Gone Fishin': Adventures in Soul Winning

From the very first day I became a Christian deep down I knew the answer to three questions. 1. Where did I come from? 2. Where am I going? 3. Why am I here? That inner knowing of the answers to these three perplexing questions propelled me into the world of ‘fishing for men’. This little book, Gone Fishin’, is now in its third printing and has been used to bless and encourage those struggling with ‘how to reach people with the good news of the Gospel’. It has brought hope and salvation to those who were sinking into an abyss of despair. I’m just an ordinary person who strives to be in tune with an extraordinary God. Just as Peter and John were considered unlearned and ignorant fishermen, I have qualified to fish for souls, in spite of my ignorance, because of Jesus. My credentials are nothing to brag about, but I know I have bragging rights about the Savior who rescued me. In these chapters you will find people just like the ones you rub shoulders with every day. In my case I owned a small real estate company in rural Georgia and God turned it into a soul-saving station. You will read accounts of professionals who, under their sophisticated facades, were bankrupt and miserable. You’ll discover how they learned the true meaning of life and how they became more successful than they ever dreamed. You’ll also read about those who were living deviant lifestyles, not realizing God had a better plan for them; a plan that included freedom from sin. You’ll drive down a rutted road with me and see Ted who had been living in an abandoned bus. Then you’ll ride with me to a truck stop and wait with me while Ted takes a shower, his first one in six months. You’ll see how God’s love poured out to him and others and brought them to salvation. Fishing for souls is the most exciting vocation a person can have. It’s a job you won’t find advertised on a computer employment site, or in a classified ad in your local newspaper; yet it is a vocation you can couple with any other job you have. In my case it was a man who owned a pest control company who brought my whole family to Christ. He actually began telling my family about Jesus while he was spraying for black widow spiders! Fishing for men is a command of our Savior, yet so few do it today. Most Christians seem to feel it’s the preacher’s job to go out and evangelize the lost. Evangelism is something we read about, but few ever become personally involved. Is it any wonder that today we are losing the battle for the souls of men? By leaving this all important work to a few professional preachers and a handful of TV evangelists we are missing the point of what Jesus has called us to do. Whether you’re a housewife, a garbage collector, a doctor or a teacher, God has called you (and me) to be fishers of men. This is not the work of only a select few. Every person, who calls themselves by the name of Jesus Christ, has a mandate to preach the Gospel. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:14-15 (KJV) Take time to read these adventures in soul winning. Try reading just one story each day. Soon, you too will be on your way to becoming a fisher of men.