Ukraine
Ukraine is home to the fastest growing church in Europe.
Brief History
Ukrainian USSR was one of the founding republics of the USSR as far back as 1918. Ukraine has a history of shifting borders and external control. The Orthodox Church has been one of the only withstanding entities of Ukraine. Much of Ukrainian identity is thus found in Orthodoxy. In 1991, the Soviet Union fell, freeing Ukraine as an independent country, but in 2004 the Orange Revolution showed Ukraine’s continued political instability. 70% of Ukrainians still claim to belong to Orthodox Christianity; however, due to the political pressure the church succumbed to under communism, many Ukrainians are skeptical toward it.
Spiritual Demographics
Ukraine is approximately the size of Texas and has a population of approximately 48 million. Only 1-3% of the population is protestant Christian (Baptist and Pentecostal denominations). Unfortunately, the rule-based legalism of the Orthodox Church has impacted the protestant denominations as well.
Ministry Outlook
Ukraine is home to the fastest growing church in Europe. The youth of Ukraine are very open. There is a sense of hope among them that does not exist in the older generation. Often the local church faces a challenge of clashing cultures as young and old struggle over forms of church. In 2006, a small Josiah Venture team moved into the city of Lviv. They began working with local churches to help build youth groups and train youth leaders. They began evangelistic outreaches through camps and English clubs. Josiah Venture has a strategic opportunity to help by modeling healthy discipleship of young people through the local church in a culture that is responding to God‘s call. Pray with us that we can help build sustaining youth ministries, disciple believers to have authentic faith, and train passionate leaders to lead new believers.
Meet the Missionaries
These passionate full-time missionaries have devoted their lives to equipping young leaders in Ukraine through the local church.
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Ukraine
Ministry Projects
Help a Frontline Worker in Ukraine
Our team has identified 50 ministry leaders across eastern Ukraine who are bearing much fruit! These leader have made a significant impact on the expansion of God’s kingdom since the full-scale war began, primarily in the areas of youth ministry and forming new churches in difficult areas. Your gifts will help mobilize these leaders and ministries to serve their vulnerable communities and boldly proclaim the hope we have in Christ.
Our team has identified 50 ministry leaders across eastern Ukraine who are bearing much fruit! These leader have made a significant impact on the expansion of God’s kingdom since the full-scale war began, primarily in the areas of youth ministry and forming new churches in difficult areas. Your gifts will help mobilize these leaders and ministries to serve their vulnerable communities and boldly proclaim the hope we have in Christ.
Our team has identified 50 ministry leaders across eastern Ukraine who are bearing much fruit! These leader have made a significant impact on the expansion of God’s kingdom since the full-scale war began, primarily in the areas of youth ministry and forming new churches in difficult areas. Your gifts will help mobilize these leaders and ministries to serve their vulnerable communities and boldly proclaim the hope we have in Christ.
Help Ukraine – General Fund
The Josiah Venture team continues to serve Ukrainians by responding to their various needs in the midst of war. Currently, the team is focused on three major areas of aid:
Youth Ministry Development: Our geographical focus is on 14 of the hardest-hit regions of Ukraine, primarily east of the Dnipro River. In these areas, we have been more closely partnering with 50 churches/key leaders who are courageously and intentionally ministering to youth in challenging times.
Ongoing Aid to Key Partners: Due to the atrocities of war, we remain open to helping our eastern partners with humanitarian care. This aid is in the form of internally displaced persons (IDP) assistance, food packages, spiritual and emotional care, and ministering to family members of deceased countrymen and countrywomen.
Propelling JV Ukraine Ministries Forward: The Lord has opened up many doors to strengthen existing initiatives in Ukraine and to launch new ones forward. We are grateful for assistance so that the hope of Christ can go forth boldly in hard times.
The Josiah Venture team continues to serve Ukrainians by responding to their various needs in the midst of war. Currently, the team is focused on three major areas of aid:
Youth Ministry Development: Our geographical focus is on 14 of the hardest-hit regions of Ukraine, primarily east of the Dnipro River. In these areas, we have been more closely partnering with 50 churches/key leaders who are courageously and intentionally ministering to youth in challenging times.
Ongoing Aid to Key Partners: Due to the atrocities of war, we remain open to helping our...
The Josiah Venture team continues to serve Ukrainians by responding to their various needs in the midst of war. Currently, the team is focused on three major areas of aid:
Youth Ministry Development: Our geographical focus is on 14 of the hardest-hit regions of Ukraine, primarily east of the Dnipro River. In these areas, we have been more closely partnering with 50 churches/key leaders who are courageously and intentionally ministering to youth in challenging times.
Ongoing Aid to Key Partners: Due to the atrocities of war, we remain open to helping our eastern partners with humanitarian care. This aid is in the form of internally displaced persons (IDP) assistance, food packages, spiritual and emotional care, and ministering to family members of deceased countrymen and countrywomen.
Propelling JV Ukraine Ministries Forward: The Lord has opened up many doors to strengthen existing initiatives in Ukraine and to launch new ones forward. We are grateful for...
Send a Ukrainian to Summer Camp
Financial times are hard in Ukraine, yet summer camps continue to be a fruitful tool to encourage young people to follow Christ. Since the war started, JV Ukraine has been hosting a record amount of camps each summer (30+). Financial assistance for camp scholarships will help families in financial hardship.
Financial times are hard in Ukraine, yet summer camps continue to be a fruitful tool to encourage young people to follow Christ. Since the war started, JV Ukraine has been hosting a record amount of camps each summer (30+). Financial assistance for camp scholarships will help families in financial hardship.
Financial times are hard in Ukraine, yet summer camps continue to be a fruitful tool to encourage young people to follow Christ. Since the war started, JV Ukraine has been hosting a record amount of camps each summer (30+). Financial assistance for camp scholarships will help families in financial hardship.
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In Harm’s Way
Dear Friends, Someone needs to protect the flock. Ukrainian troops continue to fight a grinding and exhausting war against Russian invaders on their eastern front. Many have fled the towns and villages along the front line, but some still remain, including many families with young people. Life is particularly bleak for these teenagers. In most locations a curfew kicks in at 5:00 pm, meaning civilians are confined to their homes with stores and businesses closed. In some places, the limitations only lift at noon the next day, leaving just a few hours for young people to have any connections with others. Most school classes are…
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My Journey as an Intern in Ukraine
The summer is quickly coming to a close, but I would like to share with you about God’s goodness and what a fantastic summer I had as an intern in Ukraine. I will start from the beginning and why I decided to do the internship. The desire to try an internship remained with me at a time when all other desires disappeared. God kept this sparkle in my heart. (It may sound strange, but this is a feeling that I remember well.) I wanted to boldly accept this challenge and serve him in a new way. My time as an intern helped me become closer…
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Two Thousand Camps
Dear Friends, This is a moment to pause and give thanks. In the summer of 1994, thirty years ago this month, the first Josiah Venture (JV) English camp took place in the Czech Republic. It was a wild experiment, launched with only six weeks of preparation and plenty of chaos. I was teaching in a local school at that time, serving in a small evangelical church, and trying to figure out how to reach lost young people. Our youth meetings averaged five in attendance. One of my students had the idea for a summer English camp. My brother Josh volunteered to help us with his youth group…