"Behold I will gather many fishermen and they shall fish them in..." Jeremiah 16:16Thinking on Jesus choice of the twelve it is interesting that his core was made of fishermen. This is itself a fulfillment of the above Old Testament prophecy.
I think though that it is fair to say that there are some practical qualities why fishermen make good evangelists.
[i] A fisherman needs to be patient, fishing takes time and you don't always come home with a catch. Much patients is needed in evangelistic outreach especially with people.
[ii] Fishermen have great instinct for where to go and of timing casts and reels and tugs etc. This instinct can be usefull in deciding what areas to go to reach out in, how to approach different people.
[iii] This may be similar to the first but perseverance is a huge quality that many fishermen have, It is not enough to cast a line in one spot and simply wait. Often it is a process of moving from place to place, perhaps returning to earlier, already trid spots untill fish begin to bite. In Evangalism there is often a process of persevering in the persuit of the lost even when no one is responding.
[iv] Courage is a quality that is often in a fisherman, commercially to go out on ships facing storms etc takes great bravery. Also I think it's pretty brave of many who fish alone, perhaps at night when, at worst accidents could happen or, at the least the mind may play tricks and darkness cause fear! (Maybe I just say that cause that happes me if i'm out alone in the dark). It takes great courage to approach strangers and even friends or relatives to tell them of sin and hell and Christ and the Cross.
[v] Fishermen often use different types of bait for differing areas and fish. In reaching the lost the method or words may need to be different from person to person, one approach for one person may not work with others and a good evangelist knows to use different bait for different people! (On a note here, the message is the same, just the means or methods of approach and communication that changes)
[vi] Fishermen keep themselves out of site as much as possible, this quality is of huge importance in evangelism as we are to direct people to Christ, not us.
So if you're a Christian and a fisherman your time at the rivers and lakes and sea have not been just for catching fish, they have been an important school for the huge task of "fishing for men". Hopefully fishermen will hear the call "follow Me and I will make you fishers of men" and my prayer is that your response may be the same as those disciples "immediately they left their nets (fishing rods) and followed).
The perfect job for you fishermen is to be a fisher of men!
For the rest of us, if you'r like me and hate fishing & find it boring perhaps we need to learn something from these guys!
