5 Signs a One-Year Journey Might Be For You

You might have heard that Global Challenge is built to resemble a modern-day pilgrimage. But what does that actually mean?

Think of putting your life into a backpack. Saying goodbye to the comforts of home for a year. Stepping into countries you’ve never seen, with people you’ve never met, and trusting Jesus to sustain you as you travel through 10–14 nations, serving ministries and simply saying, “Lord, here I am. Use me.” That’s Global Challenge.

Which naturally leads to the question: Should I apply?

Or perhaps better yet: How do I know if I’m the kind of person who would thrive on a One-Year Journey?

The best way to answer that is by telling you about our values. These are the foundations we’ve built this journey on. If they resonate with you, a One-Year Journey might be worth exploring. So let’s dive in. Five values that shape our heartbeat. Five signs a One-Year Journey might be for you.

One: You Want Travel to Transform You

Let’s be honest. For many people, travel is what catches their attention first. Who wouldn’t want to wander through the markets of Turkey, hike beneath the Himalayas, eat flatbread in Jordan, or swim in the waters of Costa Rica? That’s why Travel The Nations is our first value. We love it. But not for the reasons you might think.

At Global Challenge, travel isn’t the destination. It’s the vehicle. After all, it’s one of the primary ways Jesus discipled His followers. Think about it. Jesus didn’t gather His disciples in a classroom once a week and hand them a workbook. He walked with them. He took them from town to town. He exposed them to different cultures, people groups, challenges, and ways of seeing the world. They ate together, got tired together, and learned together. He allowed himself to be known and found in the uncomfortable and wild spaces of being on the road, in the field, where there’s mud and dirt.

He used life on the road to show them who He was. And that’s where discipleship came alive. 

The same thing still happens today. Because when you’re tired, hungry, lost, and carrying a backpack through a train station at 2 a.m., the masks come off. You can’t fake character forever. Travel has a way of exposing what’s really going on inside of us, and that’s actually good news. Because Jesus can’t transform the version of us we’re pretending to be. He transforms the real person underneath.

So yes, travel the world. But more importantly: Do you want travel to transform you? Do you want adventure, not just sightseeing? Do you want to be stretched? Do you want to discover what God might do when you step outside of what’s familiar? If your answer is yes, let’s keep going. 

Two: You Believe Great Leaders Serve

Most people like the idea of being a leader. Not everyone likes serving. To us, you can’t be one without the other.

Jesus was arguably the best leader we’ve ever seen. Even from a human perspective, the legacy he left behind was revolutionary. What kind of leader taught twelve people over a period of three years, died, left no material for them, no formulas, no textbook, and over two thousand years later, His words are officially recognized as the most read, widely distributed, and best-selling book in human history? And how did he do that? What kind of model did he leave for us? 

He washed feet. 

It’s probably not the leadership strategy most of us would have come up with. Yet it changed the world. 

This value is called Servant Leadership. That’s why you’ll find Global Challenge students cleaning bathrooms, carrying backpacks, helping cook meals, stacking chairs, praying for teammates, and serving behind the scenes when nobody is watching. And surprisingly, those are often the moments where the most growth happens.

Because servant leadership has a way of exposing our motives. Do I only serve when someone notices? Do I only help when it’s convenient? Do I still have a good attitude when nobody thanks me? Ouch. I’ve asked myself those questions more times than I’d like to admit. But that’s the beauty of discipleship. Jesus reveals what’s in our hearts so He can transform it. 

So let me ask you: Do you want to grow in serving people, even when nobody sees it? Do you believe leadership is less about being in charge and more about taking responsibility? If so, you’ll love point three.

Three: You Want to Learn How to Love People

This one sounds obvious. Of course Christians want to love people. That’s kind of our thing. But loving people is often harder than it sounds. People are wonderful. They’re also messy. Different from us. Sometimes frustrating. And yet, people are Jesus’ favourite thing.

Everywhere He went, He stopped for them. The woman at the well. The tax collector in the tree. The blind beggar on the side of the road. The children everyone else overlooked. Jesus was never too busy for people. And if we’re serious about becoming more like Him, then we shouldn’t be either. 

At Global, one of our values is Live to Love. Because the world will know we are His disciples by the way we love one another. 

I cannot count the amount of times I’ve heard ministries, NGOs, and individuals say that they knew our team was different because of the way we loved one another. That’s one of our best tools for witnessing Christ. Love. In action. In the trenches. In the dark places where no-one else wants to go. Love for the poor, the dirty, the confused, the lost. Love for the strangers, the people we’ll never see again, the people who can give us nothing in return. Love for our teammates who snore, who move at half our speed when trying to catch a train, who see the world completely differently to us. We exist to love them, and to point them to the source of love Himself: Christ. 

So: Do you want to love people better? Not just the easy people. All people. Do you want your life to become less about yourself and more about those around you? Do you want to figure out how to love them more fully, whole-heartedly, selflessly, and sacrificially? 

Think about it.  

Four: You’re A Creative Venturer 

God is highly creative in his nature. Who else could have come up with piano notes, bird calls, eye colours, the shades of autumn, languages types, and all the varieties of citrus? 

Even better, we believe God invites us to co-create with Him. Ministry is a springboard where He allows us to do this together. We’re often boxed in with preconceived ideas of what it should look like. But life doesn’t come with a neat instruction manual. And ministry is no different.

I admire Jesus for many reasons. His creativity is one of them. He taught through stories. He turned meals without enough food into moments of discipleship. He used fishing boats as pulpits. That’s next-level creativity. And because we’re made in His image, we believe creativity is part of who we are too.

At Global Challenge, we call this value Creative Ventures. It’s the belief that when God gives us a vision, we don’t stop at, “Well, that’s impossible.” Instead, we ask: “What could this look like?” or “What’s another way?”

Because sometimes ministry looks like preaching. And sometimes it looks like organising a soccer tournament. Sometimes it’s worship. Other times, it’s teaching English, filming videos, or cleaning sewage spills in the hallway. Trust me. That last one happens more than you’d think.

I’ve watched students discover gifts they never knew they had simply because they were put in situations where creativity was required. The shy student learns to lead a game for a hundred children. The practical student discovers they can share a testimony. The planner learns how to adapt when the plan completely falls apart. Because creativity isn’t about being artistic. It’s about partnering with God when there isn’t an obvious solution.

So: Do you enjoy solving problems? Do you like trying new things? Can you laugh when the plan falls apart and try again? Do you get excited by stepping into the unknown and figuring things out as you go?

If so, you might be our kind of venturer.

Five: You Want to Seek God

Isn’t this what life is about? Seeking God on earth, as best as we can, before we meet him on the other side of eternity? At the end of the day, this is the big one. That’s why our final value is God Seekers.

Global Challenge gives you a year to intentionally focus your gaze on seeking Jesus. And you know what? You might begin to see Him everywhere. Because when you strip away the familiar comforts of home, the distractions get quieter, the noise starts fading, and suddenly you’re faced with some important questions. 

Do I actually know God? Do I trust Him? Can I hear His voice? Am I willing to follow Him when He asks me to do something uncomfortable?

Those are the kinds of questions a One-Year Journey has a way of bringing to the surface. And that’s a gift. Because before we’re missionaries, leaders, students, or travellers, we’re people pursuing Jesus. 

Seeking God is the greatest adventure we can ever go on. One of my favourite things about Global Challenge is that we don’t expect students to arrive with a perfect prayer life or Bible knowledge. What matters is hunger. A willingness to ask, “God, I want to know You more.” Because the people who thrive on a One-Year Journey aren’t necessarily the most talented, outgoing, or impressive. They’re usually the hungry ones. The ones who keep showing up, who keep asking questions, who keep saying yes when God nudges them forward.

So let me ask you one final question: Do you want to know God more? Not just know about Him. But know Him. Because if that’s what you’re after, then you’re already carrying the most important thing we’re looking for. Most other things can be taught. That hunger can’t. And that’s what makes all the difference.

One More Thing

Global Challenge isn’t some genius organisation that guarantees spiritual growth. Only God can do that. What we can do is create space. Space for discipleship, for adventure, for challenge. Space for community. Space for God to work.

You could sign up for Global Challenge thinking it’s the ‘holy/Christian’ thing to do, but maybe God is asking you to grow and be challenged in the marketplace. Maybe he’s asking you to be a light in your university. Or maybe not. Maybe Global Challenge is the right space for you.  

So the question is less: “Should I do Global Challenge?”

And more: “Jesus, where are You inviting me to grow next?”

If you’ve read this article and something inside you feels stirred, pay attention to that. Take it to God. Ask Him what He’s saying. Because if you choose to say yes to Jesus—wherever He leads—you’ll already be on the greatest adventure of your life.

And if that adventure happens to bring you to Global Challenge, we’re ready and excited to receive your application.