Slovakia
Our desire is to train, help, and inspire Slovak youth leaders.
Brief History
The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I allowed the Slovaks to join the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. During this time, the church was considered dead and Jesus was, to many, a fictional character. For this reason, Christians held “underground” ministries, but many got in trouble or sent to prison for holding youth meetings in their homes. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia became free once again. The Slovaks and Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on January 1, 1993. Immediately after the wall came down, there was an influx of new believers. However, the western culture brought consumerism, creating disillusionment among the people and a lack of interest in the local church.
Spiritual Demographics
Slovakia’s population is around 5,400,000, of which the modern evangelical church makes up just 10,000 people. This means that less than 0.2% of the Slovak population are part of these churches. Historical Evangelicals (Lutherans) make up 5.9% of the church community and represent the largest Protestant denomination. The Roman Catholic Church is the most dominant in the country, with over 62% of the population claiming membership.
Ministry Outlook
As in all the former Eastern Bloc countries, the fall of communism brought enormous cultural and spiritual change to Slovakia. A surge of spiritual interest and hunger from 1989 to 1995 resulted in many students coming to Christ. As great as this was, the growing number of young inquisitive Christians exposed the absence of trained youth leaders who could provide guidance and encouragement. In addition to this, the religious climate of existing churches continues to be one that emphasizes what a person does for God rather than who a person is to God.
Training Center Kompas, a Josiah Venture national organization, exists to train, equip, and inspire the next generation of leaders in Slovakia to forge a new path of grace for the youth following behind them. We believe that as we invest in the leaders, we are serving not only the youth, but also the churches, and even the whole country of Slovakia. It is our hope that more and more people in Slovakia will be forever changed by God’s grace. The Lord has enabled us to establish a one-year internship program for youth leaders throughout Slovakia. In addition to the internship, we provide a 3-day annual conference for youth leaders, and we help churches reach the youth of their cities through evangelistic English camps, Fusion (rock-pop choirs), and Edge (sports program).
Please pray with us that the next generation of leaders in Slovakia will be deeply rooted in the knowledge of Christ’s love and grace. Pray that they will be agents of inspiration and that a movement of God will sweep across the nation, forever changing individuals, churches and communities.
Meet the Missionaries
These passionate full-time missionaries have devoted their lives to equipping young leaders in Slovakia through the local church.
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Slovakia
Ministry Projects
Camps – Slovakia
Nothing is better than to see how students hear and accept the gospel and then observe how the local youth group leads them to grow in a relationship with Jesus which then do the same with their friends and close people. Using conversational English as the connection point, English Camps help unbelievers connect to the local church. Along with facilitating these camps, the Camps team also trains and develops young Slovak leaders to serve as interns in these camps and in their local churches back home. Your donation will help to support our Slovak interns, send Slovak students to camp, and support national leaders.
Nothing is better than to see how students hear and accept the gospel and then observe how the local youth group leads them to grow in a relationship with Jesus which then do the same with their friends and close people. Using conversational English as the connection point, English Camps help unbelievers connect to the local church. Along with facilitating these camps, the Camps team also trains and develops young Slovak leaders to serve as interns in these camps and in their local churches back home. Your donation will help...
Nothing is better than to see how students hear and accept the gospel and then observe how the local youth group leads them to grow in a relationship with Jesus which then do the same with their friends and close people. Using conversational English as the connection point, English Camps help unbelievers connect to the local church. Along with facilitating these camps, the Camps team also trains and develops young Slovak leaders to serve as interns in these camps and in their local churches back home. Your donation will help to support our Slovak interns, send Slovak students to camp, and support national leaders.
Edge Sports Ministry – Slovakia
Edge is using sports like European football to help evangelize and disciple the youth of the city while connecting them with their local church community. We see our team practices, tournaments, and camps not only as a way to provide young people with a fun outlet for their athletic energy and interest, but also as an intentional tool to equip these athletes with the hope of the gospel that we believe changes everything, both inside the gym and out. We invite you to become part of this ministry through financial support. This way we can help and equip the local churches to start this ministry.
Edge is using sports like European football to help evangelize and disciple the youth of the city while connecting them with their local church community. We see our team practices, tournaments, and camps not only as a way to provide young people with a fun outlet for their athletic energy and interest, but also as an intentional tool to equip these athletes with the hope of the gospel that we believe changes everything, both inside the gym and out. We invite you to become part of this ministry through financial...
Edge is using sports like European football to help evangelize and disciple the youth of the city while connecting them with their local church community. We see our team practices, tournaments, and camps not only as a way to provide young people with a fun outlet for their athletic energy and interest, but also as an intentional tool to equip these athletes with the hope of the gospel that we believe changes everything, both inside the gym and out. We invite you to become part of this ministry through financial support. This way we can help and equip the local churches to start this ministry.
Exit Tour – Slovakia
High school is a time of tough, moral choices, EXIT Tour partners with the local church and goes into schools with an American or Slovak or British rock band and national speakers to help teens learn how to avoid life-threatening mistakes and habits, with an evangelistic concert at the end of the week.
High school is a time of tough, moral choices, EXIT Tour partners with the local church and goes into schools with an American or Slovak or British rock band and national speakers to help teens learn how to avoid life-threatening mistakes and habits, with an evangelistic concert at the end of the week.
High school is a time of tough, moral choices, EXIT Tour partners with the local church and goes into schools with an American or Slovak or British rock band and national speakers to help teens learn how to avoid life-threatening mistakes and habits, with an evangelistic concert at the end of the week.
School of Leaders – Slovakia
Help expand the impact of the two-year School of Leaders Program, which desires to train 100 emerging leaders in the ministry priorities of Christ.
Help expand the impact of the two-year School of Leaders Program, which desires to train 100 emerging leaders in the ministry priorities of Christ.
Help expand the impact of the two-year School of Leaders Program, which desires to train 100 emerging leaders in the ministry priorities of Christ.
Slovakia National Interns
National internship is a key a part of our mission of equipping young leaders. It provides a great opportunity for leaders from local churches to see the movement of God on a national level, to disciple teenagers from different regions, and to use their gifts and skills for His Kingdom. Every year we invite several youth leaders from Slovakia to join our ministry for a period of several months. We would like to ask you to partner with us in this initiative and be a part of God’s movement among the youth in Slovakia.
National internship is a key a part of our mission of equipping young leaders. It provides a great opportunity for leaders from local churches to see the movement of God on a national level, to disciple teenagers from different regions, and to use their gifts and skills for His Kingdom. Every year we invite several youth leaders from Slovakia to join our ministry for a period of several months. We would like to ask you to partner with us in this initiative and be a part of God’s movement among...
National internship is a key a part of our mission of equipping young leaders. It provides a great opportunity for leaders from local churches to see the movement of God on a national level, to disciple teenagers from different regions, and to use their gifts and skills for His Kingdom. Every year we invite several youth leaders from Slovakia to join our ministry for a period of several months. We would like to ask you to partner with us in this initiative and be a part of God’s movement among the youth in Slovakia.
TC Kompas Training Center Expansion
Our training center in Slovakia has been in operation for over 20 years now. As the ministry has grown significantly and also in reaction to COVID we would like to repurpose parts of our current building. By moving walls, we can double the capacity of the current café/training room and thus provide a mid-size meeting room to cater to 50+ person training events of our evangelistic and leadership training ministries. We will also equip a kitchen space that would provide low-cost meal options for the events. In addition to this, we will renovate existing rooms into a recording studio. This will accelerate online content production of training materials that will help us create tailored curriculum offerings to churches and youth groups.
Our training center in Slovakia has been in operation for over 20 years now. As the ministry has grown significantly and also in reaction to COVID we would like to repurpose parts of our current building. By moving walls, we can double the capacity of the current café/training room and thus provide a mid-size meeting room to cater to 50+ person training events of our evangelistic and leadership training ministries. We will also equip a kitchen space that would provide low-cost meal options for the events. In addition to this,...
Our training center in Slovakia has been in operation for over 20 years now. As the ministry has grown significantly and also in reaction to COVID we would like to repurpose parts of our current building. By moving walls, we can double the capacity of the current café/training room and thus provide a mid-size meeting room to cater to 50+ person training events of our evangelistic and leadership training ministries. We will also equip a kitchen space that would provide low-cost meal options for the events. In addition to this, we will renovate existing rooms into a recording studio. This will accelerate online content production of training materials that will help us create tailored curriculum offerings to churches and youth groups.
Training Conferences – Slovakia
Invest in the largest Eastern European youth conference that invites over 600 Slovak youth leaders and their teams to come together to be challenged, inspired, and motivated to give themselves to the work towards reaching the Slovak youth for Christ.
Invest in the largest Eastern European youth conference that invites over 600 Slovak youth leaders and their teams to come together to be challenged, inspired, and motivated to give themselves to the work towards reaching the Slovak youth for Christ.
Invest in the largest Eastern European youth conference that invites over 600 Slovak youth leaders and their teams to come together to be challenged, inspired, and motivated to give themselves to the work towards reaching the Slovak youth for Christ.
Related Posts
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Events
Summer Festivals
Dear Friends, Not all of your fruit grows on our trees. The vision of Josiah Venture is a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe, a movement that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. Over the years, we have developed powerful vehicles to pursue that vision through Training, National Conferences, Camps, Fusion Music Ministry, Edge Sports, and Exit Ministry in schools. Thankfully there are also others working with youth in the region, and helping them be successful with their programs is also vital to seeing our vision become a reality. Summer festivals are a great example of this investment.
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Spotlight
No Other Gods
Dear Friends, What releases God’s movement? King Josiah began seeking the God of his father David when he was just 16 years old. Noticing the temple in disarray, he started to clean and rebuild it, finding the long-discarded Word of God hidden in the ruins. As he read the prophets, he realized that the land was full of idols and gathered the entire nation to hear his stirring challenge: “Remove your idols and return to true worship of the one true God.” Inspired by King Josiah, our team in Slovakia recently gathered over 700 youth leaders for three days of training on idol removal. Today,…
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Spotlight
The Gospel in Music
Music speaks to the mind, but it reaches the soul. When Christmas comes, everyone wants to make the holiday season unique and special. Ten years ago, Terry English, the founder of our JV Fusion music ministry, had a flash of Spirit-powered inspiration as he thought ahead to the holidays. Music seemed to connect teenagers, but could it also take the gospel to their parents?