October 19, 2016

Summer Potential - Why You Should Be An Intern

The Impact on Students

With the help of 134 interns (92 North Americans and 42 Europeans), over 100 evangelistic Josiah Venture camps took place this summer across 13 different countries in Central and Eastern Europe. At these English, music, and sports camps more than 4,000 young nationals heard the message of the gospel, many for the very first time. Over 500 of them put their faith in Jesus, countless more taking steps closer to Christ.

Ana, Tomáš, Kasia, Michał; one week at camp has the potential to change these students’ lives forever.

In order to see lives changed here in this region, JV counts on our summer interns –young leaders who are devoted followers of God, bold in their faith and passionate about sharing the love of Christ with others.

When asked why interns are important, Dawid Werner, Poland’s English camp coordinator, explains, “In the past, I saw many students coming to camps for the first time because of promoting done by interns in public schools. Many of them gave their lives to God at those camps. I also saw many short-term teams encouraged by help they received from interns. I saw many Polish leaders equipped and empowered by interns during camps. So, if you ask me about the impact interns make, I would say, it is huge and great.”

As Ruthanne VandenBosch, JV intern coordinator expresses, “Interns increase our capacity to reach more young people with the gospel each summer. With hundreds of churches offering evangelical camps during the summer, we just need more workers! Interns help us fill in the gaps, and bring all sorts of energy and enthusiasm to the process.”

The Impact on You

We believe that through committing to a summer of serving with JV your life will also change. For close to three months, an internship is your opportunity to step into what God is doing here, as we pray for a movement of God among the youth of this part of the world. Dawid says that if you take it, “This step will make you more like Jesus. It will shape you and it will draw you closer to Him.”

Ruthanne agrees. “You will experience a new culture, dynamic community, deep levels of discipleship and partnerships with local churches… I love that we offer a summer-sized window for students to see what a lifetime of serving God cross-culturally looks like. As I walk someone through the process of becoming a Josiah Venture intern, I often wonder what incredible path God has in mind for them –how many lives will be eternally changed because of the obedience of these young people who are giving up a summer at home to serve God.”

Don’t take our word for it though. As Elle Olszewski, JV summer intern in Slovenia in 2014 and 2016 says, “Interning is stepping onto the battlefield in Central and Eastern Europe. It is diving into the unknown. And it is sacrifice. But it is a front-row seat to the incredible movement of the Lord in this part of the world. It is witnessing the hope of the gospel radically change lives. And it is the greatest adventure to embark on for your summer.”

Ana, Tomáš, Kasia, Michał; one week at camp has the potential to change these students’ lives forever. Anna, Thomas, Katie, Michael;  just one summer might also transform yours.

Interested in interning with us for summer 2017? Click here for videos and more info on how to apply.

Also, we are currently in the middle of our recruitment tour in North America. Please pray with us that God would provide 200 interns this coming summer, and come see us if you’re around one of the following campuses.

Recruitment Tour Schedule:

  • Chicago, IL – Moody Bible Institute – Oct. 19-21
  • Caronport, SK Canada – Briercrest Bible College – Oct. 24-28
  • Azusa, CA – Azusa Pacific University – Oct. 26-27
  • Wheaton, IL – Wheaton College – Oct. 27-28
  • Milligan College, TN – Milligan College – Oct. 27-28
  • Lynchburg, VA – Liberty University – Oct. 28
  • Anderson, SC – Anderson University – Oct. 31
  • Columbia, SC – Columbia International University – Nov. 1
  • Dayton, TN – Bryan College – Nov. 1
  • Lookout Mountain, GA – Covenant College – Nov. 2
  • Searcy, AR – Harding University – Nov. 2
  • Waco, TX – Baylor University – Nov. 3
  • La Mirada, CA – Biola University – Nov. 4
Amy Nickerson

Related Posts

Read Story

Evangelism, Online Ministry

TikTok and the Gospel

Dear Friends, I wonder where Paul would be preaching the good news if he lived today. There are some places where believers feel particularly at home. We enjoy being around people who think like we do, in places that are known and comfortable, like our church buildings. Of course, it is best to be far away from sin and evil. So, when Paul visited Athens, why did he not just stay in the familiar synagogue? Why did he go to the marketplace, where all the sinners gathered, and then to Mars hill, which was full of pagan philosophers? He purposefully went where people gathered, despite the ungodly influences there, so that the good news of Jesus would be heard in the messy marketplace of ideas. Social media is today’s “Mars Hill.” Over 90% of young people in Central and Eastern Europe own smartphones, and they spend over two hours a day on a collection of social media platforms. And who are the most trusted public figures for young Europeans?  YouTubers and TikTok influencers. That is why, for the second year in a row, Josiah Venture gathered a group of young Christian influencers for a “Digital Missions Summit” at our training center in the Czech Republic. Last year, I wrote about a young 15-year-old Serbian boy named Alex who experienced a radical conversion to Christ and then began sharing about it on TikTok. He recorded his first video on a broken Android phone propped up with an orange on a table in his room. Soon, his raw honesty drew a following. One of our Josiah Venture Serbian staff began to disciple him and gathered resources to buy him a phone that really worked. Alex’s message became more pointed, unapologetically proclaiming Jesus as the only way and boldly sharing the truths of the Bible. Now, he is 17-years-old and has a following of 60,000 in a country with less than 9000 evangelical believers. Often his short videos draw over 300,000 views! At the Digital Missions Summit, we talked about how to share a clear gospel message on social media. We also taught on how to bridge from the digital to physical world, and the importance of connecting people to a local body of believers. When Alex began his TikTok preaching, there were only 15 older people attending his small Baptist church. Now, the church has doubled in size to 30. Often on weekends he travels to other towns and sets up a table to give out free Bibles and talk to anyone who wants to meet him in person. People stop him on the streets to ask him questions about God.   Alex is not even out of high school, yet he is being used by God to reach hundreds of thousands of Serbians with the good news.   Thank you for helping us equip a new generation of evangelists for today’s public square.

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.