September 7, 2014

Serbia Then & Now

“I’ll tell you who I think God is,” Ljubisa, a young man in his late teens, said as he and missionary, Steve Brown discussed the evening program at an English camp in Serbia last summer.

“Our village has two Serbian Orthodox priests,” he continued. “On our village’s saint day, these two priests came to the intersection, we only have two main streets, and one was supposed to go to the right and one to the left. They would bless each house on the saint day and each house would pay the priest. Well, one street had more money than the other, so the two priests got into a fistfight, got arrested, and made national news.”

The teen looked Steve in the eyes. “If that’s who God is, I want nothing to do with him, but if there’s something else, tell me.”

The hope and openness in this conversation is only a small glimpse into what JV Serbia sees God changing in their country today. Bojan Ostojic, the country leader, describes it excitedly, “God is moving. Sometimes you feel the barrier there and other times you just feel open roads. We are feeling a lot of open road lately.”

Not long ago, these conversations were scarce.

JV missionary Steve Brown and country leader Bojan Ostojic.

Serbia Then

Ministry in Serbia is not easy, and it never has been.

As I, along with some others on JV’s communications team, recently crossed from Croatia into Serbia to visit a camp, it was like I could see time shift. The Westernization of many other JV countries is not felt in the same way here. I was immediately transported back to my childhood in Poland and the days when you could still easily point out the direct effects of communism.

If this is Serbia in 2014, I can only imagine what it must have been like when JV began partnering with youth leaders in Serbia back in the year 2000.

When Steve and Tanja Brown joined JV in 2006, the team was still very underdeveloped. In fact, one Serbian man made up its entirety. The Browns came to help him develop what was already happening and bring order to what hadn’t been organized before.

At the time, Serbia was incredibly closed spiritually. Of the eight million people living in Serbia, around 85% were Serbian Orthodox because that was their national heritage before communism. Anyone identifying as something else was considered a traitor.

Bojan describes the situation saying, “A lot of baggage comes with the word ‘church.’ There is a great deal of prejudice against Evangelical churches in Serbia. They are perceived more as organizations that you join and become a member of, than as a living body of Christ or something that is beyond anything earthly.”

This being the case, there is a lot of distrust. Steve says, “People use the word ‘sect’ or ‘cult’. On a list, Serbs put Baptists and Satanists side by side. That’s how they viewed us eight years ago. If you would say anything about God, there would almost instantly be a negative reaction.”

Steve says that moving things forward in ministry back then was also difficult because, “having tried a lot of things in the past that failed, the culture had the mentality of ‘why even try?’ So, from the beginning we were fighting an uphill battle.”

Serbia Now

Although the process has been slow, Steve and Bojan believe the culture is changing.

When asked why, Steve responds: “I think there’s a hopelessness in Serbia that has been here since the fall of communism. But the youth we’re working with today weren’t even around during the Civil War. They were babies, most of them, during the NATO bombings. They don’t know the hardships. They don’t know the junk that’s happened in the past.”

“So they hear all the hopelessness, and I think they’re looking out to the rest of the world, saying ‘why should we be hopeless?’ They’re looking for something. They look for hope in the wrong places, but they’re looking for it. Eight years ago, I didn’t see people looking.”

To help people find true hope, the JV Serbia team now has five members, four of whom are nationals. Each is serving faithfully in their local churches, one even pastoring a new church plant.

This summer, the team led three Evangelistic English camps for Serbian youth, partnering with local churches, including a new one they hadn’t worked with before.

As fall is officially here, Steve says they face the challenge of regrouping to figure out what direction God is wanting them to move in and with which key churches they should be partnering in the coming months.

Whatever this may look like, it is clear to Bojan that “discipleship needs to be a priority.” Through follow-up with students from camp and focusing on investing in small groups of leaders, Bojan prays the JV team will impact the masses like Jesus did when he discipled the 12.

“My hope is that in the future we will have a generation of young leaders who can trace back their DNA to Josiah Venture in Serbia. That it would be something that can be recognized and Christ-like. That we would have that kind of influence on the country.”

This is already happening today. With more students open to hearing the Gospel, God is using the JV team to change the lives of people like Ljubisa, who prayed to receive Christ at the end of camp last year and spent this year meeting weekly with Steve to study Scripture.

Please pray that God would continue to move mightily in Serbia as the team walks alongside young leaders to help change people’s views of church and offer the hope of Christ.

Related Posts

Read Story

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.

Read Story

Discipleship, Events, Stories

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.       

Read Story

Evangelism, Stories

When we say “Yes”

Dear Friends, What happens when we say “yes”? Ermal was obsessed with soccer as a child and headed to university in his home country of Albania with the dream to become a famous professional player. He never quite made the top level of performance required and was deeply discouraged. At the same time, he was growing in his relationship with God under the disciplemaking care of a local pastor. Hearing God’s call into ministry, he said “yes” to a major life change and returned to his small village to shepherd a local congregation of just 35 believers. But his passion for young people–⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and for soccer–⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠never left. So, when our JV Albania team approached him four years ago with the invitation to join JV and develop a sports ministry in his church and throughout his valley, he heard the call of God and said “yes.” In just a few years, Ermal had started Edge Soccer teams in six villages with no prior evangelical witness, reaching over 60 young people every week. A part of every practice was a short Bible study, and the young boys were relationally shepherded to faith in Christ. After a time of prayer in early November of 2024, Ermal came to his wife Nertila with an outlandish vision. “I believe God is calling us to share the gospel with 1000 young people before Christmas.” “Are you kidding me?” his wife replied. “I was thinking like a human,” she later shared. “How can we reach 1000 kids in such a short period of time?” “I don’t have any ideas,” Ermal said, “but I think God is calling us.” “I was very challenged,” Nertila reflected later, “and didn’t know how to handle that pressure. But then I said, ‘Here I am God, if you want to use us. Let your will be done.’” Then, out of the blue, a call came from Operation Mobilization, who wanted to send 6 people from Moldova to help with whatever they wanted. Ermal said “yes.” Next, Ermal had an idea to request 1000 Shoebox gift packages from Samaritan’s purse. It was an unusual request, but they said “yes.” He contacted six schools and asked if he could share the story of Jesus at Christmas.  Albania is historically Muslim, and the directors are not allowed to do anything religious in the school building. “Would you be willing to talk to our students outside?” they asked. He said “yes.” It was a simple program. Two songs, a 15-minute message about Jesus, and heartfelt testimonies from the Moldovans. And, of course, some shoebox gifts. But the students were very open, and many asked to hear more about Jesus. Others gave their addresses and wanted to join the youth activities. The director of the largest school is now meeting regularly with Ermal for Bible study.  When Christmas came, they counted the numbers and realized that over 1000 young people had heard a clear gospel message in just a few short weeks. A simple “yes” to the call of God brought miraculous fruit. This month, you also said “yes” through your gifts and prayers. Thank you.