Jesus calls us, just like He called His disciples, to be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17). We are to cast our nets far and wide to reach people with the Gospel, the good news of what Jesus has done.
This past week my church has had someone come to speak on how to minister to the homeless. The man speaking said something that I’ve been thinking about ever since, and it applies to all kinds of ministry and Gospel sharing: When you’re a fisher of men, you don’t immediately catch a fully-prepared, perfectly cooked and seasoned fish right out of the net. It takes work, and that fish will flop around and maybe even try to bite you first.
Just like you don’t realistically expect a prepared fish right out of the net, we shouldn’t be disappointed when a perfect church member doesn’t come right out of the first Gospel encounter. Jesus has called us to consistently and persistently preach the Gospel, and we often do that through consistent, persistent ministry. Then when people do receive salvation, Jesus has called us to disciple them, too! (Matthew 28:19-20)
Related:
Being a Disciple
Making Disciples
Perfection and Imperfection