March 29, 2020

Zoom for Beginners

Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing platform that can be used for video conferencing meetings, audio conferencing, webinars, meeting recordings, and live chat. Zoom Meetings are the foundation of Zoom, and the term refers to video conferencing meetings using the platform that allows remote and co-located meeting attendees to communicate frictionlessly. Since you don’t need to have a Zoom account to attend a Zoom meeting, you can even meet with clients or conduct interviews remotely.

A “Zoom Meeting” simply refers to a meeting that’s hosted using Zoom. Attendees can join the meeting in-person, via webcam or video conferencing camera, or via phone. Below are a number of tips for first-time users to understand how the program can work for them.

  1. ​​Each free account comes with a 40-minute limit with 100 participants allowed in a meeting.
  2. Pro accounts, that allow for an unlimited meeting time and up to 300 participants in a meeting, are available for $14.99 USD per month. ​Those accounts also allow live-streaming on Facebook or YouTube. They also include cloud storage for recording your meetings and other features.
  3. ​Zoom works on multiple platforms and devices allowing you to connect from phones, browsers, tablets, and stand-alone apps as well.
  4. When using ZOOM with larger groups, use BreakOut Rooms to allow for increased opportunities for individuals to participate in conversation and interaction—don’t keep everybody in the big meeting space. Break into smaller discussions, and then select a spokesman for the room to share when you get back together.

Visit here for a complete Zoom walkthrough on YouTube

John Kloosterhuis International Team

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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.

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Evangelism, Online Ministry

TikTok and the Gospel

Dear Friends, I wonder where Paul would be preaching the good news if he lived today. There are some places where believers feel particularly at home. We enjoy being around people who think like we do, in places that are known and comfortable, like our church buildings. Of course, it is best to be far away from sin and evil. So, when Paul visited Athens, why did he not just stay in the familiar synagogue? Why did he go to the marketplace, where all the sinners gathered, and then to Mars hill, which was full of pagan philosophers? He purposefully went where people gathered, despite the ungodly influences there, so that the good news of Jesus would be heard in the messy marketplace of ideas. Social media is today’s “Mars Hill.” Over 90% of young people in Central and Eastern Europe own smartphones, and they spend over two hours a day on a collection of social media platforms. And who are the most trusted public figures for young Europeans?  YouTubers and TikTok influencers. That is why, for the second year in a row, Josiah Venture gathered a group of young Christian influencers for a “Digital Missions Summit” at our training center in the Czech Republic. Last year, I wrote about a young 15-year-old Serbian boy named Alex who experienced a radical conversion to Christ and then began sharing about it on TikTok. He recorded his first video on a broken Android phone propped up with an orange on a table in his room. Soon, his raw honesty drew a following. One of our Josiah Venture Serbian staff began to disciple him and gathered resources to buy him a phone that really worked. Alex’s message became more pointed, unapologetically proclaiming Jesus as the only way and boldly sharing the truths of the Bible. Now, he is 17-years-old and has a following of 60,000 in a country with less than 9000 evangelical believers. Often his short videos draw over 300,000 views! At the Digital Missions Summit, we talked about how to share a clear gospel message on social media. We also taught on how to bridge from the digital to physical world, and the importance of connecting people to a local body of believers. When Alex began his TikTok preaching, there were only 15 older people attending his small Baptist church. Now, the church has doubled in size to 30. Often on weekends he travels to other towns and sets up a table to give out free Bibles and talk to anyone who wants to meet him in person. People stop him on the streets to ask him questions about God.   Alex is not even out of high school, yet he is being used by God to reach hundreds of thousands of Serbians with the good news.   Thank you for helping us equip a new generation of evangelists for today’s public square.

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Discipleship, Evangelism, Online Ministry

Try Our “Share” Bible Study and App

Share is designed to lead you to become fishers of men through reaching others with the good news of Jesus. You can download the Share Bible Study by selecting the digital PDF version below, or request to receive a print version by emailing training@josiahventure.com. Along with the study we’ve created a free companion mobile app for iPhone and Android that you can download now. Share Bible Study Learn the core principles of effective gospel sharing and practice them with your church or small group. Download the Digital PDF Share PLUS Bible Study Expand your gospel sharing potential by engaging with a wide range of relationships with this 6 lesson version. Download the Digital PDF The Mobile App The Share Bible Study app will help you quickly reference the core teachings of the Bible study and help you keep up with the people you are sharing Jesus with regularly. No data from the app is loaded into cloud servers so that you can use it in a completely private way. It has features such as a 6 lesson version that matches the Share Plus Bible Study. It also has custom translated versions in 15 different languages. Download it and get started sharing more of Jesus today! Try the Mobile App Today for Free on iPhone or Android!