Joshua Samuels had a comfortable life and a meaningful job working as a youth pastor in Bermuda.

Then God urged him to let go of his safety net, and share the Gospel with unreached people in a remote part of the world.

The 36-year-old said goodbye to his old life at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship and began training to enter the missions field last year.

He estimates it will take between 15 and 20 years to plant a healthy church; that countdown will not begin until he first completes his training, and then finds a community to minister.

He is considering remote areas in the Pacific.

So far the journey has been filled with many ups and downs, but Pastor Josh said his faith had been strengthened through the process.

“There are a number of things that have been difficult,” he said.

“One of the biggest things has been learning to trust God in the midst of uncertainty.

“Having a stable job and a regular income you have a good idea of what will likely happen in the next month, but when you step out in a missions field like this you do not know where you’ll end up, what you’ll be doing or where any income is coming from as it is all based on gifts — and that makes life a whole lot more uncertain.

“That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s different and forces you to lean on and trust in God in a new way.”

Pastor Josh’s first missions trip was at 16. That experience in New York and Philadelphia gave him the confidence to share the gospel with others.

Three years later he embarked on his first cross-cultural missions trip, to Papua New Guinea.

“God definitely planted a seed in my heart on that specific five-week trip,” Pastor Josh said. “Ever since then, every time I heard about unreached people and missions work, it just excited my heart.”

Approximately two billion people have never heard the Gospel. That translates to 29.4 per cent of the world’s population without access to a church, no scripture in their language and who have never heard of Jesus Christ, Pastor Josh said. The figures motivated him to act on his calling.

He began classes with a missionary training programme, New Tribes Mission in Canada, about a year ago.

He is now enrolled in a linguistic studies programme in Texas and learning how to communicate with people from remote tribes around the world. It is tough work, but he has managed to do well on his courses so far.

Pastor Josh will begin the next phase of the journey later this year when he journeys to different parts of the Pacific in search of his new ministry.

“What I will be looking at when I go on my trip is for a great team that I will be able to join,” he said. “One of the biggest reasons missionaries come back is they didn’t get along with their team due to complex dynamics.

“It’s really important to be a part of a good team so we can encourage each other and work well together.”

Support from friends, family and Cornerstone Bible Fellowship have helped him.

Pastor Josh said: “The biggest encouragement has been people that God has placed around me to remind me of His purpose in the world and His purpose for me.

“One thing I appreciate is being able to spend time with other missionaries in the field and hearing their stories of struggles, failures and success, joy and pain.

“That has been a huge encouragement to hear from real people that are out there doing God’s work and experiencing real life.

“It’s not always pretty. It can be really challenging at times, but knowing that others have gone through it and that I have a church in Bermuda, people who really support, love and pray for me, that has been super motivating for me to keep going, even at times when I felt like maybe not.”

To partner with Pastor Josh in his mission or follow his story, visit www.joshbda.com