The Genius of the Fishing Analogy for Church Growth

Everyone is aware that fisherman love to tell stories.  But not everyone is aware of the genius of the fishing analogy that Jesus used when he told his followers that he would “make them fishers of people.” As someone who takes fishing seriously, I continue to grow in my fascination for this analogy that Jesus used to help us understand the dynamics of our personal witness.

What makes fishing fascinating is that there is not just one way to do it. Fishing varies greatly depending on what species you are trying to catch, weather conditions, what lake you are on, etc. This makes strategy critical if you hope for significant results. To be successful at fishing you must always be paying attention to many factors that will dictate your strategy and approach. Oh, and by the way, you need to fish on a lake that actually has fish in it (I have a story about a friend who spent an entire week fishing on a lake that had no fish in it!).

“Fishing” stories are really important.  My observation is that growing churches are places where people are regularly sharing with enthusiasm their fishing stories. They are also places where techniques and strategies are openly shared and developed with anticipation of a greater “catch.” Growing churches are those that build on the excitement of successful fishing.

I would share more about this but I need to run – the fish are biting.