Moments at the fishing hole

We are called to be 'fishers of men', but do we fish?

We are called to 'go and make disciples', but have we gone, going, quit or never got started?

My hope, as I reflect on moments at the fishing hole, is that these stories will encourage and challenge you to share your faith. They will not always be successful outings. Some will be good catches. A few will be like trying to catch a barracuda. Fish have teeth and sometimes you get bit. Other times you'll find the fish aren't biting or at least it appears that way.

Background of a fisherman

Back in 1999, while attending Southside Methodist I watched an evangelistic video, Hell's Best Kept Secret. This video impacted me greatly. It hit straight to my core. The presentation was clear and effective. I repented and trusted Christ for salvation. This commitment to Christ changed me forever. I've been on a fantastic journey ever since. I will have to tell that another time.

Soon after that great day, I began to thirst and hunger for God. I was taken under the wing of my Pastor and friend Dale Tedder and was discipled in the faith. It was clear to me early that God wanted me to share my faith too. I was being called to fish. Pastor Dale had a set of VHS Pre-way of the master videos that he let me borrow. Hey! those might be worth some big bucks now! :)

After viewing the videos, I was 'prepared to share'. I ordered some of the pennies with the 10 commandments on them. Special note: These are the best and easiest icebreakers. Right around that same time, Here's Life Inner-City, was holding an evangelism training class. Ben Goldsmith was leading the class. This was great! I was primed and ready from Ray Comfort's tapes and now was getting a crash course from Campus Crusade. Ben surprised the class. We thought this was just an in-class course, but Ben told everyone that we were going out into the streets later that day to practice what we just learned. Many of the people were freaked out. One reason, we were in the inner-city and many were from suburban areas. Second, they were afraid to share their faith. I was a bit nervous, but ready.

Ben and I teamed up and found a guy named Cyrus. We started with an icebreaker and then moved to the Gospel presentation. Ben prayed while I shared. Cyrus told us he had a church background, but didn't understand the message. We explained it to him and by the time we were finished, the dude repented and trusted Christ as his Savior and Lord.

It really blew me away. That was like adding gasoline to a fire. That was six years ago and I'm still on fire today!

I encourage you to learn to fish. You will get hooked. Go fish! There are people who need to be caught before they go to hell.