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September 1, 2014

Kids that are Making a Real Difference

Dear Friends,

I can still remember the anguished wails of our son Caleb the first day we dropped him off for preschool as a four-year-old. It wasn’t just being away from Mom and Dad that overloaded his emotions, it was the fact that no one in the school spoke English, and he still didn’t know Czech. Like our other kids, he learned by total immersion and then faced the challenge of studying all of his subjects in a foreign language until he graduated 13 years later.

School starts this month, and for the 37 JV kids who are old enough to attend, this brings a particular challenge. Imagine bringing homework home and finding that your parents are no help at all or showing up the first day of school to find that everyone else brought the teacher flowers -and delivered them with the blooms facing down, of course.

European schools are challenging. They emphasize rote memory and random tests where any student can be called to the front and questioned in front of the entire class. These challenges are even greater when you come from a different culture and speak a different language at home.

So why is every one of our JV third culture kids in national schools? We believe they can do it and are convinced that the challenge will develop resilience and character. Even more importantly, we are convinced that every member of the family is called to be a missionary. These kids are “sent” to their local schools, to be salt and light and a witness to Jesus.

They make a real difference. Each of our three kids led classmates to the Lord – some of whom are headed into ministry today. In one youth group in Slovenia, they discovered that all of the new believers who came to Christ last year had been led to faith by kids of our JV missionaries!

Educational experts say we grow best in an environment that offers both significant challenge and substantial support. That is where you come in. Would you pray in a special way this month for the JV kids who are attending national schools?

Thanks for supporting our youngest missionaries.

Dave Patty,
President, Josiah Venture

Dave Patty President

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A Family Matters

How does a young man with no believing relatives come to faith in Christ? “Family on mission” is a phrase you will often hear on the Josiah Venture team. We teach our staff that a missionary call involves all members of their family, children included. Serving together with different gifts reflects the family cooperation we see in the Trinity and the early church. Lauren first met Ondra when he showed up for Fusion practice at her local church in Frydlant, Czech Republic. For over 12 years Lauren has faithfully reached out to High school students through this innovative JV ministry called Fusion, which uses the context of a rock/gospel choir to build community and introduce young people to Christ. Several years ago, the ministry went through a drop in numbers and was primarily attracting girls. Then, Lauren’s son Toby, who had just entered high school, began recruiting his friends. Toby’s confidence and enthusiasm were contagious and soon Fusion was full of energetic boys. Since Ondra was Toby’s best friend, he was one of the first to join. Toby openly shared his faith with his friend, but Ondra was cautious and not particularly interested. However, another influence began to soften his heart. Lauren teaches English part-time at Toby and Ondra’s high school in Frydlant, and was asked to be a part of a team to build student life at the school. One of their activities is a student-led retreat called “Catch It,” where the believing students have an opportunity to share their faith in God with their non-believing friends. In the past there have often been only 20-30 students at this event, but this year over 120 signed up. Ondra heard testimonies from his friends, but, more importantly, he could observe the change that faith in Jesus had made in their lives. His heart began to soften. Toby’s dad, Petr, leads the construction of our Malenovice training center in Czech, and also serves as an elder in the local Frydlant church. The elders encouraged one of the younger leaders to start a Bible study for seekers and invited Ondra. Trust had been built through all the family connections, and Ondra began attending. Since the study was on Sunday morning before church, it was only natural to stay for the service. At this point, Ondra still hadn’t put his faith in Christ. The final step of spiritual rebirth happened at the evangelistic camp JV led with the Frydlant church in July. The night the gospel was shared, Ondra went through the labyrinth, an experiential opportunity for students to respond to the claims of Christ, and, at the end, prayed with a counselor to put his faith in Jesus. Two days later, Ondra gave personal testimony of his repentance and faith in front of the entire church. When I asked Ondra about the impact his best friend had on his life, he responded by exclaiming, “Toby rocks his faith. He really puts it out there. At just 16, he led our discussion group—by himself. He is such an inspiration to me—how 100 percent sure he is. There is nothing that could change his mind.” “Family on mission.” A mom who is leading Fusion and organizing gospel events at their local high school. A dad who is serving as an elder and building the facilities where these outreach events are held. A son who “rocks his faith” and is not afraid to let his friends know. The Holy Spirit used all of these influences to draw a young man to himself. Thanks for making it possible for the Josiah Venture team to be family on Mission. Now you can look forward to meeting Ondra in heaven. Dave Patty President, Josiah Venture
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Dear Friends, “I am sending you.” —Jesus At the end of January, I spent a week with 52 new Josiah Venture missionaries at our winter Academy. Talking with them at meals and in training sessions, I was overwhelmed with the quality and passion of this next generation of missionaries. Let me briefly tell you a few of their stories. Klemen (Slovenia) trusted Christ at 16 years of age when his best friend—the son of JV missionaries—shared the gospel with him on a napkin and challenged him to put his faith in Jesus. With so few evangelical believers in Slovenia, Klemen experienced rejection from his friends and is still the only believer in his extended family. Because of his heart for young people, Klemen studied physical science and became a PE teacher but was so outspoken about his faith that the principal didn’t extend his contract. At that point, our JV staff challenged him to join the team, and he experienced God’s call into full-time ministry. Now, he is helping local churches develop outreach programs to reach the lost. Klemen’s vision? That 30% of Slovenia would become followers of Jesus. Gabriel (Romania) grew up in a Christian home as the son of a pastor. At a youth camp when he was 16, Gabe put his faith in Christ. From that point on, he spent all of his free time serving in church. He experienced God’s call into ministry at 18 and spent the next four years in theological study. However, as is typical in Romania, his church was very traditional and inward-focused. When he began to lead the youth group, there were just five attending—all from Christian families. Then, some members of the JV Romania team began to train Gabe on how to reach the lost using the tool of Fusion, a rock/gospel choir that builds community through music. Soon, the entire culture of the youth group was transformed, and unbelievers were drawn in, inviting more of their friends and coming to faith in Christ. The youth group grew to 100 in a church with just 200 members, and the entire community was impacted. Now Gabe has joined the JV team to equip other churches like his to reach the lost. “I would love for all the churches in Romania to experience this,” he said, “that the church can have an impact on the outside and share the gospel in a relevant way. That would change our country.” Kendra (Ukraine) is a second-generation JV missionary, raised on the mission field. After her graduation from Wheaton college in Illinois, she responded to God’s call to serve in a very challenging location—near the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, in the midst of war. It is a dangerous assignment for a young woman, but Kendra feels privileged to bring the light of Jesus to young people in the midst of physical darkness and great uncertainty. She learned the Ukrainian language in just 6 months, and is now experiencing open doors for ministry across her entire city. God is using her bold faith to draw many to himself. I can’t wait to see what God will do through these committed young missionaries! They can be sent because you stand with them through your prayers and generous support. Thank you. Dave Patty President, Josiah Venture
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Events, Stories

The Right Learning for the Right Person at the Right Time

Stop and think about the times in your life when you grew the most. What were you doing? What were the circumstances? What did you feel? What were you excited about, and what were you worried about? When I look back on my own life, I notice a pattern. Growth usually happens when the challenge in front of us is outside of our comfort zone or outside of our skill level. It happens when we’re stretched. I remember learning this in a very tangible way in college. I took a class called Experiential Learning, and, throughout the semester, we worked through various team-building exercises. At the end of the course, we went to a ropes course, which culminated in a challenge known as the “Pamper Pole”—a towering 10-meter telephone pole. The challenge was to climb to the top, stand on a tiny platform, and then leap to grab a trapeze bar. My professor had seen me go through most of the challenges fairly easily. 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Those early years were full of trial and error. We made countless mistakes and learned by trying something, realizing it didn’t work, and trying again. Over time, the Lord shaped us and grew us, but the learning curve was long. Some of the lessons we needed most came through hard seasons, and they didn’t come quickly. The Josiah Venture Winter Academy was established to help provide the resources necessary to give our staff a foundation for healthy, effective ministry that lasts, grounded in Christ’s strategy, and strengthened by shared language, practical tools, and a community that helps them grow through every season. This year, we gathered 52 Josiah Venture staff at our training center in Malenovice, Czech Republic, for a week of discussion, connection, and spiritual encouragement. Every staff member has the opportunity to participate in Winter Academy within their first year on the team (Year 1 track) and again within their second year (Year 2 track). At its core, Winter Academy is about helping our staff build a foundation that will serve them for the long haul, so they can be steady and fruitful through the ups and downs of ministry. Ministry is full of seasons. There are times of blossoming, when the work feels joyful and full of momentum, and there are times of drought, when setbacks and discouragement threaten to parch the soul. Some seasons even hold those highs and lows at the same time. Jeremiah 17:7–8 reads: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” These verses don’t deny hardship; they assume it. But it also points us to the keys to long-term fruitfulness: staying rooted and drawing consistently from the resources we have in Christ. Winter Academy was created to help staff establish those roots early. We wanted to shorten the learning curve so that new staff would be prepared for the obstacles they would inevitably face, and so they could respond with bold faith, with wisdom drawn from best practices across the team, and with perseverance, knowing they would have a team standing with them. Year 1 focuses on the path of a growing disciple. Our first-year staff get grounded in who we are as Josiah Venture and how Christ’s strategy shapes everything we do. They also learn the Five Challenges of Christ in a way that moves beyond theory into real life and real ministry. Year 2 is focused on ministry coaching through the Five Phases. Year 2 builds on that discipleship foundation and helps our staff grow in how they serve and multiply through others. Participants learn how to evaluate ministry health and direction as well as practice coaching conversations that help leaders take meaningful next steps. Once our staff complete Winter Academy (Years 1 and 2), we want them to know three things with certainty: I am not alone. I know who to turn to for help. I look to Jesus as my model for ministry. We’re grateful for what God has done through Winter Academy over the years, and we invite you to join us in praying that this event continues to deepen roots, strengthen faith, and produce fruit that lasts.