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October 19, 2017

A Summer Well Spent

You can do a lot with your summer.

If you’re a college student, summer break gives you the flexibility and freedom to invest in your future while having fun. It’s the time for stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something exciting that you don’t have space in your schedule for during the school year. Whether working a full-time job to pay off debt, taking an epic road trip with your closest friends, or volunteering more at church or a local ministry, the summer season brings plenty of opportunities for you to serve Christ and challenge yourself while making memories that you’ll talk about for years to come.

One such opportunity is interning with us here at Josiah Venture.

This past summer, with the help of 105 interns (82 North Americans and 23 Europeans), we put on over 100 evangelistic English, music, and sports camps across Central and Eastern Europe, where thousands of young nationals heard the message of the gospel, many for the very first time, and local believers were encouraged to take steps closer to Jesus.

We know you can do a lot with your summer, but here are a few reasons why you should consider spending your next summer interning with us.

The Harvest Needs Workers

Maybe you’ve already heard us talk about the harvest recently. Well, what Jesus called the harvest back in His day –the crowds in need of His hope– is right here and now. Josiah Venture serves a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. We do so because only around one in a hundred young people here know that Jesus loves them. We want to change that, but in order to do so, we need workers. You could be one of them.

Chris Cox, one of our Edge International interns last summer, explains it this way, “The fields here are ripe for the harvest. At most of the camps, it was mostly non-Christians….you can probably just love on them and they’ll respond to that….It’s simple, that kid is probably not a Christian and I can share the gospel and it would be the first time they’ve had someone share that with them.”

Partner with us for a summer, and you’ll help fill a need. As Ruthanne VandenBosch, our intern coordinator says, “As we ask God to send more workers into the fields of Central and Eastern Europe, He often answers these prayers through our interns.” Our camps wouldn’t happen without our interns working with us to spread the gospel and disciple young believers.

The Harvest Will Change Others

This need that you’d help fill as an intern changes young people’s lives for the better. There is eternal fruit that comes from your ministry with us. In kicking around soccer balls, in playing funny games, in teaching English idioms, and helping put on concerts you get to be an example of Christ’s love to teenagers who don’t see that very often.

As Kellie Wolff, a 2017 intern in Bulgaria, says, “At the end of the day, it’s not about me, it’s not about my intern team, it’s about Jesus and His light shining. And I truly want to be a part of that in whatever way possible –whether that’s filling up water balloons for people to have a water balloon fight or if that’s taking a girl aside and telling her that she’s loved and accepted by Jesus.”

When you’re willing to be humble and serve God however you can here as an intern, we’re sure you’ll see Him show up and change lives in major ways. Here’s a video of one student in Slovakia whose life was eternally changed by attending a JV camp.

The Harvest Will Change You

Besides helping to reap a good harvest and seeing God change people’s lives, as an intern, we think you’ll see God change things in your own life too.

If you’re like Chris or Kellie, you’ll go home at the end of the summer more motivated and inspired to be intentionally involved in ministry in your local context and having learned significant lessons about who God is and who He’s created you to be.

To encourage you to apply, Kellie says, “College is a time where we’re figuring out who we are. I can’t imagine a better place to do that than overseas serving with other believers.”

You can do a lot with your summer.

What if for your next one you consider interning with Josiah Venture? You’ll get to travel, experience different cultures, make new friends, develop leadership skills, all while having a fun adventure in Europe. Everything you’d want in a summer break, right?

You’ll find though that the JV internship is about a lot more than that, because when you come to serve with us, you’ll be meeting a need for harvest workers, helping to change lives and bring God’s kingdom here in Europe, and seeing yourself change in significant ways as well.

That’s why Chris recommends the internship, calling it a “a summer well spent.”

Do you want to intern with us for summer 2018? Or do you know someone who would make a great intern? Click here for videos and more info on how to apply.

Also, we are currently on our recruitment tour. Please pray with us that God would provide the right interns for this coming summer, and come visit us if you’re around one of the following college campuses.

Recruitment Tour Schedule:

Oct. 23 …Multnomah University and Corban University, OR
Oct. 24 …Sangre de Cristo Seminary, CO and Taylor University, IN
Oct. 25 …Moody Spokane, WA
Oct. 26 …Colorado Christian, CO

Oct. 30 …Covenant College, GA
Oct. 31 …Bryan College, TN

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