spiritual growth

Adapted from a conversation with Jake Tirabassi on the Follow Forward Podcast.

Jake and I go back a long way. We share a passion for mission, soccer, and Africa. I’ve seen him thriving, and I’ve seen him struggling. In my recent conversation with him on the Follow Forward Podcast, we explored themes that many Christians face as they seek to follow Christ authentically.

From Doing Right to Being Real

Jake’s story begins in a familiar place. Like me, he was raised in a Christian home, surrounded by ministry, and did everything expected of him. But at 18, on a mission trip to Mexico, something shifted. He recognised,

“The outside of my cup looks awesome… but who am I? How do I treat people?”

That moment exposed the reality that he had a form of godliness but was denying its power. He realised a deeper transformation was needed.

“I really need to live a life with God and not just for God.”

That distinction became the foundation for everything that followed.

Called Beyond Comfort

Some years later, Jake and his wife, Khara, stepped far outside their comfort zone, moving from California to Northern Uganda. What began as a short-term commitment turned into more than five years serving in communities shaped by poverty and displacement.

There was nothing overly strategic about how it started. With a background in sports ministry, Jake simply decided to “take a ball… and we’ll see what happens.” Doors opened into villages, prisons, and long-term relationships.

But life on the mission field was not a bed of roses.

When Following Gets Hard

Mission was not easy. Expectations didn’t always match reality, and pressure built over time.

“Marriage was hard, ministry was hard… nothing was going the way that you felt like it should be going.”

These are the moments where calling is tested. Rather than reshape their mission around comfort, Jake had to learn to press into God.

“At the hardest moment I was the most dependent on the Lord.”

This didn’t mean he avoided practical support. I remember Jake and Khara visiting Cape Town for times of refreshing and renewal. They discovered lifelines that enabled them to keep going.

Formed in the Fire

Hardship has a way of stripping everything back. When plans fail, and we feel uncertain, we are invited to refocus on what truly matters.

“You lose everything… and you can just give it to God and say, ‘You’re the only thing I have.’”

This is the shift that transforms not just how we live, but how we lead. We don’t have to impress God or others. We can acknowledge our vulnerability and lean into His faithfulness. The hardest seasons didn’t just shape Jake’s faith—they reshaped his character. What emerged wasn’t a polished version of success, but something deeper and more lasting.

At the centre of it all is a simple but powerful realisation:

“…where you don’t have to perform. There isn’t any pride or arrogance or any of that of like, ‘look what I did.’ It was like, holy mackerel, in spite of who I am, look at what God did.”

That’s what happens when we allow God to work through our weakness rather than trying to hide it. As we reflect on these lessons, it’s worth pausing and considering:

Where in your life might you be trying to perform for God rather than walking with Him?

How could your current challenge become an invitation to deeper dependence on God rather than something to escape?

The hardest moments may not be obstacles to your faith—they may be the very places where God is shaping it most deeply.

*To find out more about the Follow Forward Podcast, click here.
To listen to Ali’s interview, choose your preferred platform: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.