Josiah Venture Stories

Get excited for new Podcast content in 2025! For January, we will take a break from the interview-style episodes to share the main talks from our last fall conference, "Word Formed." The fourth and final episode of our "Word Formed" conference series is "Sacred Rhythms, Atomic Habits" with Landen Llamas. In this episode, Landen explores ways to develop consistent, sacred habits of encountering God...

Get excited for new Podcast content in 2025! For January, we will take a break from the interview-style episodes to share the main talks from our last fall conference, "Word Formed." The third episode of our "Word Formed" conference series is "Word Formed Hope" with Tyler Patty, Director of the ForMission College EU Campus. In today's world, young people face a constant barrage of conflicting mess...

Get excited for new Podcast content in 2025! For January, we will take a break from the interview-style episodes to share the main talks from our last fall conference, "Word Formed." The second speaker you will hear from in this episode is Landen Llamas, a teacher for the ForMission College EU Campus. In today's world, young people face a constant barrage of conflicting messages about identity, tr...

Get excited for new Podcast content in 2025! For January, we will take a break from the interview-style episodes to share the main talks from our last fall conference, "Word Formed." The first speaker you will hear from in this episode is Sean Smith. He is the Research Director for the Josiah Venture Research Institute and a Formation Tutor for the ForMission College EU Campus. Video clip Sean men...

Landen Llamas is originally from California and now lives and serves in Olomouc, Czech Republic, alongside his wife, Jenny, who is a Czech national. They first met in 2005 at a Josiah Venture English Camp. He came to serve with his short-term missions team, and Jenny was the Czech translator and a summer intern with Josiah Venture. As their own relationship grew, so did their love for ministering...

David & Katka Bordner share their profound experiences of suffering, faith, and community as they recount their journey through various health challenges while serving in Slovenia. Their story begins with a transformative trip to Slovenia that led to a lifelong commitment to youth ministry and missions. From David's persistent health issues starting in 2004 to Katka's own health struggles amidst t...

Happy Thanksgiving! It's that time of year to express gratitude. This is the third year that we have released a special Thanksgiving episode of the Podcast. It is encouraging to hear from Josiah Venture missionaries, who live across Central and Eastern Europe, sharing what they're grateful for in this season. Get ready to discover their favorite aspects of this holiday, including a meaningful Bibl...

Part 2 of Fall Conference interviews!   Please enjoy getting to know these guests:   1. Diana from Ukraine , interviewed by Tadej from Slovenia 2. Lote from Latvia , interviewed by Tadej from Slovenia 3. Katka from Slovenia , interviewed by Tadej from Slovenia 4. Adina from Romania , interviewed by Tadej from Slovenia 5. Andre from Romania , interviewed by Kate from the USA 6. Nia from Bulgaria ,...

Part 1 of Fall Conference interviews! Please enjoy getting to know these guests: Valere from Montenegro/France, interviewed by Gwynne Tom from the Czech Republic, interviewed by Gwynne Adka from Slovakia, interviewed by Gwynne Kate from the USA, interviewed by Tadej from Slovenia   Amazing things happen when 400+ youth leaders from 21 countries come together to dive into God's Word! The Josiah Ven...

New teaching podcast!  🎙️ The theme of our 2024 annual Spring Conference was "EMPOWERED" - releasing the power of God in your life and ministry.⁠ Back in May, 300 2nd—and 3rd-culture missionaries gathered at Malenovice, Czech Republic, to be refreshed and encouraged. ⁠ When Jesus gave his disciples the charge to spread his good news to the entire world, he told them that they needed power from on...

New teaching podcast!  🎙️ The theme of our 2024 annual Spring Conference was "EMPOWERED" - releasing the power of God in your life and ministry.⁠ Back in May, 300 2nd—and 3rd-culture missionaries gathered at Malenovice, Czech Republic, to be refreshed and encouraged. ⁠ When Jesus gave his disciples the charge to spread his good news to the entire world, he told them that they needed power from on...

New teaching podcast!  🎙️ The theme of our 2024 annual Spring Conference was "EMPOWERED" - releasing the power of God in your life and ministry.⁠ Back in May, 300 2nd—and 3rd-culture missionaries gathered at Malenovice, Czech Republic, to be refreshed and encouraged. ⁠ When Jesus gave his disciples the charge to spread his good news to the entire world, he told them that they needed power from on...

New teaching podcast! 🎙️ The theme of our 2024 annual Spring Conference was "EMPOWERED" - releasing the power of God in your life and ministry.⁠ Back in May, 300 2nd—and 3rd-culture missionaries gathered at Malenovice, Czech Republic, to be refreshed and encouraged. ⁠ When Jesus gave his disciples the charge to spread his good news to the entire world, he told them that they needed power from on h...

New teaching podcast! 🎙️ The theme of our 2024 annual Spring Conference was "EMPOWERED" - releasing the power of God in your life and ministry.⁠ Back in May, 300 2nd—and 3rd-culture missionaries gathered at Malenovice, Czech Republic, to be refreshed and encouraged. ⁠ When Jesus gave his disciples the charge to spread his good news to the entire world, he told them that they needed power from on h...

New teaching podcast! 🎙️ The theme of our 2024 annual Spring Conference was "EMPOWERED" - releasing the power of God in your life and ministry.⁠ Back in May, 300 2nd—and 3rd-culture missionaries gathered at Malenovice, Czech Republic, to be refreshed and encouraged. ⁠ When Jesus gave his disciples the charge to spread his good news to the entire world, he told them that they needed power from on h...

In this special 100th episode of Josiah Venture Stories, host Gwynne Gardner interviews Josiah Venture alumni Lauree Austin. Originally from Boring, Oregon, Lauree now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, working as a DJ for K Love radio. During the conversation, Lauree recounts her unexpected journey from the U.S. to serve with Josiah Venture in the Czech Republic, her diverse roles and experiences, an...

Amy Moore has led and served on short-term mission teams to Slovenia for the past eight years.  She lives in Nashville, TN, where she works as the Director of Connections for Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN. Amy's deep love for youth ministry and her extensive experience volunteering with her church's student ministry sparked her passion for Josiah Venture's vision and mission. In this ep...

Josh Nelson grew up in Hawaii and was first connected with Josiah Venture through a trip with Moody Bible Institute. He has lived and served in the Czech Republic for 12 years and lives in Ostrava with his wife, Zuzi, and their daughter, Valentina. Josh and Zuzi serve together on the Camps team, equipping local Czech churches, mission Teams, and interns to reach out to their communities. In additi...

Julia Budd has been the International Summer Ministry Coordinator for Josiah Venture since 2021. She first came to the Czech Republic in 2013 as an intern. That summer, she saw how camps could be a powerful tool for discipleship as young people encountered Jesus for the first time and young leaders grew as disciple-makers in their local churches. Her internship, semester in Lithuania, and short-te...

Dóra Klauz, known to many as Dorka, was born and raised in Hungary. She serves in a youth group in Győr and has been a Hungarian Summer intern three times. A Formission graduate, Dorka now works part-time with the new Research Institute of Josiah Venture and manages the JVHungary Instagram account. She loves traveling and learning about new cultures and is constantly seeking new experiences and kn...

Summers are always exciting throughout the 16 Central and Eastern European countries Josiah Venture is located in as local churches prepare for camps and missions teams to arrive. Another cause for all the excitement is our summer internship program. Each summer, we invite college students and young adults who love Jesus and want to share the gospel with others to join us to help impact the next g...

Ranno Seppel has worked with Koma, Josiah Venture's partner organization in Estonia, since Fall 2017. He has been the Edge Sports Director there for four years and has been involved in soccer camps for eight years. He recently accepted the Director of Edge Sports International role, which is very exciting! He desires to equip churches and leaders to use sports as a tool in their youth ministries....

This episode is all about Sports! The first-ever EDGE GAMES International sports tournament was recently held in Rumburk, Czech Republic. 340 people from 9 Central and Eastern European countries gathered to compete in floorball, football, or soccer for all Americans listening. The EDGE SPORTS ministry currently involves 1000 young people and tends to impact teenagers more deeply than typical tradi...

Bartek Wilkosz has been a Josiah Venture missionary in Poland for three years. His first involvement with Josiah Venture was in 2014 when he participated in a camp called Growth Academy, organized by El Dorado—one of JV Poland's national projects. El Dorado's activities aim to help young people discover Christ and his calling for their lives and equip teenage leaders to serve in their local youth...

Tino Peste and his wife live and serve in Constanta, Romania. Tino met and married Cristiana while they were studying theology in their country's capital and attending the same church. After finishing their education, both felt God's calling to serve the young generation in Constanta. They have two girls, Amanda & Haria. They believe that the best way to serve the church of today is actually to se...