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May 18, 2018

Fingerprints and Footsteps - JV's Israel Trip

I found myself stumbling along in a dark tunnel with 20 other willing JV participants. Wading through ankle-deep water, with only our cell phone flashlights beaming in the dark, we braved Hezekiah’s Tunnel, weaving our way under Jerusalem finishing at the pool of Siloam. Our shoulders touched the sides of the tunnel and the low ceiling made for a claustrophobic journey.

For a number of years, Josiah Venture has embarked on trips to Israel with the purpose of instilling and defining the JV heartbeat into the team: make disciples who make disciples. As missionaries serving with JV, my husband and I were lucky enough to go this year. Disciples who make disciples is the DNA of the kingdom. And we see it everywhere in Josiah Venture. In every program and in our mission statement: “to equip young leaders to fulfill Christ’s commission through the local church.” It’s a fingerprint of Josiah Venture.

How better to equip young leaders in the mission of making disciples than to physically take JV missionaries to walk in the footsteps of the Master Discipler. Being in Israel was enlightening and encouraging as we sat in scripture, hearing lessons taught by Dave Patty (JV’s president), in the places where events might have actually happened.

Sitting in God’s Presence Gives God’s Agenda

At one point, I found myself thinking about God’s agenda while walking on Jericho road in the wilderness in Palestine. Dave had just taught about the value of withdrawing to the Father’s presence to return to our mission on the Father’s agenda. Standing in silence, feeling a slight breeze under the hazy skies, got me wondering just how Jesus did that in the wilderness.

The Father’s agenda included one-on-one work that trained his followers to be disciples who make disciples. The hallmark of any thriving ministry today, I was personally challenged to make more time to get in God’s presence, actively seeking his agenda.

Disciple-Making with Our Eyes on Jesus

Part of God’s agenda is to make disciples who make disciples, which happens while we keep our eyes on Jesus. When we spent a few days in the Galilee region, we thought about Peter sinking when he tried to walk on water, and reflected on the necessity of staying focused on Jesus. It helped me to realize that this is the “engine of a God-movement” as Dave talked about.

When I take my eyes off Jesus, my ministry and everyday actions are about me. The success and failures become a reflection of my self-worth and I no longer participate in God’s plan, but uphold my own agenda. Motives and ministry twist and the mission and vision become dark. Keeping my eyes on Jesus is the light for myself and for the ministry God has placed before me. Christ’s faithfulness to me continues to turn my head in the right direction.

Christ’s Faithfulness That Swallows Up Failures

Yet, sometimes we get distracted and our eyes feast on our circumstances and not Jesus. We are faced with our failures.

It’s God’s faithfulness that prevails in spite of my feeble attempt to make disciples and when I fail, his faithfulness prevails. While in Jerusalem, visiting the house of Caiaphas and Garden of Gethsemane brought the reality of human failures to life. Peter, Caiaphas, Judas, and many more failed Jesus and yet Jesus was faithful to God’s agenda.

We sang with our group “How Great Thou Art” in the house of Caiaphas where Jesus was held captive and endured torture before the cross. We sat in the courtyard where the rooster crowed reminding Peter of his failure. We took great hope in Christ’s unwavering faithfulness, which breathes new life into our ministries and redeems all our failures.

I am still unpacking truths from this trip that are making a difference in my day to day efforts of being a disciple maker. Realities are sinking in and taking root as I invest in the lives of others. I am holding onto truths and pressing onward, while staying connected to the faith-filled realities I find in the person of Jesus.

Making disciples who make disciples can feel like walking through Hezekiah’s long, dark tunnel. Sometimes I’m stumbling through claustrophobic places that make me uncomfortable. I can’t see in front of me, but I keep my eyes on Jesus who gives me the Father’s agenda and swallows up my failures with his faithfulness.

Are you walking through the dark tunnels of life while making disciples who make disciples? What does it look like for you to keep your eyes on Jesus and to lead others to do the same? How has Christ’s faithfulness swallowed up your failures?

Dave Patty, President, Josiah Venture

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Discipleship, Evangelism, Stories

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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
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You’re Not Alone in the Battle

When you’re used to leading, serving, and pouring into others, what happens when you suddenly can’t? What happens when the person who normally encourages everyone else wakes up and realizes she has nothing left to give? That’s where I found myself last year. I’m naturally a driven person. I love to see progress—to watch people grow, ministries flourish, and God’s work move forward. But last year, right before a major conference I had been preparing for—a mental health summit for nearly 700 youth leaders and church leaders—everything stopped. I got sick, and my normal pace of life vanished overnight. Suddenly, I couldn’t do what I thought I had to do. At first, I tried to stay positive, to find purpose in the pause. I told myself God was teaching me patience, humility, or to delegate better. But underneath those thoughts, a more dangerous narrative started to form: “God is disappointed in you.” “You’re not strong enough.” “You’re failing as a leader.” “Maybe God is holding back because you don’t deserve his help.” Those are the kinds of lies that can take root quietly—and quickly. It’s the same old whisper the enemy used in the Garden: “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). The serpent’s goal was never just to tempt Eve; it was to make her question God’s heart. And he still uses that same strategy today. He wants us to believe that God is distant, that we’re alone, unseen, and unloved. I’ve seen this pattern not only in my life, but in the lives of so many young people and leaders I’ve walked with. The moment things get hard—disappointment, exhaustion, relational conflict, failure—the enemy twists the truth. He tells us we’re forgotten, that our prayers don’t matter, and that no one really understands. And slowly, we start to isolate ourselves. But isolation is one of his most effective weapons. Once we withdraw, our vision blurs. We stop hearing the truth clearly. We start interpreting everything through the lens of fear, shame, and self-pity. Even Scripture is full of people who felt this same ache. David cried, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted” (Psalm 25:16). Elijah, after a great victory, ran into the wilderness and said, “I have had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). Job sat surrounded by friends who misunderstood him. And even Jesus—our Savior—experienced complete abandonment in Gethsemane and on the cross. Loneliness and lies are not new, but neither is God’s response to them. In my own season of weakness, when I couldn’t find the strength to pray, others prayed for me. When I felt unseen, people showed up with meals, with text messages, and with quiet presence. Even my unbelieving neighbors said, “We think someone up there cares about you.” That was God reminding me: You are not forgotten. You are not alone. The truth is, the Body of Christ was never meant to function in isolation. Strength in God’s kingdom doesn’t mean independence—it means connection. It means letting others carry you when you can’t walk and trusting that God is at work even when you can’t see progress. This experience also helped me recognize a pattern: the enemy always attacks identity and connection first. He wants to disconnect us from God’s truth and from God’s people. But the way we stand firm is by returning to both. When I start to spiral now—when I believe I have to prove my worth or carry everything alone—I stop and remind myself of what’s true. I reach out to trusted friends and ask for prayer. I ground myself in simple spiritual and physical practices that bring me back to reality: breathing deeply, reading a psalm, or stepping outside to notice beauty. These small moments become declarations of faith. Romans 11:33-36 says, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” That verse anchors me. I don’t have to understand everything; I just have to trust the one who does. Maybe you’re in a similar place right now. Or maybe you’re walking with young people who feel lost, invisible, or stuck in lies about who they are. The battle is real, but so is our victory in Christ. So, here’s my invitation to you: Would you take a moment to pray—for yourself, for your friends, and for the next generation—that we would recognize the lies of isolation, stand firm in truth, and live connected as the Body of Christ? You’re not alone in the battle. And neither are they.
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Events

The Battle behind the Battle

We are not living in stable times. A short glance at the daily news can quickly ruin your day. Difficult wars in Ukraine and Gaza seem to defy solutions; assassinations and unrest in the United States tear at the fabric of society. Financial instability, polarizing debates in politics, and deep tensions between powerful nations make the future uncertain. I’m sure each of us could add a list of challenges even closer to home, in our work, with family, or at church. In light of these tenacious conflicts, the words of Paul in Ephesians seem out of place. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” Each of the battles I mentioned involves people with flesh and blood, and visible attacks that have real physical consequences. What does he mean when he says, “we do not”? Paul continues his argument with these words: “…but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Here is the truth he wants us to understand. Paul points us to an unseen world that is more significant than the one we see. Spiritual beings and forces of darkness are actively working to thwart the purposes of God. There is a “battle behind the battle”— a fight that has more profound and more eternal consequences than any political conflict. We are called to enter this struggle with the armor of God, “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Last month, we gathered 370 of our team and close partners from 22 nations at our training center in Malenovice, Czech Republic, for four days of being equipped for this very fight. Our theme was “Victorious – Equipped for the Battle, Anchored in Christ.” We focused on three main skills of an effective warrior: “See the unseen world, Stand in the authority of Christ, and Fight with weapons of power.” No matter how confusing and discouraging the visible battle may be, we know that Jesus is always more powerful than the forces of darkness, and he can accomplish his purposes even in the most difficult of times. In fact, he often turns what the enemy meant for evil into good if we submit to his will and stay obedient to his call. As I stood worshiping in a tent full of gifted young leaders, all contending in faith for the next generation, my heart was filled with gratitude for God’s movement here in Central and Eastern Europe. Thousands have put their faith in Christ because of their bold witness, and churches are being renewed all across the region through the leaders they equip. The daily news is still very confusing. But the spiritual news is that the Lamb has conquered, and the Lion of Judah is on the move. Thanks for joining us in the fight, Dave Patty President, Josiah Venture