10/08/2026
God builds our faith through adversity. Thankful daily for his provision and grace!
Bear Grylls' Faith Journey: From Rebellious Teen to Everest Summit, He Credits Jesus as His ‘Backbone’
Bear Grylls has hosted more than 20 TV shows, written several books, climbed Mount Everest, wrestled an alligator, and set the world record for the "Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner Party" in a hot air balloon at 7,600 meters.
Bear Grylls is not only famous for his wild adventures and survival skills, but also for his faith in God.
"I had a very natural faith as a kid," Grylls told Relevant Magazine. "I just knew God existed and it felt like He was my friend." He calls his Christian faith the "backbone" of his life, though he admits belief hasn't always come easily. "It's been a kinda wiggly, messy journey that is still continuing," he says.
As a teen, Grylls drifted from God and rebelled. From surviving a sinking mud pit to being expelled from prep school for kissing the headmaster's daughter, his youth was anything but quiet.
Everything changed at 16, when he lost his godfather, who had been like a second father. Overwhelmed by grief, Grylls climbed a tree and cried out to God. "Will you be that friend to me that you were at five or six when it felt natural?" he prayed. That simple moment of surrender brought him back to faith in Jesus Christ.
With renewed faith, Grylls joined the UK's Territorial Army Reserve after high school, where he developed and taught many of the survival skills he's known for today.
In 1996, a parachuting accident in Zambia nearly killed him when his chute only partially opened and he landed on his back. By God's grace, he survived. Just 18 months later, he reached the summit of Mount Everest, fulfilling a childhood dream. While training for the climb, he met his future wife, Shara, and the couple married in 2000.
Within a year of their wedding, both of their fathers died, a painful reminder of their constant need for God.
Grylls doesn't claim to be a perfect Christian. Many of his deepest struggles, he says, are what drove him to Christ, and he credits his successes in life, marriage, and adventure to his faith in Jesus.
