Impact Conversation Series: Bear Grylls and Bobby Gruenewald
The RELEVANT Podcast
RELEVANT Magazine
4.6 • 2.9K Ratings
🗓️ 14 November 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the RELEVANT Podcast Impact Conversation Series, we sit down with two leaders who have shaped the faith lives of billions.
First, adventurer and global TV icon Bear Grylls opens up about how the wilderness taught him about spiritual survival. It’s one of Bear’s most personal and honest conversations ever — covering doubt, faith, courage and why he believes Jesus’ life is the greatest adventure of all.
Then, YouVersion founder Bobby Gruenewald joins us fresh off a historic milestone: one billion downloads of the Bible App. He shares the wild origin story of YouVersion, how God exceeded every expectation, how to steward faith in a tech-driven world and why Gen Z is turning to Scripture like never before.
This episode is part of our special Impact Series sponsored by World Vision, whose community-focused work is changing lives around the globe. Learn more and get involved at WorldVision.org/RELEVANT.
CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introduction from Cameron Strang
02:19 — Emily Brown sits down with Bear Grylls
02:30 — Writing Jesus’ story as a thriller (and why no one had done it)
05:13 — How his new book began in the middle of the jungle
07:33 — Physical survival and spiritual survival: where they intersect
09:22 — Faith, doubt, fear and the courage to keep going
11:19 — What surprised Bear most after rereading the Bible three times
13:23 — Working with The Chosen and making “Chosen in the Wild”
16:07 — Why faith is breaking through in entertainment right now
18:20 — The first time Bear spoke publicly about faith (yes, including Obama)
20:07 — Cameron wraps Bear’s segment and introduces Bobby Gruenewald of YouVersion
21:49 — How a security line in Chicago sparked the Bible App
23:57 — Launching on Day 1 of the App Store… with zero Apple contacts
27:59 — What surprised him about global Bible engagement
30:48 — Balancing ministry and data while staying donor-supported
33:20 — From serial entrepreneur to lifelong ministry calling
37:26 — Where faith and technology are headed next
41:52 — AI, ethics and why YouVersion refuses to rush a chatbot
44:09 — What Bobby hopes YouVersion’s legacy will be 50 years from now
49:22 — Gen Z’s surprising hunger for Scripture
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm relevant founder Cameron Strang, and this is the relevant podcast Impact Conversation series. |
| 0:05.7 | On this episode, we've got two amazing new guests for you. |
| 0:09.1 | Hopefully, you saw our first episode with Jimmy Darts. |
| 0:11.5 | In our last episode with entrepreneur David Meltzer and Pastor Mark Batterson, |
| 0:16.2 | if you haven't seen those already, definitely do yourself a favor and go check them out. |
| 0:20.0 | They're right here in the feed. |
| 0:25.6 | Well, today we've got two amazing guests who have made an impact on billions, yes, billions of lives. Our first guest today is adventure, survivalists, and global |
| 0:31.9 | TV icon Bear Grills. For years, he's pushed the limits of what a human body and spirit |
| 0:37.1 | can endure, |
| 0:38.0 | whether crossing oceans, scaling mountains, or dropping into some of the most unforgiving |
| 0:42.3 | environments on the planet. His career has taken him from the British Special Forces to |
| 0:47.2 | international fame, turning extreme survival into a mainstream phenomenon, even winning a few |
| 0:53.2 | Emmys along the way. But behind the grit |
| 0:55.8 | and the danger is a quiet through line that shaped every chapter of his life, his faith. |
| 1:01.0 | Bears never shied away from talking about God on some of the world's biggest platforms, |
| 1:04.7 | often long before it was considered acceptable or marketable. And now with his new book, |
| 1:09.6 | The Greatest Story Ever Told, |
| 1:11.2 | which explores the adventurous life of Jesus, he's setting out to share the hope and |
| 1:15.3 | courage that have carried him throughout his career. In this conversation with |
| 1:19.4 | relevance managing editor, Emily Brown, Bear discusses the connection between spiritual and |
| 1:24.6 | physical survival while opening up about both the truths and doubts |
| 1:28.7 | that have shaped his faith. |
... |
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