Fishers of Men - An Invitation from Christ
In Matthew 4:19 Jesus speaks to Simon called Peter and Andrew, two fishers on the Sea of Galilee, and says “…Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” What a simple and beautiful invitation, that as followers of Jesus these fishers brought men and women unto Him: His hope, His love, His baptism, and His gospel.
This idea of fishers of men is found in all four Gospels and has been repeated in our day in the Doctrine and Covenants 68:8, “Go ye into all the world, preach my gospel to every creature…” As missionaries we gladly accept the invitation of Christ to become fishers of men.
In Preach My Gospel, A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Chapter 9 it suggests to the missionaries many ways to become fishers of men. It also encourages missionaries to have multiple fishing lines in the water.
I made a vision board of the different lines missionaries can use to find people who are interested in the hope, love, and eternal life offered by our Savior. During the interview days these last two weeks I showed all the missionaries the board and asked them what their favorite way is to find (fish) people to teach. Here are the basic ways:
Street Contacting
Member Work
Service
Tracting
Social Media
Referrals
Dot Knocking
Family History
Community Outreach
I then asked them how they go about finding people. I now have typed up some of the many ways missionaries can become fishers of men. I added all the ideas to this board. It is my hope that this board will help missionaries become more effective in finding people to teach and encourage the missionaries to have fun and find joy in the work.
Vision Board - Fishers of Men!
As a fisher coming up empty handed is part of the work and our missionaries understand rejection. When a person is not interested in setting up an appointment to be taught about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ the missionaries still leave them with a short message of hope and love. This is a way our missionaries bring more light into the world everywhere.
Then there is the thrill of the catch as missionaries find those that God has put onto their path. It brings so much joy to our missionaries when a person they have found wants to be taught and wants to make their first covenant with Christ through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the Preach My Gospel guide it states “Every missionary has an important role in helping the Lord in His work ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’” (Moses 1:39) What greater joy can there be?
Here are some photos of our missionaries at work being fishers of men.
Napa Zone - at district council meeting
Elder Reynolds, Elder Robinson, Sister Stanley setting up for an area carnival
Vacaville Zone - Just Serve project
Elder Sudweeks and Elder Berg out finding people while on their bikes
Elder Young
Santa Rosa Zone
