Meet a good friend of mine who has taken a big leap of faith to serve Jesus

Josh (on the right) with Arden Musselmen, his friend, mentor, and now fellow worker.

I’ve known Josh Tallman for almost 30 years. In that time he’s grown from a quiet little camper, to a successful computer engineer working around the world, and now I have the privilege of working alongside Joshua as our newest full time Regional Director serving in Southern California and the Southwest. 

I have personally experienced the incredible gifts and character God has given to Josh and am excited to have the privilege both to introduce him to you through the interview below and to look forward to years of serving alongside him!

My favorite parts of the interview:

• Trying to use orange soda to heal a gunshot wound
• Hearing  him describe the huge impact CSB men made in his life
• The midnight rescue mission
• Minimalist camping gone bad

Serving you so you can serve the next generation,

Dave Gregg and the CSB Team

Our Young Teenager Was in a Dark Place

God used the men in Battalion and the call to serve as a key means of saving a young man from the darkness into which he'd fallen.

We live in a dark world. The Bible is clear that we ought not to be surprised when "we face trials of many kinds." But when our children encounter this darkness for the first time it understandably rocks their world. This is what happened to the young man in the following letter when he experienced "a heartbreaking loss." His faith suffered and his parents felt they had lost their "sweet gentle son." But that is not where his story ends! God used the men in Battalion and the call to serve as a key means of saving this young man from the darkness into which he'd fallen. You can read more in the following letter from his mother. 

Dear CSB Ministries,

I want to let you know what a difference you have made in our son’s life. We’ve taught our children about Christ since the day they were born, had them in Sunday school, and even taught Sunday School, ourselves. They participated in Bible Study groups, children’s programs and we read from the Bible together as a family. They were baptized when they were 8, understood and could relay the gospel to others. They knew their decision to follow Christ must be personal and that following Him was more than lip service.

After experiencing a heartbreaking loss, our young teenager was in a dark place. We sought help and prayed constantly for him. During this time, my husband and I told our son that he must attend his choice of either Battalion or Youth Group. I questioned whether it was right to “force” him to participate in church activities when he was so resistant to do so. Because of the great leadership who reached out to our son and continued to encourage him, he chose to attend Battalion, but still fought us every week because he didn’t want to go to either activity.

The Hands of Christ to Immigrant Families

By Lloyd Gestoso, Dean of Social Work at Cairn University

My Christian lineage begins with my Filipino Grandmother. She encountered Jesus as she laundered the clothes of missionaries serving in the Philippines in the 1940’s. My parents also embraced the Gospel. When they immigrated to the United States in the late 1960’s to escape the poverty, political instability, and martial law that characterized that time, they brought their love of Christ with them. They also brought a love for their extended family and as so many immigrants do, they left their home in the Philippines not simply for their own benefit, but out of a desire to help the rest of the family.

So my story is in part that of an only child of immigrant parents struggling to carve out a place in a new country. For many reasons I also struggled academically but my parents had little ability to help me. My mother did not have the skills to help me academically and my father, new to emergency medicine, was busy working 12 hour shifts to support our family.