jesus and not what she does, and that really sunk in for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she led women over the summer, her confidence grew as she discovered what it meant to lead from a place of weakness and submission to God\u2019s plan, not perfection. Now, she has taken that attitude back to her sorority at Northwest Missouri State University, and she has become an instrumental part of the women\u2019s ministry there.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe other girls want to follow her,\u201d Cassidy says. \u201cIt\u2019s so sweet because she is leading out of that place of weakness, finding her identity and worth in Christ instead of what she does. And now she\u2019s accepted a position with us on EDGE Corps<\/a>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Ripple Effect of Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The lessons the students learned at the Jacksonville STP will stick with them for the rest of their lives, impacting countless others along the way. For Cassidy, this group of special students is just a small example of how the younger generation is on fire for the Lord, representing the powerful ways the Lord is moving through them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see God doing awesome things in this generation of college students,\u201d she says. \u201cGen Z\u2019s desire to impact the world is so strong, and they want to make the world a better place. When you add following Jesus to that, the world will actually change. I want to fan the flames because God is going to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join The Navigators in praying for the next generation of believers, that the Lord continues to give them a heart for discipleship and reaching the lost \u2014 changing the world one campus at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discipleship Tip:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For many of the students at the Jacksonville STP, sharing their faith with strangers was uncomfortable, if not terrifying. However, we can all learn from Adam\u2019s advice to \u201cdo it scared.\u201d What fears are holding you back from discipling others? Consider how you can lean in further, instead of backing out when you are presented with an opportunity that makes you nervous.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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How to Prepare Your Personal Testimony<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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One of the most effective pathways to sharing the gospel is to tell your testimony to others. By sharing your experience with the Lord and how He has transformed your life, you can show others that God is active and there is hope in Christ! Are you new to sharing your testimony? Learn a couple helpful tips in our resource, How to Prepare Your Personal Testimony<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LEARN MORE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At The Navigators summer program, students stepped out in bold faith, sharing the gospel in Jacksonville. Read their powerful stories and how God is moving in this generation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_helpful_pro_status":1,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6337],"tags":[1483],"mission":[150],"topic":[46],"class_list":["post-265454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry-impact-stories","tag-disciple","mission-navigators-collegiate","topic-evangelism"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/021825-Article-Web.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"The Navigators","author_link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/staff\/thenavigators\/"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265454"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267155,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265454\/revisions\/267155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265454"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=265454"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=265454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}