Josiah Venture

Upside Down Kingdom

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2013-05-20T08:28:57-07:00

Dear Friends,

I don’t know where we will put everyone!

Our Malenovice training center will be packed to the gills next week as the JV staff gather together for our annual Spring Bible conference. We’ve done this every May for the last 15 years, but never with a group this large. The total is 240 – including 90 children. Both the cooks and child-care workers will have their hands full!

It takes a lot of faith and perseverance to serve on the mission field. Besides the stress of living far from home in a foreign culture and language, JV staff are daily in the trenches of spiritual warfare.

We want to keep the team healthy and fruitful for the long haul. This staff conference will serve up a full course of spiritual vitamins for each of them. We’ll spend lots of time in God’s Word, studying principles of the “Upside Down Kingdom” from the Sermon on the Mount. The kids will learn an entire musical and perform it for their very proud parents on the last day.

Daily praise and worship will refresh the soul, and there will be plenty of space for fellowship. Our faith will be stretched by stories of what God is doing to reach the next generation in the 12 countries where JV staff serve.

Personally, I’ve spent months thinking about this week. I love this team, and feel a great sense of stewardship before God to care for these amazing people. You gave to someone on the team this month, so I know you love them as well. I want you to know that we go the extra mile (and kilometer) to provide them with the leadership and support they need. I wish you could join us and get just a taste of what it is like when they all get together.

But then we really wouldn’t know where to put everyone,

Thankful for you,

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

How much time do you have?

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2013-03-01T05:22:07-07:00

Dear Friends,

How much time do you have?

Last week 130 church planters and ministry leaders gathered at our training center in Malenovice for a conference on the “Organic Church.” For four days author Neil Cole challenged us with powerful kingdom principles from the parables of Jesus. Though a church planter himself, he reminded us that there is no command in Scripture to plant churches. Rather, we are to be experts at planting the seeds of the gospel and making disciples. If we do this, new churches will result.

Part way through the week we paused our program in the early afternoon, and spent the entire evening in application. Participants were sent out to the surrounding towns and villages to practice sowing the seeds of the gospel.

JV staff member Zac headed into Frydek Mistek and started looking for a “Cajovna”, or Teahouse. These are popular hang outs for young people in Czech and Zac thought he could engage in a conversation there. Stopping a rough looking man on the street, he asked him about a location that seemed promising. “Are you looking for tea?” the man asked. “Actually”, replied Zac, “I’m looking for someone to talk to about God.”

The man paused, looked at him closely, and then asked, “How much time do you have?” “All evening,” Zac replied. “Then come with me”, the man said.

Weaving his way through back alleys, the stranger led Zac to a smoke filled pub where he pulled up a chair to a table he treated as his own. Zac began to ask him questions about God, and then share the good news of God’s plan to bring redemption through Jesus Christ. The table started to fill up. Out of the corner of his eye Zac noticed business transactions under way. It seems the rough looking man was also the local source of marijuana.

But bad situations are often good soil. Because Zac made time to go to the dark places and plant the seed, this man is now considering the claims of Christ.

How much time do you have?

Thanks for joining us in this mission,

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

Sometimes it’s good to break tradition

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2013-02-06T19:47:57-07:00

Dear Friends,

Sometimes it’s good to break tradition.

Rachel has just been accepted as a new JV missionary and will join our camp team to help expand evangelistic camps across Eastern Europe. Her home church in Belfast Ireland is not accustomed to supporting missionaries. She is the first one to be sent since the church was founded – 353 years ago!

Slovenia has a tiny evangelical population of just over 1500 believers in a country of 2 million. Our team there is constantly looking for new ways to share the gospel and decided to capitalize on the national love for snowboarding. In February, they will host snowboard outreaches in three ski areas with Christians from the US who have been featured in major snowboarding films. The evangelistic effort is being sponsored by some unlikely partners – Red Bull and Elan!

Between 2000 and 2010 there was just one new church planted in the entire country of Estonia. But that is changing now. JV staff are working with a coalition of young leaders to systematically launch teams into church planting through a two year coaching process called M4. Now six new church plants are underway, and one denomination has decided to make church planting the focus of their efforts – for the first time in their history.

My daughter Claire is meeting regularly with a friend named Tereza. They grab a cup of tea together and go through another lesson of “Look”, an evangelistic Bible study put together by the JV team. Tereza has lot of questions and would love to go to church but is forbidden by her parents. No one in her family is a believer. Following Jesus is not common here in the Czech Republic.

Pray that Tereza, and many like her, would break tradition.

Thankful for change,

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

A little shaking can open up great opportunities

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2013-01-02T05:28:22-07:00

Dear Friends,

Will 2013 be better for you than the year before, or worse?

The news seems to be full of disasters these days. Fiscal cliffs, horrific shootings, destructive storms. It seems so much is out of our control. The best we can do is brace ourselves and prepare for the worst.

In our family devotions we just finished four weeks of study on the topic of fear. A passage from Psalm 46 has been returning to my thoughts ever since.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…”

Here is what you need to know as you look to the year ahead. You are already prepared for the worst. The entire earth could give way and you will still stand firm in the refuge of an almighty God. He is strong enough.

In fact, a little shaking can open up great opportunities. The stability of our present condition is just an illusion – all of what seems so firm will eventually be reduced to dust. When the earth begins to “give way”, we have the opportunity to point people to the rock that cannot be moved, and the hope that cannot be shaken.

As I think about 2013 I can’t get out of my mind the fact that 99% of the young people in the countries where Josiah Venture serves do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. What would make this a great year would be to reach as many of them as possible.

May the events ahead bring great opportunity!

Standing firm,

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

Using music to share the gospel

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2012-12-05T01:40:57-07:00

Dear Friends,

I’m very excited about Fusion, one of our new ministries for reaching young people in Central and Eastern Europe.

Schools in this region excel in academics, but offer none of the extras like music, drama, clubs and sports. Other than taking private lessons, young people don’t really have a chance to learn how to develop their creative skills, or perform with others.

Fusion steps into this gap with high energy rock/pop choirs, where young people learn to play contemporary instruments like drums and electric guitar, and light up the stage with their singing and choreography. Each of these Fusion groups finds its home in a local church, and a part of every practice is the study of God’s Word. Currently over 700 young people are part of Fusion choirs, in four of our JV countries.

Christmas is one of the busiest times for the Fusion ministry, with scores of performances at community and city events. Family and friends turn out in droves to see their kids transformed into budding rock stars, and in the process hear a clear presentation of the gospel. Generally 80% of the young people in Fusion come from non-Christian homes, and are themselves hearing about Christ for the first time.

This ministry has a huge community impact. Terry English, who pioneered Fusion, was just given an award as volunteer of the year in Ostrava, the third largest city in the Czech Republic. The town council recognized that Fusion choirs were reaching more young people than any other single program that the city offered.

Your financial support and prayers makes this kind of innovative ministry possible. Thank you! I trust that many of you will consider an extra gift to your missionary during the holiday season. Thanks for partnering with us to share the greatest gift of all!

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

Same kind of warm

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2012-09-06T11:15:15-07:00

Dear Friends,

One of the challenges of living overseas is that family is often very far away. Our parents live across an ocean, and now so do two of our kids, studying at college in the States. So it is a special treat for me to have my brother Josh on the Josiah Venture team, leading our ministry in Slovenia.

I was with him last week and enjoyed a wonderful evening being family and talking about what God is doing in Slovenia. Relating to his delightful children was a special joy for me.

As I was on my way home to Czech, Josh’s wife, Kristi , sent me a text message with a quote from their six year old son Luke. “I miss Uncle Dave”, he said. “He’s the same kind of warm as my dad.”

Way to make your uncle’s day, Luke! I had a long drive to smile about that one.

But then I started looking at the towns and villages I was passing through. So few of the people who live there know Jesus. Because of that, they are far, very far away from God’s family.

What could possibility reach them? For most, God is either a relic from the past, or an icon from the old, empty stone church in the center of town.

Luke’s comment tapped into the dream I have for the Josiah Venture team. That we would be the “same kind of warm” as our Dad, to these people. That our presence would bring the Father near to everyone we meet.

In the middle of September our entire team gathers together for the JV Fall training conference. Our theme is the lost, and how we can reach more of them with the good news of Jesus.

Thanks for helping us bring Him near,

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

That the Next Generation Would Know

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2012-08-13T00:42:32-07:00

Dear Friends,

One of the key moments in the birth of Josiah Venture took place in my aunt and uncle’s basement, early one morning, over 20 years ago.

I was staying at their house during a trip through Denver, when I woke up with a start at 4:00am. After trying without success to go back to sleep, I realized that I must be awake for a reason. Heading into the living room, I grabbed my Bible and spent some time in prayer, asking God if he had anything to say.

Opening the Word, the Lord immediately led me to a passage in Psalm 78. “The things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us, we will not hide from their descendants; we will tell the next generation… so that the next generation would know…”

Immediately my mind went to Eastern Europe. Who will reach the next generation in that needy place? I sensed that this burden for the coming generation was something very important on God’s heart. A burden he wanted me to share.

Because of that moment, something that happened last week has special significance to me. Jacob Hash, the 17 year-old son of veteran JV Poland missionaries, Dan and Laura Hash, was leading an evangelistic camp with a team of youth from his church. The third day he watched as a friend he had led to the Lord a year ago led one of his buddies to faith in Christ. At just 17, Jacob became a spiritual grandpa!

The next night after he shared the gospel in the evening session another 28 young people put their faith in Christ. What makes this generational chain even more significant is that Jacob’s grandfather was also a missionary – founding a ministry to the American military, together with my father!

Of course, in this area of the world you can trace other generational legacies – of atheism, oppression, and ungodliness. But when the chains of unbelief are broken and a chain of faith is begun, who knows what the next generation will achieve.

Lets not hide it from them!

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

A father of clay

Josiah Venture | News — 2012-06-19T07:38:18-07:00

On December 31, 2011 I became a father. When Titus Benjamin Hughes came into the world not only did he bring joy with him, but he also brought fear and apprehension at my new position as father. See, I didn’t grow up in a Christian family. While my parents did a great job of raising my sister and I, the lack of Godward focus has left me feeling apprehensive, yet excited in my ability to raise a child. Apprehension because of inexperience, but excitement in knowing that I have all the resources I need through the Bible, the Body of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The tension of apprehension and excitement has left me feeling fragile…like a clay jar.

The natural reaction when we have lacked something growing up is either to repeat it or overcompensate for it. Mine has been the later. Over the last five months of being a father I have done everything I could to raise Titus in a Godly way. We pray for him every night before putting him to bed, read from the children’s bible, and talk regularly of how Emily and I want to live in a manner that will show him Christ. But, I fear that I might still mess Titus up or at worst turn him away from Jesus. I fear that when he sees the cracks in my jar that he would turn away, so I try to fill those cracks with perfection, which naturally leaves me wanting.

In all of my thinking and praying about being a good father for my son, I’ve actually forgotten that I can’t be a good father for him. I can commit lots of time with him, read the Bible to him everyday, pray with him, etc, but all of those things come up short in the end.

I can’t be a good father if I am acting independently of the Father.

During Spring Conference, Dave Patty shared that one of the main reasons father’s fail is because it is the way God designed it.

What?!

Yeah, God destined us to fail as fathers, so that we have to point our children to the Father.

In all of my planning and preparing to be a dad, I missed the very important fact that I can’t do it.

I am going to fail Titus…let him down…get angry at him because of my insecurities…sin against him…be impatient with him…mistreat his mother…do I have to go on?

Am I just going to end up raising a kid who is angry with God because his dad lived hypocritically?

Maybe.

But it doesn’t have to be the case. Dave’s message reminded me that I don’t have to live perfectly. My requirement is to live rightly and when I fail, to point Titus to the Father through repenting, asking for forgiveness, and turning towards Jesus.

Second Corinthians 4.6-7 says, “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

I am a jar of clay, easily broken and cracked. But it is those cracks and fissures that allow the light of God to shine through and reveal to Titus His true and perfect heavenly Father.

Life’s SEND/RECEIVE Buttons

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2012-06-09T09:39:36-07:00

Dear Friends,

You know that big button on your E-mail program labeled “send/receive”? I think my life has that
same button – and it just got pushed.

On Wednesday we sent our middle son, Caleb, on a plane from Czech to the United States. He will
be serving this summer on staff at Gull Lake camp in Michigan. In the fall he heads to Moody Bible
Institute to drink deeply of God’s Word and prepare for a lifetime of service. Our oldest son is also a
student at Moody and gets married next Friday in Chattanooga TN – another very significant event!
We’ve hoped and dreamed of the day when our kids would be launched out into the world. Now we
get to push “send”. But along with the joy comes a measure of loss. Our daughter Claire is still with
us, but the house is a lot quieter already.

It’s not very quiet today at Malenovice, our training center in Czech. Close to 100 summer interns
just arrived, and tonight begins their preparation to lead over 80 evangelistic camps across a 12
country region. Now we get to push “receive”! Families and churches all across North America have
sacrificed and given to send us some of their best – and we have the privilege of deploying them
into a very needy harvest field. We have been on the receiving end for years, but I think this time I
have a deeper appreciation for the families these young people left behind. If you are one of those
parents, or one who has given to these precious summer workers, thank you!!

I told them the JV story tonight. I’ve told it hundreds of times, but I still get emotional as I recount
the miracles that led to the birth of Josiah Venture. The unfolding of God’s vision has been so
exciting. “It’s God’s story”, I told them, “and he has invited you into it. And the best part is that it is
still not finished. Some of the best chapters are still to be written – with you!”

At the end of the evening a girl named Aneta came up to me. “Thank you,” she said, “for being
obedient to God’s call. I live in the town of Ceske Budejovice, and because of the JV camps many
have come to faith in Christ in our town. God has started a small revival in the young people that is
changing our entire church. If you ever wonder, just let me tell you – it is making a huge difference.”

Someone sent – and many received. Thanks for faithfully pushing “send” through your gifts and
prayers. Along with Aneta, I am very grateful.

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

Found by your Father

Josiah Venture | Spotlight — 2012-05-09T11:53:26-07:00

Dear Friends,

I continue to be amazed at the impact fathers have on their children. So many young people feel disconnected from their dads, and it affects them in deep ways. One of my daughter’s friends, a 17 year old Czech girl, told her a couple weeks ago that she just heard her dad say he loved her for the first time in her life. “He was drunk at the time”, she said, “but I didn’t even care. I was so happy.”

Some kids actually wish they had more distance from dad, because of the wounding nature of their relationship. Not long ago a Slovakian youth leader told me that when she became a Christian her dad stopped using her name, and just called her “child” to communicate his disdain for her. As she shared the way he still makes fun of her and cuts her down in front of others, my heart broke for her and the pain that she has been through. Bad fathering can leave a lot of debris.

We didn’t choose our fathers and changing them is something that is often out of our control. But I believe there are resources in Christ that are powerful enough to heal these wounds and “re-father” us by connecting us with the perfect Father heart of God.

“I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus said. “No one comes to the FATHER except through me.”

As I write this our team is gathering from 13 different countries to our training center in Malenovice, Czech for four days of training and encouragement. We’ll be talking on the Father heart of God and how we can bring healing to this next generation in Eastern Europe by a deep connection with HIM.

Because of your gifts and prayers, this team is here. Your partnership makes it possible for us show precious young people the way back to the Father.

Thank you!

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture