Back

January 10, 2024

On the Front Lines

The war in Ukraine is far from over.

On the JV Ukraine team, three of our families are IDPs (internally displaced people) from the war zone. They had to restart their lives from the ground up in central or western Ukraine, after their cities were occupied by the enemy in 2014. These precious servants have poured out their hearts and lives in ministry to others fleeing the conflict, and they have already provided aid and spiritual resources to thousands of refugees.

Yet, many others still remain in cities very close to the front line and face the daily challenge of aggression and danger right on their doorsteps. They are constant targets because of the Ukrainian military presence that has been deployed to their cities.

Our JV Ukraine team regularly travels into this region, driving over 600 miles one-way to support the few churches that still remain. It is a particular privilege to assist pastors like Yevhen and Igor, who are courageously leading churches and youth groups for Ukrainians choosing not to move out of cities located 12-30 miles from the front lines.

Already this winter, JV Ukraine had the privilege of assisting three youth ministries from particularly dangerous areas in the Donetsk region. Two of the youth groups took spiritual renewal trips to the snow-covered mountains of western Ukraine where they focused on evangelism and spiritual growth. The third group stayed in their city but led Christmas outreaches to 500 children and teens.

Right now, JV Ukraine is preparing strategic summer camps for these youth groups close to the front lines. We are mobilizing short-term teams from Czech, Slovakia, and Poland to serve in these needy and dangerous places. Our team is also partnering with a church planting organization to help start new churches in some of the most hard-hit regions.

When we ask the pastors what they need, they request prayer for: 1) daily physical safety, 2) stamina and spiritual endurance, 3) for the Lord to send more harvest workers in spite of the conditions, and 4) funding to run ministries in these highly-targeted eastern-Ukrainian cities.

Would you join us in prayer for these spiritual soldiers on the front line, and for our Josiah Venture staff who are so sacrificially serving them? If you want to make a contribution in the New Year to support these efforts you can do so at the following link: www.josiahventure/helpukraine

The spiritual war in Ukraine is also far from over. Thanks for your gifts and prayers that make it possible for us to bring the hope of Jesus to the front lines.

Dave Patty President

Related Posts

Read Story

Help Ukraine

4 Years of War

February 24, 2022, radically and forever changed every Ukrainian. Each of us missionaries on the Josiah Venture Ukraine team have seen significant differences in our daily realities, both in life and in ministry. Russia’s aggression has brought immense tragedy, pain, tears, death, destruction, uncertainty, and despair. It’s hard to believe that we have been living in this reality for four years now. Many friends from different countries ask what is happening in Ukraine today, since our war has almost completely disappeared from their news feeds. We are especially grateful to those who ask rather than assume or forget. No matter how propaganda tries to shape the narrative, the war is not over. In fact, it is becoming more brutal and more personal for each of us. We are losing more friends. Churches are losing ministers. Families are losing their loved ones. Ukraine continues to pay a high price in the fight for its freedom and in holding back evil that could easily spill into other European countries. The war has come very close to our JV Ukraine team. Three of our colleagues (Andriy Polonnikov, Vlad Tsupik, and Serhiy Bielov) were mobilized into the army. As Christians, they continue to live out their mission in dangerous places, risking their lives every day. We are proud of them and ask you to join us as we lift them in prayer. Military commanders often commend believing soldiers because they consistently stand out among the rest. In November 2025, Serhiy was seriously wounded and survived by a miracle from God. His testimony gives chills to everyone who hears it. Though his body now faces challenges, his spirit remains strong and unbroken. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation after several surgeries. On the morning of February 12, a bomb exploded near the house where Andriy was staying, close to the front line. In an instant, the blast destroyed his home, all his belongings, his computer, and his car—the very car he had been using as a military psychologist and chaplain to visit soldiers. It happened early in the morning while he was asleep. Again, God performed a great miracle and spared his life. The place where Andriy’s head had been resting was covered with shattered glass, yet he did not receive a single scratch. The Lord is incredible, mighty to save and to protect. Vlad and his wife are raising their two-year-old daughter while expecting their second child, living 900 kilometers apart. He keeps a joyful spirit and often writes to the team, even though he frequently has to sleep in his car to avoid shelling and strikes on residential buildings near their deployment area. At the same time, all of us continue to live and serve under the constant threat of explosions, new types of missiles, and the risk of suddenly losing people we love. This winter has brought additional challenges. Through massive missile attacks, Russia has severely damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions without electricity, heat, or water during temperatures as low as -20°C (-4 °F). At present, we often have electricity for only 5-7 hours a day. It is physically and emotionally exhausting, making both daily life and ministry much more difficult. We also see young people losing hope. More and more of them are leaving Ukraine, and churches are losing young leaders. This places an urgent responsibility on us to train and equip new leaders faster than ever and to be messengers of hope to a traumatized and confused generation. Yet, we continue to proclaim: there is another side to this war. The fourth year of war has been filled with remarkable miracles and powerful evidence that God’s movement cannot be stopped. This summer was our most fruitful yet: we held 38 partnership camps with Ukrainian churches, and 217 young people made decisions to follow Christ. Our leadership training program NEXT has its largest cohort ever: 21 youth and teen teams, representing 130 young leaders learning to build a youth ministry modeled after Jesus Christ. Many of them are very young, yet they boldly step into the needs of their churches and take initiative. Mentoring and equipping them fills us with hope and joy, knowing they will be the generation that rebuilds the country. This fall, we celebrated the launch of a new Fusion choir, the first one since COVID. The Fusion team shared that they have not seen so many teenagers come to rehearsals from the very first meeting in a long time. Soon we will host the largest teen conference of the year—Springfest. Although the event is still a month away, we already have 470 registrations filled out of 500 available spots. The Gospel will be proclaimed boldly from the stage, and our main goal is to help leaders build deeper relationships with their teenagers. This brings great joy and inspiration to our team. All of this testifies that God is alive and sovereign. He continues his work in Ukraine. As the JV Ukraine team, we see his hand, his care, and his power at work among us. And we can say together with the Apostle Paul: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4). I ask all of you, our friends and the wider JV family, to keep us in your prayers. We feel their power here in ways that are hard to put into words: when someone wakes up alive after an explosion, when a record number of people register for an event, and when members of our team are given supernatural strength and resilience not only to survive, but to keep building God’s Kingdom. I also invite you to encourage us through warm words of support: a message, an email, or a call. We deeply need to know that we are not alone in the hardest season of our lives and of our country’s history. You cannot imagine how much that means to each of us.
Read Story

Help Ukraine

“Yes” to God’s Calling

This summer, 40 of us—including myself—became summer missionaries in Central and Eastern Europe. Pretty amazing, right? Each of us said “yes” to God’s call to serve. I am from Ukraine, and for the past three years, I’ve been living, working, and serving in the Czech Republic, in the city of Ústí nad Labem. This year, I’m serving as a Josiah Venture intern. Before the internship began, I was really nervous. I kept wondering how I would communicate with Americans and people from other European countries—it’s a whole mix of different cultures. About a week before departure, I kept telling myself, “Nika, why are you doing this? Wouldn’t it be better to just keep working at your coffee shop and enjoy the summer in your hometown?” I was afraid that maybe this internship wasn’t what God wanted from me, but I was so wrong. As soon as intern training started and I met so many young people with the same heart as mine —to serve youth and follow the same God—I didn’t feel invisible or alone anymore. It was a priceless feeling to worship God together, study His Word, listen to powerful testimonies, and be inspired by how beautiful our Lord truly is. For a long time, I struggled with the thought: “Why did God choose me for this mission?” I was overwhelmed by doubts. I wondered if I was wise enough, interesting enough, outgoing enough, spiritual enough, etc. My thoughts were full of me, me, me. But during intern training, I received a word from God: “Nika, this isn’t about you. It’s about what I want to do through you and how I want to show my power through your life.” God doesn’t look at how “cool” we are or how many Bible verses we can recite. He looks at hearts that are ready to serve him. Among the interns at training, there was one more Ukrainian —Emily. This summer, she is serving with the Fusion International team. It was such a comforting feeling to know I wasn’t the only one from my home country. One of the most powerful moments for me was when the intern teams gathered to pray for and bless one another for the summer ahead. Sadly, due to the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian intern team couldn’t join us in person. So when it came time to pray for Ukraine, Emily and I stepped into the center of the circle. Everyone began to pray for us, for Ukraine, for the ongoing war. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I cried tears of gratitude to God for the unity of his people, for the deep sense that we are not alone in this war. It was a family moment. It was a moment that reminded me again that Christians are not just people who believe in the same God, but are a true family. They’re a family that walks through both joy and pain together—a family that supports and prays for one another. Would you join me in praying for a generation that cries together, rejoices together, and says “yes” to God’s call to serve youth, right where we are?
Read Story

Help Ukraine

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.