How to reach the unreached – Lessons from what Jesus did
Luke 5 is a powerhouse of truth and wisdom that every Christian involved in ministry should take time to meditate. Let’s look at some of those here:
1) The law of attraction
There is something special about Jesus that people will get attracted to. Verse 1 says “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.”Jesus himself mentioned that “when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” So stop worrying about how to reach out to people and start lifting Jesus high wherever you meet. If Jesus is lifted high in your small gatherings, people will automatically get attracted and will also invite others to your meetings.
2) He used their boats and taught them
When you are planting an outreach or a ministry or a church, don’t expect people to come to your place. Sometimes you need to go to their places and use their “boats”. They didn’t refuse him or ask any questions. Because there is something special about Jesus that people will get attracted to him. So make sure you take Jesus with you and also make sure they see the Jesus in you. Teaching is very important during the early stages of a church. Because you don’t know what experiences/teachings they have had in the past and what situations they are going through. Don’t assume that they know all things.
3) Launch into deep
The bible says, ‘When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”’ Launching deeper comes after teaching. Jesus could have asked them to launch into deep first so that the disciples could have witnessed the miraculous catch of fish before he taught them. But Jesus didn’t jump into miracles as he took time to teach them first. And then he asked them to launch into the deep and they witnessed a great miracle! Launching deeper is the most critical part of any ministry. This is where you pray for their personal needs and the people will witness the supernatural God. This is where you will put the teachings into practise. This is where you just be there for their personal needs and identify yourself with them and their needs. Jesus knew that the disciples had a difficult night and didn’t catch any fish. He didn’t finish with the teaching. But he addressed their personal needs and showed them a glimpse of the supernatural God. Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk. But its a matter of power.
4) Cast the vision
After he took them through a personal experience of God’s supernatural power, he asked the disciples to follow him. He cast a vision saying they will be “fishers of men” and called them into ministry. Since the disciples were now taught and also saw something spectacular, they left everything and followed him. That is called commitment. You will get true commitment from people only when you take them through this supernatural experience of God. Otherwise, people will only be spectators and there won’t be any true commitment.
