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Growing up in Hawaii we fished with bamboos from my dad’s little boat, and at other times we fished with “gill nets” around the entrance to Pearl Harbor. The channel entering the harbor was very deep, but the reefs on either side of the channel were shallow. Gill nets were designed to get the fish entangled. The nets had weights on the bottom and floaters at the top and were about 7 feet tall. When laid out, the nets formed a wall that paralleled the entry to Pearl. We would lay 500 feet of netting, then sleep in the boat overnight. Every couple of hours we would check the net and remove the fish. Sometimes, if we didn’t get the fish quick enough, bigger fish or even sharks would eat the fish. At other times, the fish would escape through holes in the net.

When Jesus said He would make us fishers of men, the illustration of fishing with nets is informative. Let me apply it to the Sunday church service. Will attended our church recently. At the end of the service, Pastor Bill often makes a fairly low pressure altar call, simply asking heads to be bowed and asking hands to be raised if anyone wants to receive Christ. This is where the “net principle” comes in. A church with gaping holes in their net will let potential converts like Will get by. No one identifies them. Or a church with ineffective follow up will allow predators to steal away newfound faith. Jesus spoke of the one who came to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus also called him the “Father of lies.” In other words, a church can ignore the net that the Holy Spirit set up for bringing folks to saving faith.

Like I did with my dad, the net needed to be checked often. Spotters are needed to look for the “fish.” Altar calls need spotters. These are folks who will alertly step to the perimeter of the church and watch for anyone who would respond to Christ. As I mentioned, Will raised his hand and a spotter saw him. After the service was dismissed, someone went straight to Will and gave him our follow up material and arrangements were made to begin the seven-week New Heart Bible study. These lessons are taught one-on-one. Will needed transportation and a ride was made available to get him to the study. Will is progressing nicely and a number of prayer partners have his name.

Jesus must have meant more than we might think when he coined the phrase “Fishers of Men.” Without a trained and alert church, we become “Fishers of Nothing!” For years pastors have told me that they are concerned about new believers but have no effective ministry in place to nurture them. Our growth is limited when we depend on people to fill our pews who are just playing “musical church.” We simply need to grow by becoming “Fishers of Men.” How desperately do we need to patch the holes and provide effective follow up.