(CP) For Bear Grylls, faith is not “only a Sunday thing” — it is a connection to God woven into the material of each rugged climb, jungle expedition and quiet moment of doubt.
“Faith is a journey, is not it?” the 50-year-old former British Special Forces member told The Christian Post.
“Faith and doubt are two sides of the identical coin. I even have many doubts, many struggles, and lots of days, I believe it’s all crazy, but through all of it, I feel Christ has been a lightweight to a dark path and strength to a failing body. Through many valleys and summits, jungles and deserts, He’s at all times there. We need that in life. For me, it isn’t a Sunday thing. I actually need Him day-after-day. That’s how I type of approach life.”
“I do not really discuss faith unless I’m asked,” he added. “It’s just an element of my life, and it’s something I actually need. And it’s the most effective little bit of my life.”
This depth of connection to God has been a lifelong process for Grylls, who, in a 2023 interview with CP, spoke out in regards to the state of contemporary church culture.
“I believe Jesus would really struggle with 99% of churches nowadays,” he shared on the time.
For Grylls, a bestselling writer who has hosted several survival shows, including Man vs. Wild, Running Wild with Bear Grylls and Bear Grylls: Escape from Hell, faith is personal, raw and best practiced without the layers of ritual and performance that, he believes, have clouded many contemporary religious spaces.
“Our job in life is to remain near Christ and drop the religious, drop the fluff, drop the Church if you’ll want to,” he said. “Keep the little bit of church which is about community and friends and honesty and faith and love.”
Grylls’ comments, which were met with each praise and controversy, reflected his belief that faith is about survival — a spiritual survival that demands honesty, vulnerability and a deep connection to something greater than oneself.
It’s this outlook that fuels his latest project, The Chosen within the Wild, a collaboration with the series The Chosen, which follows the lifetime of Jesus and His followers.
The six-episode adventure series will follow various forged members of The Chosen as they join Grylls for outdoor challenges and navigate survival situations, reflecting on the religion that sustained Jesus’ disciples.
Grylls spoke to CP on the fan event ChosenCon within the Orlando World Center Marriott Hotel, where Running Wild with Bear Grylls was first announced. The How to Stay Alive writer said he’s excited to bring the journey of religion and survival together, helping audiences witness Jesus’ disciples through a latest lens — one which mirrors the challenges of the wild.
“What we have tried to do with The Chosen within the Wild is get to know the true people and show their real journey,” Grylls said.
“Isn’t that the identical with The Chosen? It shows the true reality of what Jesus was like of their relationships and their journey. … It’s the element of religion I’ve at all times responded best to and never the fluff of all of it, the principles and the regulations and the do’s and the don’t, but actually, as The Chosen shows, as Jesus shows, ‘Keep your eyes on me, you may be OK. Then you will not sink within the water.’ I felt that in my very own life repeatedly, through many adventures. It looks like a very special pairing to bring the most effective of Running Wild to The Chosen and to permit fans to see their favorite actors in a way that they never do normally.”
According to Grylls, The Chosen within the Wild mirrors his personal philosophy in each his adventures and spiritual life; he strips back the pretense and embraces the raw, unpolished truth of human experience. Grylls stressed that the outside, very like faith, reveals the core of humanity: vulnerable, flawed, yet able to extraordinary things.
“I believe the wild at all times reveals who we’re,” he said. “Adventures opens us all. The outdoors lights us up.”
With The Chosen within the Wild, Grylls said he hopes to spotlight the humanity of Jesus’ disciples — extraordinary men who faced extraordinary challenges, each physical and spiritual.
For the journey, the project is about showing that faith, like survival, is an ongoing journey — one full of doubts, fears, and the constant have to push forward. Yet, based on Grylls, through all of it, God is at all times present, guiding His followers through the wilderness, each literal and metaphorical.
“You go on an adventure, and also you look eye to eye, there is a connection,” Grylls said. “So that is what we’re attempting to do.”
