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March 8, 2018

Bold Faith

Support raising, moving, learning a new language, dealing with cultural differences, sharing the gospel, letting go of worldly things, investing in kingdom work.

There is no doubt, it is a challenge for Josiah Venture staff members to commit to full-time ministry. Stepping into who God has made you to be and what he’s asking you to do is never easy. In fact, the path often looks foggy; the ground shaky. That is why bold faith is one of our organization’s five core values.

Here are some of our JV missionaries on what bold faith means to them and what it looks like in their lives.

What does having bold faith look like?

“When I have bold faith, I step boldly into something that I can not accomplish in my own strength. I am putting myself in a complete dependence, where if God doesn’t show up I am in trouble. It is being willing to be in over my head, completely surrendered and utterly dependent. It is knowing that God’s goodness is unchanging, no matter what the outcome. It is praising God now as if it has already been accomplished.” – Juliana Law, Ukraine

“For me, bold faith is being willing to put your hand up, like Isaiah, and say ‘Here I am, Lord, send me’ even if you know that decision will bring into question everything people know about you. The boldest faith decisions I’ve had to face caused people around me to question not only my decision-making, but their own. My bold faith has caused many moments of feeling alone and unsupported by even those closest to me, and yet I can look back at those same decisions and know they were the very best expressions of bold faith and obedience to God.” – Scott Molvar, heading to Croatia

How do you trust God when you feel like everything around you is shakable?

“How I trust God when everything feels shaky around me, is to remember and to expect…to remember the basic bedrock truths about God that my life is built on: that he is sovereign, that he is good, and that he loves me; to remember specifically how he’s led and provided for me in the past; to remember how he’s spoken directly to my need and to my heart through his Word in sync with my circumstances and my community. And then to expect that he continues to love and care for me, and is currently working for my good and his glory even when I can’t see it; to expect him to speak to me by watching for him to “show up” with his guidance, comfort, conviction, presence. I have found him to be an amazingly present and gracious God, and just yesterday he reminded me right when I needed it that he is the one who sustains and restores (Ps.41) and daily bears our burdens (Ps.68).” – Brenda Nickerson, Canada

“People change, but God doesn’t. God is not shakable. So if we invest in getting to know who God really is by learning more about his character, and if we recall what he has already done in our lives, we can freely trust in him.” – Pavlina Bujokova, Czech Republic

What have you seen God do when you have taken steps of bold faith?

“God loves bold faith and never ceases to amaze me in allowing me to see more of him when I boldly trust in his promises. God is doing such amazing and miraculous things everywhere I look, and in bold faith I get to see and somehow be a part of his agenda. When I have taken steps of bold faith, more of myself dies and more of Christ increases. I kick and scream at dying to self, but as soon as I do the lights turn on and I’m absolutely blown away by God and what he can do with such little faith of mine.” – Caleb Patty, heading to Albania

Why is bold faith necessary for you as a Christian?

“Without bold faith, we turn our lives into comfortable Christian bubbles. There is no challenge, there is no room for new people, and there we don’t need to trust God. In this bubble, we know everything we need to know about God and we slowly stop saying truth to each other, because it may cause conflict and discomfort. Eventually, we just walk away from commandments Jesus left us and we have our own Christian good-people-club. Jesus challenges us to have bold faith. If we don’t see it, we might not be listening to what Jesus is saying to us.” – Inguna Raudina, Latvia

“Our commision for King Jesus is to go into all nations and to make disciples under the authority of Jesus and his Holy Spirit. It is his movement. He’s the one providing open eyes and open ears to see and to hear the beauty of the gospel. If I’m just going to accomplish human stuff, that’s very weak. I can’t change Bulgaria. I can’t change even a city. I can’t change one person on my own might, on my own willpower or strength. I can’t. I can’t meddle in stuff of the heart. I can’t make a person believe something they won’t see without Christ opening their eyes. So, bold faith is absolutely necessary, because we believe that God is the one driving the movement.” – Peter Starkey, Bulgaria

What does bold faith mean for you?

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