Anybody fishing out there? I would love for this site to become a place where you can share your fishing stories. This site will encourage us we hear how others are following Jesus. Post your story today. Praying for you , Jim brown FGBC Moderator 2008
Click on the comments link below to tell your story.
Click on the comments link below to tell your story.
31 comments:
So I went fishing in the Atlantic Ocean the other day. Ironic... My wife and took some time after OB to relax with family in Ocean City, NJ. I met a 12/13 year old one morning while I was out looking for waves to ride on. He was a pretty weird kid...all he wanted to talk about was killing people on his video games. After a few minutes he paused with the Scarface update on how he took out the Don's and reclaimed the streets of whatever lost city. It was then that I had a chance to ask him if he knew Jesus, he said he did and was even able to explain the basic outline of salvation. STINK! So at that point I switched from the "Do you know Jesus" to the "Would be Jesus want you to play that game".
I have been going fishing at my local 'fishing hole'. After getting home from OB/Momentum a week ago i wanted to find a place where i could be mingling with non-Christians on a regular basis. So i found a local gym, bought a pass there, and ever since have been making contacts and praying for the people working out there. After one week, I brought one of them to church with me this past weekend and hope to see more fruit as i continue to share my faith.
After Jim spoke at Momentum, I had the opportunity to fish at the Southern Miss campus at 1 in the morning. Met two guys taking summer school classes. Turns out the one guy even came to one of the youth conference sessions earlier in the week. He said he had been to church three times a week his whole life. I asked him Jim's question, "After you die, what do you think is on the other side?" He responded, "I have no idea." I asked if he wanted to know what the Bible said about it and got to share the entire gospel with him. He said he had never heard that before. I asked if he ever read the Bible, because it would be worth reading the book of John. He said, "Someone just gave me a Bible last week..." That guy's "numbers are flipping!" Fishing wasn't scary--it was exhilarating!
AMEN! – I went fishing in the cafeteria where we stuff our faces literally everyday. I met a lady named Meka that I felt the spirit of God say throw the line towards this girl, (that mean I just had peace about it) and Meka that her name responded. She was nice like everyone else on the staff there but Meka was so open. She asked me on Wednesday to give something to read about the God. She phrased her question this way…please give me something to read that makes sense. So I gave her a little pamphlet on one of my sermons series “A Christian Home” Meka took it home that day and read it. Well that week if I can side track a bit I loss my luggage for most of the week and so I had to by a new Bible and all kinds of things just to so Jim, Shawn, and Sled dude wouldn’t have to smell my BO (not OB but BO). So I gave her the Bible that I bought for the week on the last day after finishing my power-trax. Well on Friday right before the last session I was making my way to the dome and I saw Meka coming towards me with a my Bible under her arm. She was done for the day. So we stopped and I fished, I asked Meka if she died today what does she think is on the other side….She didn’t know so I gave her a nibble of God Grace and she grab on for ten minutes I shared the gospel the (DBR) (death/burial/resurrection) with her and told Meka my story and she prayed to receive Christ. As we are PRAYING I feel this hand on my shoulder and I’m think it’s another staff person or someone who knows me….and I turn around and it’s not someone I know and while we are praying this other girl (she starts praying the sinner prayer) right there and she is sincere and honest and I’m like GOD MOMENT OR WHAT _ Somebody say AMEN!!! So we finish praying and come to find out this Girl is a Pastor’s daughter from a local church in Hattiesburg MISS and she overheard and wanted to be in on the blessing. She had JUST enrolled for classes. So here is the GOD DEAL – I’m praying Meka and she gets SAVED – YIP and gets connected to a local church all in that GOD MOMENT in front of the Mississippi Campus. – OH I THINK I’LL GO SHOUT AWHILE OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD
AMEN! – I went fishing in the cafeteria where we stuff our faces literally everyday. I met a lady named Meka that I felt the spirit of God say throw the line towards this girl, (that mean I just had peace about it) and Meka that her name responded. She was nice like everyone else on the staff there but Meka was so open. She asked me on Wednesday to give something to read about the God. She phrased her question this way…please give me something to read that makes sense. So I gave her a little pamphlet on one of my sermons series “A Christian Home” Meka took it home that day and read it. Well that week if I can side track a bit I loss my luggage for most of the week and so I had to by a new Bible and all kinds of things just to so Jim, Shawn, and Sled dude wouldn’t have to smell my BO (not OB but BO). So I gave her the Bible that I bought for the week on the last day after finishing my power-trax. Well on Friday right before the last session I was making my way to the dome and I saw Meka coming towards me with a my Bible under her arm. She was done for the day. So we stopped and I fished, I asked Meka if she died today what does she think is on the other side….She didn’t know so I gave her a nibble of God Grace and she grab on for ten minutes I shared the gospel the (DBR) (death/burial/resurrection) with her and told Meka my story and she prayed to receive Christ. As we are PRAYING I feel this hand on my shoulder and I’m think it’s another staff person or someone who knows me….and I turn around and it’s not someone I know and while we are praying this other girl (she starts praying the sinner prayer) right there and she is sincere and honest and I’m like GOD MOMENT OR WHAT _ Somebody say AMEN!!! So we finish praying and come to find out this Girl is a Pastor’s daughter from a local church in Hattiesburg MISS and she overheard and wanted to be in on the blessing. She had JUST enrolled for classes. So here is the GOD DEAL – I’m praying Meka and she gets SAVED – YIP and gets connected to a local church all in that GOD MOMENT in front of the Mississippi Campus. – OH I THINK I’LL GO SHOUT AWHILE OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD
I had the AMAZING experience of going fishing with two of my goof friends during the Momentum week! So Thurday was the mall trip and so two of my friends and I went. I really didn't do any shopping myself but i went to just have fun with my friends! But anyways we were actually in this one store and i started falling asleep! But not for long!!! after shopping, (before we got back on the bus)we started just going up to people and introduced ourselves, said why were there, and from there we openly asked if we could pray for anything. One of the first ladies we went up to, worked at a shoe store, and so we actually got to pray right there with her!!! it was sooo uplifing and literally awakening!! we went up to a few other people- some weren't able to pray because they were working, but they still told us things they wanted us to pray for, We even talked with a security guard and we tried to pray with him but he couldn't tae his eyes off the crowd. There was also a family we encountered right in the midway and we just stopped right there, heads bowed and hearts open to our GREAT Savior Jesus Christ!! This was one experience i will NEVER forget, i was usually never one to openly evangelize, especially in an open setting, but now i am sooo excited to go out to my own mall and do it again!!! and even though we didn't walk away with any "fish" we walked away with a list of hungry people with heartfelt prayers, and our own hearts were changed that day, into ones that are not scared to spread the Word of God's awesomeness!!! Thanks so much for the inspiration Jim!!!
At Equip this year I got to go fishing at a local restaurant. Just simply asked the watress how we could pray for her. She was surprised to be asked that question. A look of "you care about me?!?!?!" It was cool to see her smile after that simple touch of Christ's love...At another restaurant our whole table went after the same fish. Ends up the waiter is seeking God and he was asking a lot of great questions about his faith...Nothing more fun than fishing with friends and getting some nibbles! Keep working!
Jim...thanks so much for your leadership! I am convinced that evangelism must be the engine that drives the church.
When we moved into our house in Lititz 3 years ago our neighbor, who is from France, said to me, "I will be a good neighbor but I will never go to church." So far she has kept her word on both! We have become good friends with her and my wife has had several opportunties to pray with her. Last night we were able to dialogue with her and a french friend of hers who was visiting. This friend is a born-again believer and shared her testimony with me as our neighbor listened. For the first time she expressed an openeness about coming to church sometime and hearing me preach. It is only a matter of time before this "pre-Christian" crosses that line of faith and receives Christ!
After your talk at Momentum, I was really challenged to go fishing. My youth group had a 22 hour bus trip back home to Lititz, so me and a friend decided go fishing at every rest stop we took. I was really nervous at the first stop but it was amazing what God can do. We ended up talking to the manager at a Mcdonalds, after talking about why we were down in Mississippi, I got to share about Gods love. Every stop we took, me and my friend were able to talk and encourage others. Thanks Jim Brown for challenging us!
Me and a couple of friends went to the mall to fish. The first lady walked away after her family came but the third lady, Rosa, was really interested so we gave her a bullitein (obviously the topic of this month is the samson scandal so she probably thinks our church is crazy). After she read a couple of verses the rest of her family came up and she told them to go away. My friends and I were really excited! She said she really wanted to come to our church and that she would try to bring her family along but nothing prepared us for the next experience we were about to have. We were in the center of the mall and we saw a guy sitting there by himself so I said lets go talk to him. We walk up and we start by saying we are walking around asking a survey question. He said okay. So we asked what do you think is on the other side of death. First off he couldn't under stand us but then he finally heard us and I guess he took it pretty harsh and he was really mad. He started asking all these question like how do you know the bible is true and everything else. Jessica (my one friend) was so mad when we walked away because she said that is what you guys talked about a momentum last year but she couldn't remember what they said that proved the bible is true. Although that guy didn't really care what we had to say we moved him one step closer to God and sommeday he is going to htink about what we said to him and he will become interested in everything we had to say.We were all pretty scared but we made it through and now we all love to go fishing at the mall!!!
Lexie
Got to catch one tonight!!!! YES!!!! Talked with someone who was searching for God and trying to be good enough...God to share with her that Jesus loves right where she is and that she needed to put her trust in him. PRAISE JESUS!!!! She did it! PRAISE GOD!!!! Fishing is fun and catching one is AWESOME! Thanks for allowing me to do that God!
I'm teaching at a middle school in Thailand and having great opportunities to share my faith.
This week at school has been a little stressful. Most of it is worked out now, but the stress translated into emotion and frustration for me, making the week harder to get through. In the middle of that, though, I found myself thinking "I don't know WHAT I'm even doing here", and immediately the Lord convicted me for such a thought. Because I DO know exactly what I'm doing here - I am here for these teachers, here to share the hope of Christ with them. The Lord has kept that thought at the very front of my mind all these week, and it has helped me to push forward.
This week I have had great connection with "Steve from Philly" (we have Steve from Philly and Steve from Columbus). I have been praying specifically for him and am going to look for the chance to share Christ with him tomorrow. I covet your prayers for that- pray for the opportunity, for Steve's heart and willingness to hear, and for the Spirit to speak and work through me.
I also have the chance to spend some time with Josh (from Washington) this weekend (we're going to the park to sit in the grass for a while). The Lord has also been laying him on my heart this week, so pray too for the boldness to speak to him, and for openness and understanding and softness of his heart. Josh has background in church, and equates going to church with going to heaven, so pray for wisdom that I may know how to speak TRUTH and that it will penetrate the "religion" in his life.
Anonymous said...
Yesterday was a great day for fishing. We had a whole bunch of fish right in our own pond yesterday. They were needy people from our community just sitting in the hallway of our church, just waiting to get a $30 food voucher to a local grocery store. I was standing in the lead pastor's office at our church (Jim Brown) and he said, "hey, let's go win some people to the Lord." You can hardly say, "no, I've got too much office work to do." It was kinda like your dad saying, "boys, let's get out there and do some fishing." Well, the three of us headed out to the lobby to do some fishing. I got a chance to talk to a fish that just looked like she wanted to be caught. I sat down beside a lady and I asked her what was on the other side and she said, "heaven." I then asked her if she knew if God would let her in. She said she hoped so and thought she would get in because she had been kind to people and helped them. I shared that she could know without a doubt that she was going to heaven and that it was a free gift and asked if she wanted to do that. She said she had to clean up her life first. I told her that she needed to make the decision to follow Jesus first and and he would help her clean up her life. I then asked if she was ready to make that step. She said, "here?" So we went over to our gathering area and once we sat down, she began to sob. She was dealing with so much hurt and it all came out like a flood. When she prayed the prayer, it was so real and sincere. PTL! God gets all the credit! Anyways, to sum it all up, the fishing was good yesterday and I'm glad someone said, "let's go fishing, boys!"
I've been asking God for opportunities to share my faith. I've seen God answer this prayer in diverse ways in the last week or so...
A week ago I followed up on a contact from a fellow Columbus GBC pastor. I called (let's call him...) Tim and we talked a bit. Long story short, he shared that he's struggling in many areas of his life. I drove about 15 minutes to pick him up and bring him back to our Thursday gathering. I think he enjoyed himself and I'm so pleased with our group/team and how they welcome new people. They really understand what it means to accept new...and even different... people. On the way home, we talked through the elements of the Gospel. Tim believes in Jesus...but also a lot of other things that even contradict John 14:6. A typical post-modern, 25 year old, Tim kind of has a synchretistic view of theology. We had a great discussion and I was thankful to be able to affirm him as a person while challenging his other-than-biblical worldview. Hopefully we'll see Tim again.
A few nights ago a neighbor walked over. I've intiated conversations with (let's call him) Joe on numerous occasions. I've found him cautiously friendly but a little distant. He came over and we talked about our patio and some work related stuff. Out of the blue (to me... not to God!) he said something to the effect of, "I've been talking with a friend at work about God. He's giving me some passages to read from the Bible and I've really been making some changes in my life." As I picked myself off the floor...God gave me the opportunity to really celebrate God's work in Joe's life. We talked about the best Bible translation to pick up and I offered to talk any time. I'm going to try and follow up with Joe. Would you pray with me that God would open a door for continued relationship and confirmation of belief in Jesus?
Silas (my 19 month old son) and I were shopping
for a raffle prize for our free raffle at the Oktoberfest (we landed on an iPod Shuffle). We're hoping to get hundreds of contacts/addresses to expand our mailing list. In the Best Buy parking lot was a "vegetable-oil powered bus" inhabited by some very friendly, young envrionmentalists that are criss-crossing the country. My little evangelist wanted to see the bus...so we want over and started a conversation. They showed us the bus and we had a pleasant conversation. After exchanging business cards, I offered to take them home and allow them to use our shower. I know this sounds foolish in our (sometimes) overly skeptical society...but I really think the Holy Spirit told me to offer hospitality. They had an appointment they needed to get to...so I couldn't carry on the conversation. As I thought back on this, I was thankful God pushed me to just be friendly and kind. I'm sure these fine young people and I would disagree on much politically...but I sure hope they saw me as a pastor who was kind and a positive representation of Jesus. Who knows...maybe they'll be back in town someday and we can have them over.
Please pray with me that God continues to teach me how to share His love and grace wisely and boldly. With all my heart I want to used of God to lead people Jesus and help others lead people to Jesus.
From a family at Community Grace in Warsaw:
Dear Praying Friends,
We have some exciting news to share with you! Our pastor friend went to the hospital Saturday. Before going into the room, they asked for the Holy Spirit to work in Grandma's heart and to guide them as they went in to talk to her. Our friend shared with her that God loves her and sent His Son Jesus to die to pay the penalty for her sins. He explained that the only way to become part of God's family and to have eternal life is by believing that Jesus took her place when He died on the cross. They shared with her for 15 or 20 minutes, and her response was that if God really loves her, he would make her well. Then her son told her how she had been very close to death and that many Christians had been praying for her to get better. God had allowed her to live so that she could hear about Him. She was quite surprised to learn that she had been so sick and that God had answered prayers on her behalf. Then she wanted to know how to become a part of His family, and she prayed aloud, asking God for salvation because of Jesus. Then she looked at her son and asked, "So now I'm a daughter in God's family?" And he was able to answer, "Yes!" What a precious moment!
Praising the Savior!
In the beginning of the year, I had many more opportunities to "go fishing". It seems like I've hit a time where the conversations haven't happened. I definitely look out for them though, and I'm still praying for them to happen.
I just wanted to let you know that there's a former momentum kid out there still living for the Lord.
We had a youth retreat where I (as a youth staffer) had the opportunity to share the gospel with one of the girls who had been coming to our youth group pretty regularly. She was interested, but still wanted to think about it. Later that night, she prayed with one of our girls from our youth group to receive Christ as her Savior. Praise God!
I guess we're done fishing? No posts for a while.
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