Some moments in life are sacred. Sometimes, in the midst of the ordinary and everyday, God invites us into something bigger than ourselves.

The small group of young national leaders walked for a half hour up the hill, crunching through the crystalized snow that looked like sugar and breathing in the crisp nighttime air. Chatting about travel, God’s leading, and the past couple of days, they laughed and felt grateful for time outside to move around. The four, from Latvia and Slovakia, had spent most of the day sitting inside at our Malenovice training center in the Czech Republic, where over 30 of JV’s new full-time staff members from all over Central and Eastern Europe gathered this week for orientation.

After a packed day of discussing how to develop a support team, learning more about JV’s structure and beginnings, and listening to everything in their second language (English), the enthusiastic bunch got to their destination on the hill and stopped. From the look out, on a path surrounded by tall trees, they could see all the lights of Frydlant and other nearby Moravian towns below, mirroring the many stars above.

It was hard not to be in awe. They stood silent. Some things are just sacred.

In one of the most atheistic parts of the world, where these four stand out as the only followers of Christ in a group of 100 (if not more), God has invited Josiah Venture to serve His movement here that is already changing lives and transforming society.

Standing on that mountain at night, it was hard not to notice the beauty and strength that light brings to a dark world. The nationals with unique languages and cultures, diverse backgrounds, and a variety of skills and stories, are connected by a shared calling. A calling, that as believers, we all share --”You are the light of the world. Don’t hide it.”

Standing on that hill, those four lights have the potential to shine so bright before the youth in their churches and cities and countries. They, and the others, left this weekend to go back into their local contexts where they’ll do everything from coordinate Edge sports teams in Romania, to help plant churches with our Advance ministry in the Ukraine, to evangelize and disciple young people through camps in Bulgaria.

We hope that as they step into their roles, they’d wholeheartedly pursue the sacred, so that all those around them would see their light, like stars in the sky, and glorify our Father in heaven.

Please pray for our new national staff as they commit to full-time ministry in order to spread light where God has placed them.