It had been about a year of weekly outreach without anyone coming to Christ. “Was I doing something wrong?” I thought. Then I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:6 – “some plant, some water, but God gives the growth.” “Yes Lord, help me continue to be faithful where you have me, whether it is to plant or water.”
The next Wednesday, we were almost done with our outreach time, but I decided to talk with one more person. It didn’t take long before we were discussing questions like these: “What is your purpose in life?” “What do you think happens when you die?” “Who is Jesus Christ to you?”
We showed him the Bridge Illustration and he put himself not on the side with God but close to trusting Christ. I asked him what was holding him back. “Nothing, I guess.” So, I shared with him how you can pray and ask Christ to come and make you a new person. As we left, he said, “I think this is a sign from God.”
The next day I was in the student union again and ran into him. I asked him if he prayed and put his trust in Jesus. He said, “Yes!”
But, the following week it was hard to connect with him and I started to doubt if he was truly interested. Then I saw him and began talking with him; only it wasn’t him. Embarrassed, I began walking away when I heard the look-alike say: “That’s my older brother, a lot of people have trouble with that.” This led to being able to share the same illustration with him that I had shared with his brother. After showing him the Bridge, he put himself not on the side with God but interested in who Jesus is….
“Fishing” for people requires prayer, patience, and perseverance. After a year, two people responded. After another week of texting, the three of us got together to keep talking. “Lord, help me keep fishing, keep waiting, keep praying.”
