When I moved to Chicago in 2013 to study Children's Ministry at Moody, I never expected that I would get to return to the Czech Republic after graduating. It's really happening though!! The Lord surprises us.
I grew up as a child of JV missionaries and lived in the Czech Republic for the first 18 years of my life. After graduating from a Czech national school, I moved to Chicago to begin studying at Moody. During my years there, God placed a passion in my heart for third-culture kids.
David Pollock says, “A third culture kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.”
I am in preparation now to move into full time ministry with Josiah Venture, and I love seeing how all of the pieces of my past and present are being put together for what's ahead. I myself am a TCK, and I share this identity with the JV Kids! TCK’s are often impacted by frequent transitions, a sense of loss with constant goodbyes, confusion about a place of belonging, conflicting cultural values, and loneliness and isolation. These struggles act as opportunities for God to work mightily in the lives of JV Kids.
As the JVK Ministry Specialist, I will come alongside the JVK and their parents to help equip them to fulfill the Great Commission within their local church and communities. This will involve assisting with major JVK events (conferences, camps, retreats), spending time in homes of JV families, creating and gathering resources for families, and broadening our knowledge of the greater TCK contexts around the world.
The Lord has given these 103 JV Kids particular skills in crossing cultural boundaries and communicating in their second language. Even though they are young, they play a key part in JV’s vision for a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe - one that finds its home in the local church and transforms society.
I have seen God work in mighty ways in Central and Eastern Europe since my childhood. It's such a joy to now partner in His work as an adult.
We are praying for a movement of God in Central and Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. Would you like to join God's work across these dear countries by partnering with me in the ministry of Josiah Venture?
If you'd like to hear more about what I'll be doing specifically, or would like to receive my newsletters and updates, support JV with your prayers or financially, you can send me an e-mail at clairepatty@josiahventure.com, or visit the JV website for more info by clicking here: Claire's JV Bio.
I look forward to what God has in store next! The journey is just beginning, and yet it is a story God has been weaving together for years.
I grew up as a child of JV missionaries and lived in the Czech Republic for the first 18 years of my life. After graduating from a Czech national school, I moved to Chicago to begin studying at Moody. During my years there, God placed a passion in my heart for third-culture kids.
David Pollock says, “A third culture kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.”
I am in preparation now to move into full time ministry with Josiah Venture, and I love seeing how all of the pieces of my past and present are being put together for what's ahead. I myself am a TCK, and I share this identity with the JV Kids! TCK’s are often impacted by frequent transitions, a sense of loss with constant goodbyes, confusion about a place of belonging, conflicting cultural values, and loneliness and isolation. These struggles act as opportunities for God to work mightily in the lives of JV Kids.
As the JVK Ministry Specialist, I will come alongside the JVK and their parents to help equip them to fulfill the Great Commission within their local church and communities. This will involve assisting with major JVK events (conferences, camps, retreats), spending time in homes of JV families, creating and gathering resources for families, and broadening our knowledge of the greater TCK contexts around the world.
The Lord has given these 103 JV Kids particular skills in crossing cultural boundaries and communicating in their second language. Even though they are young, they play a key part in JV’s vision for a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe - one that finds its home in the local church and transforms society.
I have seen God work in mighty ways in Central and Eastern Europe since my childhood. It's such a joy to now partner in His work as an adult.
We are praying for a movement of God in Central and Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society. Would you like to join God's work across these dear countries by partnering with me in the ministry of Josiah Venture?
If you'd like to hear more about what I'll be doing specifically, or would like to receive my newsletters and updates, support JV with your prayers or financially, you can send me an e-mail at clairepatty@josiahventure.com, or visit the JV website for more info by clicking here: Claire's JV Bio.
I look forward to what God has in store next! The journey is just beginning, and yet it is a story God has been weaving together for years.
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| A photo of JV Kids from 1997! Can you spot me? (Front row on the left!) |
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