Beginnings

The seeds of a vision for Josiah Venture were sown in Germany in 1989 among a group of American youth pastors who were ministering on U.S. military bases in Western Europe. The sweeping changes that followed the removal of the Berlin Wall in 1989 opened new doors of ministry to Eastern Europe as the region became accessible for summer missions projects. Teams of youth went first to Hungary, and then to Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia. In spite of forty years of communist oppression they found an unexpected openness to the gospel.

A new generation of young people were hungry for truth and anxious to chart a new course. Soon it became obvious that more than short term work was necessary. In 1992, three couples made initial 10 year commitments to help local churches in Eastern Europe reach young people for Christ.

In June, 1993, they entered into strategic partnerships with Sonlife Ministries and International Teams. Sonlife Ministries gave permission to adapt their training materials to the needs of Eastern Europeans, and International Teams provided the organizational infrastructure needed to support the work. The partnership took on the name “Josiah Venture” in honor of the godly Jewish king whose devotion to the Word of God brought revival to an entire nation while he was still in his teens.

In November of 1993, the first two Josiah Venture couples moved into Czech and Poland and began learning the language and training youth leaders. Later, teams moved into Slovenia , Estonia, Latvia, and Romania. By the fall of 2001 the work had outgrown the original structure, and the leadership recognized the need to open the way for expanded growth. In January of 2002, Josiah Venture was launched as a mission organization, with administrative offices in Wheaton, Illinois.

During this reorganization, Siet, a similar ministry functioning for ten years in Slovakia under the leadership of Reach Out Ministries, joined Josiah Venture. In 2003 a Serbian organization joined, marking the first fully indigenous partner in Josiah Venture. Today, Josiah Venture has partner organizations in seven countries of Eastern Europe, and staff in another three countries.