“It’s hard to grow your faith inside of your comfort zone.”

Do you find this to be true? Through the years, I have found that the only way my faith grows is when I take risks and say “yes” to what seems scary or uncomfortable.

Comfort is something our bodies and brains do anything to achieve. If we ever step outside of what our being has come to know, discomfort and uneasiness wreck havoc and we are left in disarray.

But what IS faith if we are never willing to give up control? How can we truly see God if we are always standing in our own way? He shows up when we welcome Him, and one way to do that is to step outside of our comfort zone.

Mission trips give us an opportunity to courageously choose faith. We are faced with the unknown — stripped of a familiar culture and environment. And on top of that discomfort, a mission trip’s purpose is to spread the Gospel to unbelievers, which is often a pretty intimidating responsibility.

Romans 10:14 says, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

We are to share The Gospel, also referred to as “The Good News.” But how can we claim it to be “good news” if we have never put ourselves in situations where we have to solely rely on God to fulfill our every need?

An example of a time when I witnessed a truly powerful act of faith was when I was living in The Democratic Republic of the Congo. I had been there a few months and was talking to one of my good friends, Paul. One of the things I was most uncomfortable with in this third-world country was the lack of access to clean water. I asked him how he dealt with that day to day — as I knew paying for water bottles for his family of eight wasn’t an option. He smiled and said, “We pray!” This statement will forever stick with me. To him, faith was simple in his time of need. Prayer was his sincere answer to a potentially dangerous situation.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” —Hebrews 11:1

Paul was convicted that all he had to do was pray over the water before serving it to his family and did so in great faith and conviction. As a result, his family had never faced a health concern due to unclean water.

Mission trips give us a chance to put our faith into action. Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone because it means growing your faith and spreading the “good news” as a result!

“Faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” —1 Corinthians 2:5