🎣 Fishing Is Evangelization

One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. There’s something deeply peaceful and grounding about saltwater fishing—whether it’s casting off a pier or standing knee-deep in the surf, rod in hand, eyes fixed on the water. My favorite kind of fishing is bait fishing. There’s a special kind of thrill in waiting for that sudden tug, the line ripping out, and setting the hook at just the right time.

The more I reflect on it, the more I realize: fishing is a lot like evangelization.

In both, you have to prepare with intention. A good fisherman knows his target. What species is in season? What waters are they swimming in? What bait attracts them? What kind of hook is best? If you miss any of these details, your odds of success drop dramatically.

Evangelization works the same way. To share the Gospel effectively, you have to know your audience. Are you speaking to someone hurting, skeptical, indifferent, or hungry for truth? Then you prayerfully consider your approach—your “bait.” Sometimes it's kindness, sometimes it’s your testimony, other times it’s simply listening. And when the moment is right—when the line tugs—you gently set the hook with the right words, the right Scripture, or the simple truth of Christ's love.

And even then, the work isn’t over.

Sometimes the conversation drifts. Sometimes people fall off the line. But sometimes—just sometimes—you land one. A soul turns toward God. And what joy there is in that moment! Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents (Luke 15:7).

But the heart of both fishing and evangelization is this: casting and waiting.

There are no guarantees. You cast your line—into the deep, into uncertainty—and you wait. It can be slow. It can be discouraging. But in that stillness, you pray. You remain hopeful. You trust. Because the one who told Peter to cast again after a long, empty night is the same Lord who commands us to fish for souls.

So keep casting. Keep praying. Keep fishing.

Because Jesus didn’t just call us to believe—He called us to be fishers of men.

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God Bless,

Patrick Leigh, COO

The Modern Apostle LLC