Back

March 28, 2020

Keeping a Youth Group Going During COVID-19

DU & Bogdan Anton are from the country of Romania, where they live and work in the capital city of Bucharest. In spite of the fact that they cannot meet in person, they have come up with inspiring ideas on how to keep their youth group activities. Aliaj, the name of their group, which means alloy in Romanian, is all about how to stand stronger as a unit. An alloy forms a powerful bond by connecting various elements.

Before this virus hit, Aliaj was already practicing three normal rhythms: family time, community time, and serving together. On March 9th, when everything was canceled and strict social distancing regulations were set in place, it was time for them to adapt to this new reality. DU explained, “It was shocking and emotional to cancel everything. We were in the middle of planning a big event called ‘Speak for Your Generation’ and, all of a sudden, it was not possible to meet. It took us about a week to gather ourselves and figure out what to do next.”

How did they pivot their plans and what were their action steps? Focusing on their three rhythms of meeting together, they designed creative ways to move activity online.

Rhythm ONE: Aliaj Family Time

  • Time in the Word! Meeting on ZOOM, they spend time catching up with one another, then dive into God’s word. In the end, each person shares a verse of encouragement.
  • Meals together! Everyone brings their own food and shares about what they made, all while hanging out as a family around the virtual dinner table. Some of these students barely share a meal once a week with their parents. Part of this family time is modeling to the young people a healthy rhythm of how a family should operate. 
  • Movie Nights! Every Wednesday night they watch a movie together. Each person pops their own popcorn, pours their favorite drink, and gets cozy with comfortable pillows and blankets for a VIP experience. The evening begins on ZOOM as a connection point and then on “Whatsapp” someone texts, “3, 2, 1..” and they all press start on the movie at the same time. As they watch they write comments through their WhatsApp group text.

Rhythm TWO: Aliaj Community Time

  • Instagram! By utilizing their Instagram account, they are able to connect with current students, classmates of these students, and neighbors. 
  • Monday Quote! Everyone shares a quote on their story. 
  • Wednesday Hobbies! They share their passions/hobbies to inspire others.
  • Saturday Instagram Take Over! A student is chosen to take over the Aliaj Instagram account and share about their life:  show their home, what they made for lunch, their family, their hobbies, doing homework, etc. 
  • Challenge of the Week! Each week a challenge is posted, such as cooking with three ingredients, reading a particular chapter of the Bible, writing a poem, singing a song, a physical challenge, pronouncing a specific tongue twister, sending a specific photo, etc. All of these things create community and can easily continue after the time of quarantine. 

Rhythm THREE: Aliaj Serves Together

  • Responding to needs! As no one can leave their home, it can be hard to think up ways to serve the community. Aliaj found a very unique way of serving: Online Babysitting! There is a single mom in their church and the Aliaj students take turns babysitting the 10 year old daughter, so her mom is freed up to get some work done. Through a Facebook messenger video call, they lead activities for an hour, such as helping with homework, learning a dance, memorizing a Bible verse, playing a game, making a thankful list, reading aloud, etc. 
  • DU and Bogdan have found these three rhythms to be extremely helpful to the students of their youth group during this time of quarantine. Students look forward to the week and have a way to escape the everyday mundane tasks of being at home and doing homework. A variety of home situations have to be taken into account. As DU put it, “A lot of the kids have a blast with their families, while others come from difficult environments.” 
  • Before the coronavirus, students could go out and be with friends as an escape from their home life, but now they are stuck in their houses. Aliaj provides a safe environment in spite of physical separation. There is space to share emotions about how they are doing and how this quarantine is affecting them. DU tells the students if they have questions about anything to ask her first before googling it or looking on YouTube.
  • You can do the same with your youth group. If you don’t already have healthy rhythms established, now is the time to build those foundations that can easily transfer from quarantine back to normal life.
John Kloosterhuis International Team

Related Posts

Read Story

Online Ministry, Stories

Four Years of “Josiah Venture Stories”

It is the human condition to dream. Five years ago, I dreamed of starting a podcast for Josiah Venture. I approached the then-director of the International Team, Kyle Evans, and told him of my idea for a Josiah Venture podcast. He asked, “Who do you imagine hosting this podcast?” After a short pause, I replied, “Um…me?” To which he said, “My thoughts exactly.” I knew this was what God was asking me to do.  The podcast, “Josiah Venture Stories,” was officially launched on April 6th, 2021, roughly a year after this initial conversation. It took a little while to get the ball rolling. I needed time to research the best equipment, come up with the name, decide on the format and structure, and everything else that goes with starting a podcast. I enjoy thinking through the strategy and practical steps for a process, and it’s exciting to see a dream become a plan and a plan become reality. A common statistic in podcasting is that 90% of podcasts don’t publish more than three episodes. Many dreams come crashing to a quick end due to the lack of traction and momentum. Some podcasts fail because there isn’t a clear content strategy, episodes are released sporadically, the quality is poor, or proper marketing and promotion are lacking.  To be in the top 1% of podcasts in the world, you only need to publish 21 episodes. This month, the “Josiah Venture Stories” podcast has published 121 episodes featuring various missionaries, Josiah Venture kids, interns, short-term missions team members, alumni, and more. That is something to celebrate! My favorite part of hosting the podcast is hearing about God’s faithfulness, journeys of faith, and the unlikely stories of how people became missionaries. Multiple responses to the question, “How did you know God was calling you to full-time missions?” start with, “Well, I never thought I would be a missionary.” This proves that we never know what God is going to do with our lives or where the roads of life might lead. God simply asks us to trust him. I have repeatedly asked guests on the podcast, “What message of hope would you give to young people today?” The responses are always insightful and inspirational.   Baška from Slovakia said, “I usually tell them to trust God and his plan. I know it’s really difficult, and it seems easy to say but harder to live, but every time that I trusted God, it was better than I expected. Trusting God gave me so much hope and so much peace.” Mark Krupa, a missionary who has lived in the Czech Republic for 26 years, said, “ I would encourage them to look into the living water. Jesus went around saying, ‘I am living water. Come to me and you won’t thirst again.’ Spiritually, young people are hungry, and Jesus can fill them. I would encourage young people to look into what the secret of Christianity is. Colossians 1:27 says, ‘To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’ The secret of Christianity is actually Jesus in you.” Not only does this podcast exist to tell long-form stories of the movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe, but it also encourages the listener as they hear stories for all ages. If you have listened to the podcast once or to every episode, thank you. Would you please consider, not just listening, but also sharing an episode or two with a friend or on your social media? Another thing that truly goes a long way in the podcasting world is reviews. Do you enjoy our podcast? Help more people discover our podcast by following us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and writing us an honest review. Here’s what people are saying about the podcast: “What a rich podcast—full of encouragement, new insights and perspectives about what God is doing in central and Eastern Europe.” -Ben_Rob_27 “Last summer, I went with a group from my church in Colorado to stay in Albania for a month and help with summer camps. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! One of my favorite parts about this experience was hearing the life stories of the people in charge, how they came to be a part of this amazing organization, and their hearts behind the ministry that they are doing. This podcast gives you an even deeper and wider insight into the organization as a whole. You are able to hear what is truly going on in different countries from those living there. It’s so inspiring as a young adult to hear the ways God is moving through the faithful servants he has called to make an impact on people my age and younger. Thanks for sharing these stories!” -Kiko1170 Thank you for listening, investing in the ministry of Josiah Venture, and hearing the stories of our missionaries.
Read Story

Discipleship, Events, Stories

The Unseen War

Three years of conflict and still no peace. The war in Ukraine has returned to the forefront of the news as world leaders clash in a spin cycle of opinions. Those in the country feel the weight of years of exhausting conflict, with no clear end in sight. But behind the scenes, another battle is raging for the spiritual soul of the nation.  Amidst pain, hardship, and struggle, God is still at work and our JV team of 27 staff are pressing forward to take ground in the fight. During the last weekend of February, they gathered 450 young people from local churches across Ukraine for an innovative “Spring Fest.” Good Bible teaching, powerful worship, and personal testimonies were woven together to point people to the resources they have in Christ. He is the only firm anchor for our souls in the midst of a raging storm. The storm is particularly fierce for these young people. Some of the youth groups meet close enough to the front lines to hear the sound of bombing all day and live with the constant threat of evacuation and displacement.   One youth group from Kharkiv, en route to the fest, had their main youth leader forcefully conscripted into the military. Can you imagine if that happened to a youth group from your church?  Yet, our sovereign God is always working to accomplish his purposes despite the evil and failures of man. In fact, he often uses these unwelcome trials to accelerate his work. Our team is experiencing an unprecedented response to the gospel and a passionate hunger in young people to grow deep in their walks with God. With the exodus of leaders out of the country or into the military, there is a huge need to equip a new generation of leaders, and our training events are packed. Other JV countries are using the crisis to mobilize their young people into mission. Recently, our JV team in Slovakia held a series of events for 250 youth leaders called “Glow and Go.” Their goal was to inspire, mobilize, and energize young leaders into personal transformation and bold outreach.  As a result, 12 Slovaks traveled into war-torn Ukraine to serve at the Spring Fest.  They led worship, organized eight workshops, and served in numerous practical ways. But most of all, they told these young people that they were not forgotten and not alone. More teams from Slovakia and the Czech Republic will be assisting with evangelistic camps. When under pressure from the enemy, the best strategy is forward motion. Thank you for joining us in the spiritual battle for Ukraine.       
Read Story

Evangelism, Stories

When we say “Yes”

Dear Friends, What happens when we say “yes”? Ermal was obsessed with soccer as a child and headed to university in his home country of Albania with the dream to become a famous professional player. He never quite made the top level of performance required and was deeply discouraged. At the same time, he was growing in his relationship with God under the disciplemaking care of a local pastor. Hearing God’s call into ministry, he said “yes” to a major life change and returned to his small village to shepherd a local congregation of just 35 believers. But his passion for young people–⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and for soccer–⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠never left. So, when our JV Albania team approached him four years ago with the invitation to join JV and develop a sports ministry in his church and throughout his valley, he heard the call of God and said “yes.” In just a few years, Ermal had started Edge Soccer teams in six villages with no prior evangelical witness, reaching over 60 young people every week. A part of every practice was a short Bible study, and the young boys were relationally shepherded to faith in Christ. After a time of prayer in early November of 2024, Ermal came to his wife Nertila with an outlandish vision. “I believe God is calling us to share the gospel with 1000 young people before Christmas.” “Are you kidding me?” his wife replied. “I was thinking like a human,” she later shared. “How can we reach 1000 kids in such a short period of time?” “I don’t have any ideas,” Ermal said, “but I think God is calling us.” “I was very challenged,” Nertila reflected later, “and didn’t know how to handle that pressure. But then I said, ‘Here I am God, if you want to use us. Let your will be done.’” Then, out of the blue, a call came from Operation Mobilization, who wanted to send 6 people from Moldova to help with whatever they wanted. Ermal said “yes.” Next, Ermal had an idea to request 1000 Shoebox gift packages from Samaritan’s purse. It was an unusual request, but they said “yes.” He contacted six schools and asked if he could share the story of Jesus at Christmas.  Albania is historically Muslim, and the directors are not allowed to do anything religious in the school building. “Would you be willing to talk to our students outside?” they asked. He said “yes.” It was a simple program. Two songs, a 15-minute message about Jesus, and heartfelt testimonies from the Moldovans. And, of course, some shoebox gifts. But the students were very open, and many asked to hear more about Jesus. Others gave their addresses and wanted to join the youth activities. The director of the largest school is now meeting regularly with Ermal for Bible study.  When Christmas came, they counted the numbers and realized that over 1000 young people had heard a clear gospel message in just a few short weeks. A simple “yes” to the call of God brought miraculous fruit. This month, you also said “yes” through your gifts and prayers. Thank you.