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March 21, 2024

Making Marriage a Priority

Life is hard on marriages, and strong marriages don’t just happen; they take hard work! This strain is pronounced even more when you’re serving as a missionary. This “calling” means that it is easy to put your own marriage on the back burner when there’s so much ministry happening. “There will always be time later….,” we say, but we never end up finding that time. Josiah Venture (JV) has decided that making space for our couples to be together is a priority! Every three years, JV mobilizes couples to find babysitters, invest their time, travel long distances, and take a break from their ministry to receive teaching, counseling, date nights, and deep conversations with each other.

And wow! We had a great week in Krakow, Poland at the JV Marriage Retreat, February 20-23!

Each retreat requires time and prayer on the part of our Member Care team to decide who will be invited to teach and counsel our couples.

It was a privilege for our 26 JV first-time marriage retreat couples to be led by Dave and Connie Patty. The teaching and discussions were on the foundation of marriage taken from the Bible. Conversations were centered around being “one flesh,” our call as husbands and wives, passion, and prayer.

JD and Michele Senkbile were invited to lead 70 JV retreat alumni couples in teaching about Love Styles (attachment theory), telling our stories, and cycles of bonding as couples depending on our Love Styles. They were recommended to JV as a dynamic cross-cultural couple. Michele is from South Africa and JD is a Kansas farm boy from the US. This alone spoke loudly since we are a multicultural team and have many cross-cultural marriages. The couple now lives in California where JD is a Pastor, church-planter, coach and spiritual director. Michele is a marriage and family therapist, and together they led us into many deep places using all of who they each are and as a couple. We also instituted “Dynamic Community Groups” in this year’s alumni track,  enabling couples in small country groups to share about what the Lord was doing for them personally and in their marriages during this teaching. Many said these discussion groups were a highlight of the time!

One couple shared that what happened during the dynamic community group between their couples and the vulnerable sharing could very easily lead to a great change for their team and their entire country. One country has decided that these groups plan to connect in the future to keep the conversations going as they realize that all marriages are not perfect.

We also had six Counselors (some as couples) and a few JV Marriage Coaches meet with couples for over 92 hours of counseling/coaching! We are SO thankful for their gift to JV in coming and offering their hearts and lives to so many. Each of these counselors were hand-picked through contacts and recommendations, and they were amazing. We even had one couple do counseling in the Czech/Slovak language!

One counselor shared about a couple who at the beginning of the counseling session were very far from each other, but who left holding hands with smiling faces. This is what we love! We spoke with one JV country leader who said this was the best retreat ever (we’ve had five!) because of the teaching, groups, counselors, and atmosphere.

As we poured prayers over the couples who attended, organized counseling sessions for them, and looked over Prepare and Enrich assessments, our emotions were flooded with love for our team and their marriages. JV is committed to help these marriages thrive amidst all the pressures in serving young people in Central and Eastern Europe.  About a year ago, we (Dan and Laura Hash) were given a new job for Josiah Venture, and that is to see all JV couples be cared for by coordinating marriage coaching (using materials from www.marriageteam.org) throughout our 16 JV Countries. JV has been working with Marriage Team for about eight years, training some of our staff to be coaches to those on their teams as well as couples in local churches. Some couples have already been through this coaching and we have seen good fruit. We have more than 50% of JV couples left to go through the coaching. Pray with us that we’ll get our trained coaches to connect with those couples and that this year we’ll see the number go down to only 30% left. Our coaches within JV are still doing a number of other ministries, so are not able to coach full-time and give their time and skills with other couples. That is dynamic community!

Pray for our team and their marriages. Pray that what has begun during the retreat will bring much fruit in youth ministries around Central and Eastern Europe and in the churches where they are involved. Pray for more counselors in these countries to be able to help those who need deeper help. And pray for JV coaches to help our staff be equipped with skills and hope for a marriage that gives great glory to God!

Laura Hash

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The Right Learning for the Right Person at the Right Time

Stop and think about the times in your life when you grew the most. What were you doing? What were the circumstances? What did you feel? What were you excited about, and what were you worried about? When I look back on my own life, I notice a pattern. Growth usually happens when the challenge in front of us is outside of our comfort zone or outside of our skill level. It happens when we’re stretched. I remember learning this in a very tangible way in college. I took a class called Experiential Learning, and, throughout the semester, we worked through various team-building exercises. At the end of the course, we went to a ropes course, which culminated in a challenge known as the “Pamper Pole”—a towering 10-meter telephone pole. The challenge was to climb to the top, stand on a tiny platform, and then leap to grab a trapeze bar. My professor had seen me go through most of the challenges fairly easily. Just as I was about to climb the Pamper Pole, he quietly walked up behind me, put something in my back pocket, and said, “Just in case you want a little bit bigger challenge.” I reached inside and found a blindfold. And I decided to put it on. I climbed the pole blindfolded, made it to the top, and then jumped. My hands hit the bar, but I didn’t grab it. Of course, I was strapped in, so I didn’t hit the ground, but that moment has stayed with me. Even though I didn’t “succeed” in the way I had hoped, I chose a harder pathway up, and I learned something important: growth often requires stepping into something beyond what we currently know how to do. The missionary life is a lot like that. When Brooke and I first stepped onto the mission field, we were eager and ready to say yes to whatever God put in front of us. We had vision, enthusiasm, and a desire to serve. But looking back, we didn’t realize how steep the learning curve would be or how much God still needed to form in us. Those early years were full of trial and error. We made countless mistakes and learned by trying something, realizing it didn’t work, and trying again. Over time, the Lord shaped us and grew us, but the learning curve was long. Some of the lessons we needed most came through hard seasons, and they didn’t come quickly. The Josiah Venture Winter Academy was established to help provide the resources necessary to give our staff a foundation for healthy, effective ministry that lasts, grounded in Christ’s strategy, and strengthened by shared language, practical tools, and a community that helps them grow through every season. This year, we gathered 52 Josiah Venture staff at our training center in Malenovice, Czech Republic, for a week of discussion, connection, and spiritual encouragement. Every staff member has the opportunity to participate in Winter Academy within their first year on the team (Year 1 track) and again within their second year (Year 2 track). At its core, Winter Academy is about helping our staff build a foundation that will serve them for the long haul, so they can be steady and fruitful through the ups and downs of ministry. Ministry is full of seasons. There are times of blossoming, when the work feels joyful and full of momentum, and there are times of drought, when setbacks and discouragement threaten to parch the soul. Some seasons even hold those highs and lows at the same time. Jeremiah 17:7–8 reads: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” These verses don’t deny hardship; they assume it. But it also points us to the keys to long-term fruitfulness: staying rooted and drawing consistently from the resources we have in Christ. Winter Academy was created to help staff establish those roots early. We wanted to shorten the learning curve so that new staff would be prepared for the obstacles they would inevitably face, and so they could respond with bold faith, with wisdom drawn from best practices across the team, and with perseverance, knowing they would have a team standing with them. Year 1 focuses on the path of a growing disciple. Our first-year staff get grounded in who we are as Josiah Venture and how Christ’s strategy shapes everything we do. They also learn the Five Challenges of Christ in a way that moves beyond theory into real life and real ministry. Year 2 is focused on ministry coaching through the Five Phases. Year 2 builds on that discipleship foundation and helps our staff grow in how they serve and multiply through others. Participants learn how to evaluate ministry health and direction as well as practice coaching conversations that help leaders take meaningful next steps. 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Christmas Traditions

Every culture has its own Christmas traditions. Many of us already have our Christmas trees up, have begun playing our favourite Christmas music, and are checking items off our shopping list. In most European cities, Christmas markets have taken over town squares and observe their own unique traditions for Christmas Day. For example, in Poland, families prepare an extra place at the table in case of an unexpected guest; in Bulgaria, the oldest person in the house breaks open homemade bread with a coin baked inside; and in Czechia, children hide a fish scale under their dinner plate for good luck. Traditions are a wonderful thing as long as we remind ourselves why we keep them. One tradition that has meant a lot to my family and me for many years is lighting an Advent wreath. We usually make ours out of fir branches and four white candles, sometimes adding extra decorations like dried orange slices or pinecones. Then on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, we read from the Bible, say prayers, sing songs, and light the candles in an increasing number: first one, then two, then three, and finally four. This tradition has its origins in the sixth century, and many European churches and Christians practice it. But after such a long time, it is easy to forget what it all means. Here is some of the significance. First of all, Advent derives from the Latin word for “coming, arrival.” It denotes the beginning of the year for Christians, who prepare our hearts for the arrival of God, by both remembering Jesus’ incarnation and anticipating his second coming. The circular shape of the wreath signifies the never-ending nature of God’s love for humanity. The fir branches remind us that, even in the dead of winter, God is at work to bring forth new life. And the successive lighting of the candles signals God’s determination to send his light into the world: the incarnation of his son. We love this tradition, but, to be honest, we don’t always keep it perfectly. This year, we had to dig out some old candles to use for our wreath, we have struggled to get through the Bible readings with our young children, and we often forget to light the right candle on the right day. But God is teaching me that this is alright. The season of Advent, along with its many traditions, is not made more or less meaningful by how faithfully I keep it. The season of Advent is made most meaningful because of how faithful God is at drawing near to us. The Apostle Paul summarised it well: “But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son… so that we might become God’s children.” (Gal. 4:4-5, GNT). This Advent, may you find renewed meaning in your traditions. And may you remember and rely on God, who is most faithful to draw near to those who need his light.
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Discipleship, Evangelism, Stories

Home

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