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February 5, 2018

I Am Sending You

It must have been exhilarating to be in that room. The air had to be charged with awe and anticipation. The disciples joyously hanging on every word. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

The night Jesus first appeared to the apostles after rising from the dead, John 20:21 says he sent them. Christ’s great commission to go into the world and make disciples of all nations was a mandate he reminded them of often. It was their calling; what they were created to do. What would bring them purpose and direction in life.

He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Even then, it was promised they wouldn’t go alone. It must have been both humbling and faith-building to be there then.

We don’t have the privilege of being present that night when the early disciples gathered. But last week, I stood in a room with around 30 nationals committed to making disciples who make disciples here in Central and Eastern Europe. Having just gone through JV’s national orientation at our Winter Academy, these new staff members were ready to go home to their local churches and ministries to equip young people to fulfill Jesus’ call to baptize, teach, and obey.

We stood in a circle during worship and there was an air of awe and anticipation as the worship leader invited us individually to enter the middle of the circle. Once someone had, we laid hands on them and said, “And the church says, ‘I am sending you.’” We did this for everyone in the room and were reminded just how significant Christ’s words that night long ago were.

He Is Sending You

I think it’s safe to say that people doubt their callings all the time. It is one thing to know what the Bible states as Jesus’ mission for us, it’s quite another to personally enter into it with him.

For some JV missionaries, being sent by Christ means moving across the ocean to a foreign place, leaving friends and family behind, struggling to learn a new language and culture, and daily needing to ask others for help.

For the ⅔ of our JV missionaries who are nationals, accepting his call entails being willing to stand out even in their own cultures and countries, where being in full-time ministry is radically different from the norm. It means trusting God to provide support, risking being misunderstood or rejected by loved ones, and boldly sharing the message of Jesus with young people who need to hear it.

You don’t have to be a missionary though to step up and live out your call. Christ clearly sent the disciples to pursue a life of faithful service to him in Scripture. Today, if you’re a follower of him, he’s sent you as well. It’s going to take sacrifice. You’ll need help. The world will view you as radical. But running after Jesus with everything you’ve got and inspiring others to do that too is what you were created for. And the one who made you is the one who said, “I am sending you.”

You Can Send Others

As we see in Acts, the disciples took this call from Jesus seriously. After Christ ascended back into heaven, they committed to spreading his good news wherever they went and ended up making numerous other disciples and sending them out to do the same.

One of the most powerful things for me about being in the room with the nationals last week was the realization that as part of the body of Christ, we don’t just get to be sent, we have also been given the authority by Jesus to send others. We get to say “I am sending you.” With these words, we speak purpose and direction into each other’s lives.

That is what the group of new JV nationals were sent out from that room to do. Joining the rest of the Josiah Venture team, they are working with this mission in mind: to equip young leaders across the region to live out Jesus’ calling on their lives through the local church.

Our hope is that wherever you are, you feel the excitement of being sent by Christ to send out others to live for him as well. Because no matter what room you’re in, “I am sending you” is a phrase that’s exhilarating to hear.

Please pray for our new national staff members as they go and make disciples who make disciples around Central and Eastern Europe. And check out our Opportunities page if you think God may be calling you to come and make disciples with us.

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Sajmir just wanted to belong. As the youngest son in a Muslim family of eight children, he was expected to serve everyone. Sajmir’s family was oppressed in Albania because they were dark skinned Gypsies. On top of that, during the difficult time after the revolution, his father began drinking and beating his mother. “My father never beat me,” Sajmir said, “but he never showed me love. He never hugged me or kissed me. I never saw a father figure. I was afraid of him. Also, outside in the city, people were not very close to me. I spent most of my time alone, playing soccer alone, or basketball alone.” There was only one soccer field in his village, and when Sajmir tried to join a game, the other kids would kick him out. One day, a group came toward the field and Sajmir began to back away, sure they would ask him to leave. “Will you play with us?” they asked. “You want to play with me?” Sajmir replied. For the first time in his life, someone invited him in. After the game, they invited him to church. “What is a church?” he said. Running home, he asked his parents if he could go. “Don’t go to church,” they answered sternly, “you will shame us.” But the next day was Sunday, and he snuck out when no one was looking. “When I stepped into the church, at the door, someone gave me a hug for the first time in my life,” Sajmir said. “They put me in the first row. I felt like a celebrity. Then I heard the story that someone loves you just as you are, that is, Jesus—as I was, dark skinned, rejected. But still, there is someone who died for me.” “I ran and told my family, but their response was: ’If you go one more time, we will tell your brother to beat you up.’ I went again. My brother beat me up. For three months, I was beaten every week. I was loved and accepted in church, while suffering and being beaten in my family. Then my mom said, ‘Let him go.’” Filled with joy, Sajmir fell on his knees and said, “God, I will serve you wherever you want me to.” That was 25 years ago, and today Sajmir and his family are part of our Josiah Venture team in Albania. Through youth ministry, he recently planted a church called “Mosaic,” which has grown to over 100 people. Every day, young people come after school and in the evening for tutoring, children’s meetings, youth meetings, small groups, discipleship groups, and a very lively Fusion choir. The church is open every day, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, and there is always something happening. “Our building is a daily home for everyone; it’s a family,” says Sajmir. “I always remember what God did for me in my youth. My heart is burning to see more young people come to Christ and find that they are loved and belong.” During this Advent season, we remember how Jesus left his home to make a home for us. He was sent to find us, where we play our games alone, and to invite us into his family. He found Sajmir, and you, and me. Thanks for helping us share this good news with young people who are still without a home. Dave Patty President, Josiah Venture