Fishing, Not Selling: How Jesus Taught Us to Reach People
By Pastor Rick Warren
I once read through the Gospels asking myself the question, “What was Jesus’ standard approach to winning lost people to himself?” How did he usually do it? Did he use a tract? The four spiritual laws? The bridge illustration?
The answer is Jesus didn’t have a standard presentation. The approach he used was different with everyone and specific to them. When he was with farmers, he talked about sowing seed. When he was with fishermen, he talked about fishing for men. When he was with the woman at the well, he talked about living water. Jesus never gave the same presentation of the gospel twice.
Why Evangelism Feels Hard
The one thing Christians and non-Christians agree on is that they both hate evangelism. Christians feel awkward because they’ve never been shown how—or they’ve been shown the wrong way, something that feels like a sales pitch. Non-Christians feel awkward because they can sense our discomfort. Nobody enjoys being pressured, and nobody enjoys doing something they’re not good at.
I hate the game of golf. The reason I hate golf is because I don’t know how to be good at it. If someone showed me how to be good at golf, I’d probably enjoy it. It might even be fun! I might look forward to it. That’s the way most people feel about sharing their faith – they’re not good at it, so they hate it. The reason 90% of Christians have never brought anyone to Jesus is because they’ve never been shown how. The good news is that Jesus said, “Follow me, and I’ll show you how.”
Fishing, Not Selling
Jesus never used the word “evangelism.” Instead, he called his followers to go fishing for men. His very first words to his disciples were:
“Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”
— Matthew 4:19 (NLT)
Following and fishing go together. If you’re not fishing, that means you’re not following. Jesus said, “If you follow me, you’re going to be fishers of men.” If you’re not fishing for people, you’re not following Jesus.
When it comes to evangelism, many people think, “I’m not a salesman.” You don’t have to be! Witnessing is not a sales pitch. It’s not closing a deal. Fishing is attractional. It’s introducing people to Jesus so they can fall in love with him.
Why Jesus Chose Fishing
Everything Jesus did, he did on purpose. He chose fishing as his picture of evangelism intentionally. And I believe he had three reasons for doing it:
- Fishing is universal.
No matter where you go, every culture understands fishing. Whether rural, urban, or suburban—it’s a picture anyone can relate to. - Fishing and witnessing have many parallels.
- Fishing is quiet. You don’t catch fish by yelling at them.
- Fishing requires patience. You don’t always get a response right away.
- Fishing takes preparation: the right time, the right place, the right bait, the right equipment.
- Fishing requires sensitivity: give and take, knowing when to reel in and when to wait.
- Fishing means going into the fish’s world. You don’t expect fish to leap into your boat—you enter their environment.
- Jesus was talking to fishermen.
His first disciples made their living fishing. They were pros. They knew how to catch fish, but they didn’t know how to fish for people. Jesus said, “Follow me and I’ll teach you how to fish for the souls of men.” He was saying, “You already know how to fish for a living, now I’m going to teach you how to cast a net of love and draw people into friendship with God.”
Real Church Growth, Not Just Swapping Fish
Here’s the dirty little secret about most churches: they don’t grow by winning non-believers to Christ. They get larger by attracting Christians from other churches. That’s not real growth. That’s not fishing for men. That’s swapping fish from aquarium to aquarium.
Transfer growth doesn’t make the body of Christ any larger—it’s just reshuffling. Reshuffling a deck of cards never gives you more cards. Jesus said, “I’ll show you how to catch fish in the wild,” not, “Swap fish from aquarium to aquarium.”
At Saddleback, the church I pastored for 43 years, 72% of the members came to know Christ at our church. They didn’t come at the expense of other churches because we were intentionally going after the people who didn’t yet know Jesus.
The Jesus Model
So what’s the secret of reaching unbelievers? Three words: follow Jesus’ model.
Jesus already loves people, but he wants them to love him back. And when they understand how much he loves them, they will.
In John 12:49, Jesus said, “The Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.” See that? Jesus not only gives us the message of the Gospel, he also tells us how to share it. He gave us the message, and he gave us the method.
Over the next several weeks on the Finishing the Task site, we’re going to look at the Jesus model of fishing for souls—three keys to spiritual fishing. Because to complete the Great Commission, we all need to learn how to follow Jesus and fish for people.
For more resources on sharing your testimony, visit https://finishingthetask.com/believers/
