Patrick Forrester, the space shuttle astronaut who carried a piece of missions aviation history into space with him on a recent Discovery flight, encourages people to get personally involved in sharing the Gospel outside their comfort zones.

“I really encourage everybody that has not done it to go on at least a short-term mission trip, whether it’s across town or around the world, because I think it’s life-changing to see the need out there and the way that we can impact people,” Forrester told Baptist Press.

With a strong interest in missions, Forrester has hopes of returning to the mission field on short-term and possibly long-term trips. “I don’t have any mission trips planned right now, mainly because of just returning from this flight. I’ve had quite a bit of post-flight travel and presentations that we do,” he said. “I look forward to my next mission trip. I’ve missed it the past two years because of flying in space and training.

As he encourages people to go on at least one mission trip, Forrester said the simple answer for why people must go is that it’s the mandate of the Great Commission.

“I think we’re all given certain talents and passions and gifts, and it’s a matter of finding where those intersect with God’s work, which is going on all around us. We have to figure out where we’re supposed to have an impact on the world,” he said.

“Once my eyes were opened to people giving their lives to God’s work and how little it takes from us to do some of the same things, I think it’s important, and whatever I can do to bring attention to that or support it with my own life and my own resources, that’s what I want to do.”

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