Envisioning the day...

We received a beautiful email from Friedemann Volke, the pastor of the German church we will be joining upon our arrival. He told us about a work day at their daughter-church, working to finish some rooms in the building. He says that as he looks at the rooms which are still filled with construction material and covered in dirt, he envisions us doing youth ministry training there one day. (I hope not too much of the sentiment is lost in translation.)

Together with another church, they have also begun preparations for next summer's church camps - their theme: Robin Hood (seems to focus on standing up for what is right). Currently, their camps are for a young audience: 9-12 year olds, and 12-15 year old. We join Friedemann in his hopes that we will be able to add an English camp for high school age students during the summer of 2013.

To be a part of making that happen, go to www.josiahventure.com/give/people/191 and please remember to pray for us!

To read more about Josiah Venture's youth ministry training programs in Eastern Europe, click here.
To read more about English camps, click here and consider reading some of these JV blogs about last summer's camps:
            Collision with Christ
            What is JV Doing This Summer
            An Unlikely Story

And for your personal enjoyment, here is a banner for the Leipzig church summer camp:

Are you excited?

I love this commercial because it reminds me of how excited I am about being a part of God's kingdom work. How about you? Are you the guy who can't contain his excitement or the one wondering what's wrong with him? I hope that all of us will be contagiously excited about being a part of God's plan for His people.

This commercial also expresses how absolutely psyched Joel and I are about the opportunity to go to Eastern Germany with Josiah Venture. We can't wait to be a part of what God is doing among the young people in Leipzig!

Would you continue to pray for us as we prepare to go? We are still in need of much financial support, so would you remember us in your year-end giving and your financial plans for 2012? And when you become a part of our team through prayer and/or financial support, I hope you get just as psyched about what God is doing through you in former East Germany!

Our Future Church Home

We are excited to tell you that the "EFG Jacobsstrasse" has agreed to be our church home in Germany. They were one of the churches we visited a year ago on our second vision trip around Southeastern Germany.

This congregation has been faithfully praying for us and about having us join them. Their pastor, Friedemann, passes along updates about our progress regularly and has been a very helpful resource as well as a new friend to us. The church had send Friedemann to ask us about joining around the same time as we asked him the same thing. Only God's timing is so perfect.

When we visited we were excited about the church's involvement with young people, their cooperation with other area churches (very common strength among German churches), as well as the potential of their facility and church grounds (including a small adjacent soccer field, an apartment set up for missions trip visitors, and central location of the church).

The EFG Jacobsstrasse also has a daughter-church (church plant) in nearby Schkeuditz, still without a youth group. We hope that, as our team grows, we will be able to send a team member or family to start a youth group at this church plant.

EFG stands for Evangelische Freikirchliche Gemeinde, and this denomination is a part of the German Baptist Church.

Welcome, Carrie and George!

We are very excited to announce that our close friends Carrie and George Vera are now officially a part of the JV Eastern Germany team.
A little over a year ago, God first laid on their hearts to consider joining us and Josiah Venture in former East Germany. As it became more clear to them that God was opening doors and calling them to full time mission work, they began conversations with Josiah Venture and - as you already know from a previous blog update - they were able to attend Josiah Venture's spring conference in the Czech Republic in May. They completed their application process over the summer and are now officially accepted. It happened just in time for Josiah Venture's fall orientation, which they were able to attend last week.
George and Carrie have a heart for reaching young people for Christ and have worked with youth in various settings. We believe our personalities and areas of strength will complement each other and make us a good team. George and Carrie have a 20 months old daughter and are expecting their second child in March of 2012. They are now also in the process of raising support in hopes to move to Eastern Germany by next fall.
We will keep you updated as their profile goes up on the Josiah Venture website. Would you pray for them as they prepare to move overseas and raise support? Would you prayerfully consider supporting both of our families and the Josiah Venture ministry in Eastern Germany?
Please, also pray for us as we still hope to recruit more team members even while we are still in the support raising process. Thank you for your support.

The 30/30 Sleep Talk Challenge!

So, Joel sleep talks!

This morning as Eliana and I were getting up, Joel's head pops off the pillow and he explains to us, "Also, when you think youth ministry, think ages 13-30.." He trailed off when he realized we already know this :-)


It's part of his usual explanation about the Josiah Venture ministry, going into detail on the word "youth" in Josiah Venture's vision statement: 
A movement of God among the YOUTH of Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society.

Now that was his first time talking in his sleep about fundraising but how often does he talk in his sleep??

Oh, if we had a dollar for every time Joel sleep talks!!

Seriously! Are you willing to give us a dollar for every night Joel sleep talks? That pretty much comes to $30 a month.

We are looking for 30 people to support the JV ministry in Eastern Germany at $30/month. Will you be one of them? 

You know, sometimes Joel talks in his sleep multiple times a night, so if you are able, consider supporting us at $60, $90, or $120 a month. Thank you for helping us get overseas!

You can give to our ministry at: https://www.josiahventure.com/give/people/191


Still got questions about our ministry?
Email us at jhopkins@josiahventure.com or ehopkins@josiahventure.com

Church Supprt

This past weekend, we had the chance to visit a church very dear to my heart: Fellowship Chapel of Bolingbrook. This is where I (Ellen) became a believer in 2000. We were invited to speak about our missions plans in Sunday School and Joel preached during the service.

Please, continue to pray for us as we visit churches we have been involved with in the past to seek support for our missions plans. This fall, while Joel and I are both working part time, we are focusing on raising support. Our hope and goal is to raise 100% by the end of the year. Are you able to help us reach our goal?

Back from English Camp

Joel and our youth group returned safely from the Czech Republic last Wednesday. Thank you for your prayers.

Our youth group helped to put on an English camp for Czech believers and unbelievers. Our group was stretched as their taught English, made new friends, and shared their faith with peers from a different culture. Every one of them loved their experience.

To find out more about how Josiah Venture English Camps work, check out Dave Patty's latest blog:
http://www.josiahventure.com/blog/what-is-jv-doing-this-summer/