Spiritual Climate

Dear Friends,

It is cold in the Baltics! Yesterday as I walked through the town of Tartu, Estonia I had to brace myself against a wind so bitter that it took my breath away. In the dead of winter this far north the sun only shines a few hours a day, and the ice buildup on the sidewalks looks like it will never melt away. This time of year it is hard to keep warm!

The spiritual climate is not much different. We walked by a huge brick Lutheran church over a hundred years old – where only 6-8 people gather to worship on a given Sunday. A recent study by the Billy Graham society found only 10,000 active Christians in this country of 1.3 million. Although empty cathedrals point to a rich spiritual heritage, today Estonia vies with the Czech Republic for the title of most atheistic nation on earth.

In the afternoon I met with a group of 15 young leaders to study the life of Christ. We looked at his commission to make disciples, and examined his first two days of ministry to see how he spent his time. We talked about how to be bold with the gospel, and the importance of faith and love. They shared their vision for reaching the next generation.

One young man told how he had put his faith in Christ after a JV English camp, and now was discipling other young people. Another had just finished his forestry degree, but was now dreaming of becoming a church planter. The oldest in the room was 25.

As we finished, a JV national missionary, Mart, pointed out the pictures on the wall. Two separate murals captured the faces of young people who had been baptized in his church during this last year. There were 14 of them all together, and their expressions showed the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ. All of them had been led to the Lord in their local youth ministry and are part of an innovative church plant that is reaching the next generation.

I walked back out into the bitter cold, but my heart was warm. In the midst of spiritual winter, a fire is burning in Estonia.

Thanks for helping us stoke the flame,

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture