How does a young man with no believing relatives come to faith in Christ?

“Family on mission” is a phrase you will often hear on the Josiah Venture team. We teach our staff that a missionary call involves all members of their family, children included. Serving together with different gifts reflects the family cooperation we see in the Trinity and the early church.

Lauren first met Ondra when he showed up for Fusion practice at her local church in Frydlant, Czech Republic. For over 12 years Lauren has faithfully reached out to High school students through this innovative JV ministry called Fusion, which uses the context of a rock/gospel choir to build community and introduce young people to Christ.

Several years ago, the ministry went through a drop in numbers and was primarily attracting girls. Then, Lauren’s son Toby, who had just entered high school, began recruiting his friends. Toby’s confidence and enthusiasm were contagious and soon Fusion was full of energetic boys. Since Ondra was Toby’s best friend, he was one of the first to join.

Toby openly shared his faith with his friend, but Ondra was cautious and not particularly interested. However, another influence began to soften his heart. Lauren teaches English part-time at Toby and Ondra’s high school in Frydlant, and was asked to be a part of a team to build student life at the school. One of their activities is a student-led retreat called “Catch It,” where the believing students have an opportunity to share their faith in God with their non-believing friends.

In the past there have often been only 20-30 students at this event, but this year over 120 signed up. Ondra heard testimonies from his friends, but, more importantly, he could observe the change that faith in Jesus had made in their lives. His heart began to soften.

Toby’s dad, Petr, leads the construction of our Malenovice training center in Czech, and also serves as an elder in the local Frydlant church. The elders encouraged one of the younger leaders to start a Bible study for seekers and invited Ondra. Trust had been built through all the family connections, and Ondra began attending. Since the study was on Sunday morning before church, it was only natural to stay for the service.

At this point, Ondra still hadn’t put his faith in Christ. The final step of spiritual rebirth happened at the evangelistic camp JV led with the Frydlant church in July. The night the gospel was shared, Ondra went through the labyrinth, an experiential opportunity for students to respond to the claims of Christ, and, at the end, prayed with a counselor to put his faith in Jesus. Two days later, Ondra gave personal testimony of his repentance and faith in front of the entire church.

When I asked Ondra about the impact his best friend had on his life, he responded by exclaiming, “Toby rocks his faith. He really puts it out there. At just 16, he led our discussion group—by himself. He is such an inspiration to me—how 100 percent sure he is. There is nothing that could change his mind.”

“Family on mission.” A mom who is leading Fusion and organizing gospel events at their local high school. A dad who is serving as an elder and building the facilities where these outreach events are held. A son who “rocks his faith” and is not afraid to let his friends know. The Holy Spirit used all of these influences to draw a young man to himself.

Thanks for making it possible for the Josiah Venture team to be family on Mission. Now you can look forward to meeting Ondra in heaven.

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture