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February 5, 2018

I Am Sending You

It must have been exhilarating to be in that room. The air had to be charged with awe and anticipation. The disciples joyously hanging on every word. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

The night Jesus first appeared to the apostles after rising from the dead, John 20:21 says he sent them. Christ’s great commission to go into the world and make disciples of all nations was a mandate he reminded them of often. It was their calling; what they were created to do. What would bring them purpose and direction in life.

He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Even then, it was promised they wouldn’t go alone. It must have been both humbling and faith-building to be there then.

We don’t have the privilege of being present that night when the early disciples gathered. But last week, I stood in a room with around 30 nationals committed to making disciples who make disciples here in Central and Eastern Europe. Having just gone through JV’s national orientation at our Winter Academy, these new staff members were ready to go home to their local churches and ministries to equip young people to fulfill Jesus’ call to baptize, teach, and obey.

We stood in a circle during worship and there was an air of awe and anticipation as the worship leader invited us individually to enter the middle of the circle. Once someone had, we laid hands on them and said, “And the church says, ‘I am sending you.’” We did this for everyone in the room and were reminded just how significant Christ’s words that night long ago were.

He Is Sending You

I think it’s safe to say that people doubt their callings all the time. It is one thing to know what the Bible states as Jesus’ mission for us, it’s quite another to personally enter into it with him.

For some JV missionaries, being sent by Christ means moving across the ocean to a foreign place, leaving friends and family behind, struggling to learn a new language and culture, and daily needing to ask others for help.

For the ⅔ of our JV missionaries who are nationals, accepting his call entails being willing to stand out even in their own cultures and countries, where being in full-time ministry is radically different from the norm. It means trusting God to provide support, risking being misunderstood or rejected by loved ones, and boldly sharing the message of Jesus with young people who need to hear it.

You don’t have to be a missionary though to step up and live out your call. Christ clearly sent the disciples to pursue a life of faithful service to him in Scripture. Today, if you’re a follower of him, he’s sent you as well. It’s going to take sacrifice. You’ll need help. The world will view you as radical. But running after Jesus with everything you’ve got and inspiring others to do that too is what you were created for. And the one who made you is the one who said, “I am sending you.”

You Can Send Others

As we see in Acts, the disciples took this call from Jesus seriously. After Christ ascended back into heaven, they committed to spreading his good news wherever they went and ended up making numerous other disciples and sending them out to do the same.

One of the most powerful things for me about being in the room with the nationals last week was the realization that as part of the body of Christ, we don’t just get to be sent, we have also been given the authority by Jesus to send others. We get to say “I am sending you.” With these words, we speak purpose and direction into each other’s lives.

That is what the group of new JV nationals were sent out from that room to do. Joining the rest of the Josiah Venture team, they are working with this mission in mind: to equip young leaders across the region to live out Jesus’ calling on their lives through the local church.

Our hope is that wherever you are, you feel the excitement of being sent by Christ to send out others to live for him as well. Because no matter what room you’re in, “I am sending you” is a phrase that’s exhilarating to hear.

Please pray for our new national staff members as they go and make disciples who make disciples around Central and Eastern Europe. And check out our Opportunities page if you think God may be calling you to come and make disciples with us.

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Discipleship, Evangelism, Stories

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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
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Events, Stories

You’re Not Alone in the Battle

When you’re used to leading, serving, and pouring into others, what happens when you suddenly can’t? What happens when the person who normally encourages everyone else wakes up and realizes she has nothing left to give? That’s where I found myself last year. I’m naturally a driven person. I love to see progress—to watch people grow, ministries flourish, and God’s work move forward. But last year, right before a major conference I had been preparing for—a mental health summit for nearly 700 youth leaders and church leaders—everything stopped. I got sick, and my normal pace of life vanished overnight. Suddenly, I couldn’t do what I thought I had to do. At first, I tried to stay positive, to find purpose in the pause. I told myself God was teaching me patience, humility, or to delegate better. But underneath those thoughts, a more dangerous narrative started to form: “God is disappointed in you.” “You’re not strong enough.” “You’re failing as a leader.” “Maybe God is holding back because you don’t deserve his help.” Those are the kinds of lies that can take root quietly—and quickly. It’s the same old whisper the enemy used in the Garden: “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). The serpent’s goal was never just to tempt Eve; it was to make her question God’s heart. And he still uses that same strategy today. He wants us to believe that God is distant, that we’re alone, unseen, and unloved. I’ve seen this pattern not only in my life, but in the lives of so many young people and leaders I’ve walked with. The moment things get hard—disappointment, exhaustion, relational conflict, failure—the enemy twists the truth. He tells us we’re forgotten, that our prayers don’t matter, and that no one really understands. And slowly, we start to isolate ourselves. But isolation is one of his most effective weapons. Once we withdraw, our vision blurs. We stop hearing the truth clearly. We start interpreting everything through the lens of fear, shame, and self-pity. Even Scripture is full of people who felt this same ache. David cried, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted” (Psalm 25:16). Elijah, after a great victory, ran into the wilderness and said, “I have had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). Job sat surrounded by friends who misunderstood him. And even Jesus—our Savior—experienced complete abandonment in Gethsemane and on the cross. Loneliness and lies are not new, but neither is God’s response to them. In my own season of weakness, when I couldn’t find the strength to pray, others prayed for me. When I felt unseen, people showed up with meals, with text messages, and with quiet presence. Even my unbelieving neighbors said, “We think someone up there cares about you.” That was God reminding me: You are not forgotten. You are not alone. The truth is, the Body of Christ was never meant to function in isolation. Strength in God’s kingdom doesn’t mean independence—it means connection. It means letting others carry you when you can’t walk and trusting that God is at work even when you can’t see progress. This experience also helped me recognize a pattern: the enemy always attacks identity and connection first. He wants to disconnect us from God’s truth and from God’s people. But the way we stand firm is by returning to both. When I start to spiral now—when I believe I have to prove my worth or carry everything alone—I stop and remind myself of what’s true. I reach out to trusted friends and ask for prayer. I ground myself in simple spiritual and physical practices that bring me back to reality: breathing deeply, reading a psalm, or stepping outside to notice beauty. These small moments become declarations of faith. Romans 11:33-36 says, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” That verse anchors me. I don’t have to understand everything; I just have to trust the one who does. Maybe you’re in a similar place right now. Or maybe you’re walking with young people who feel lost, invisible, or stuck in lies about who they are. The battle is real, but so is our victory in Christ. So, here’s my invitation to you: Would you take a moment to pray—for yourself, for your friends, and for the next generation—that we would recognize the lies of isolation, stand firm in truth, and live connected as the Body of Christ? You’re not alone in the battle. And neither are they.
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Events

The Battle behind the Battle

We are not living in stable times. A short glance at the daily news can quickly ruin your day. Difficult wars in Ukraine and Gaza seem to defy solutions; assassinations and unrest in the United States tear at the fabric of society. Financial instability, polarizing debates in politics, and deep tensions between powerful nations make the future uncertain. I’m sure each of us could add a list of challenges even closer to home, in our work, with family, or at church. In light of these tenacious conflicts, the words of Paul in Ephesians seem out of place. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” Each of the battles I mentioned involves people with flesh and blood, and visible attacks that have real physical consequences. What does he mean when he says, “we do not”? Paul continues his argument with these words: “…but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Here is the truth he wants us to understand. Paul points us to an unseen world that is more significant than the one we see. Spiritual beings and forces of darkness are actively working to thwart the purposes of God. There is a “battle behind the battle”— a fight that has more profound and more eternal consequences than any political conflict. We are called to enter this struggle with the armor of God, “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Last month, we gathered 370 of our team and close partners from 22 nations at our training center in Malenovice, Czech Republic, for four days of being equipped for this very fight. Our theme was “Victorious – Equipped for the Battle, Anchored in Christ.” We focused on three main skills of an effective warrior: “See the unseen world, Stand in the authority of Christ, and Fight with weapons of power.” No matter how confusing and discouraging the visible battle may be, we know that Jesus is always more powerful than the forces of darkness, and he can accomplish his purposes even in the most difficult of times. In fact, he often turns what the enemy meant for evil into good if we submit to his will and stay obedient to his call. As I stood worshiping in a tent full of gifted young leaders, all contending in faith for the next generation, my heart was filled with gratitude for God’s movement here in Central and Eastern Europe. Thousands have put their faith in Christ because of their bold witness, and churches are being renewed all across the region through the leaders they equip. The daily news is still very confusing. But the spiritual news is that the Lamb has conquered, and the Lion of Judah is on the move. Thanks for joining us in the fight, Dave Patty President, Josiah Venture