Let’s Go Fishing: Becoming Fishers of Men (Pastor Paul Hohman)

Before you can go fishing, you have to prepare, and the same is true of reaching people for Jesus. In this Father’s Day message, Pastor Paul Hohman teaches from Mark 1:17 and Luke 5 that following Jesus is how He makes us fishers of men, and that knowing who you are in Christ is the preparation every believer needs before casting a net. The message is for everyone, not only for fathers.

He gives five Scripture verses to memorize, then walks through the morning Simon Peter launched into the deep at Jesus’ word. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, every passage linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway, a timestamped outline and practical steps you can take this week.

Sermon at a Glance

Pastor Paul Hohman preached this message on Father’s Day at the New Testament Church, after Dr. Hohman asked him to take the pulpit that Sunday. He notes it was the first time he had preached on a holiday of this kind. He titled it Let’s Go Fishing because so many dads love to fish, but he is clear that what God laid on his heart is for everybody in the room.

Living in the Northwoods, most of his listeners know that fishing takes preparation. You cannot see a lake, feel like fishing and catch anything without a rod, bait and a plan. His point is that Jesus gives us the ingredients for spiritual fishing, and it is up to us to follow Him, learn from Him and apply His Word so He can make us fishers of men.

Follow Me: Preparing to Go Fishing

Whether you fish from shore, from a boat or on the ice, Pastor Paul says, you prepare. Ice fishing means staying out of the wind and bringing an auger instead of chiseling. A boat gets you to places you cannot walk to. You choose baits, rods and reels, and you decide whether to cast and reel or let the bobber sit. Saying I want to a hundred times catches nothing without preparation.

His key verse is Mark 1:17, where Jesus says, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Follow Me, Pastor Paul explains, means glean from Me: watch how I talk, how I act, how I interact and how I handle situations. Jesus promises to make us fishers of men, but it is up to us to listen, read the Word and find out who He is.

Good fishermen do their due diligence. They find out what time the fish are biting, whether to go into the deep, the shallows, the weeds or the lily pads, and what will draw the fish out. In the same way, if you do not know you are a fisherman, you are not really fishing. You need to know who you are in Christ, what He has called you to do, and then apply it to your life.

He addresses how many people come to Jesus. Often it happens at the end of their rope, needing Him to save a marriage, a job, a home, or to bring relief from financial stress, anxiety and worry. That surrender is real. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart you will be saved (Romans 10:9–10). But, he adds, it is easy to say it; then we need to live it, change and grow.

A New Creation in Christ: Knowing Who You Are

Christians need to know who they are in Christ, Pastor Paul says, because people pray and then expect God to make something happen magically. Instead, he applies the Word to his own life and lives out who he is in Christ. On a hard day he declares that this is the day the Lord has made and he will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). When he cannot sleep, he thanks God that He is good and declares that his sleep is sweet.

He also speaks to fathers. There is no handbook when you get married and no guidebook when your first child is born. He remembers driving home at twenty miles an hour on the freeway with the first baby, and how by the second and third child it was simply “buckle yourself, get in.” You learn to trust that God has your back, and God wants fathers to father with confidence, secure in Christ.

The first of his five verses is 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Pastor Paul believes God says this right off the bat because He knows Satan will come and remind you of the lifestyle you led, the people you hurt and the words that came out of your mouth.

We use “pass away” when someone dies, he notes. What happened in the past is gone, and there is nothing you can do about it. What you can do is take steps of faith now, because the Word tells you God’s purpose and plan for your life. Jesus said He only did and said what the Father told Him, and Pastor Paul asks whether we should not have that same relationship with our heavenly Father.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: You Are Not an Accident

The second verse is Psalm 139:14: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God sets us up for success, Pastor Paul says. He does not hand us an assignment and leave us on our own; He leads, guides and empowers us by the Holy Spirit.

He imagines Noah being told to build an ark, a giant boat that would take decades, while being mocked by friends and neighbors, ahead of rain that had never fallen before (Genesis 6). Who would shut the door? God would take care of it. We often try to rationalize what God has asked, instead of praying, help me do what You want me to do and say what You want me to say.

Fishing teaches the same humility. It is not whatever I want; it is whatever the fish want. If they are not biting on minnows, try crawlers. God knows us perfectly, so there is no point hiding anything from Him. When the thoughts come, say, “Satan, get behind me,” and turn to God as your refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Returning to Psalm 139, Pastor Paul says the Hebrew behind “fearfully” suggests a respect so deep that it makes us catch our breath, like the time he jumped off a pontoon boat into lake water still cold near the Fourth of July. God did not mass-produce you. He handcrafted you with intention and fine detail, and your specific way of seeing the world matters once it is aligned with His Word.

In a culture of endless self-improvement, this verse offers freedom: you do not have to become someone else to have value. He leads the church in declaring, “I’m not an accident, I’m not overlooked, I’m fully known and I’m fully loved.” Knowing who you are in Christ changes how you see people. He asks whether we look at others the way God looks at us, through eyes of grace and mercy, because you might be the only Jesus anyone ever sees.

Five Verses to Fish By: Plans, Confidence and Wisdom

The third verse is Jeremiah 29:11–12, which he reads as God’s plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future, and His promise to listen when you call on Him. God does not want us living a subpar life. Bad things come because we live in a fallen world with a real devil, not because they are God’s plan.

The fourth is Philippians 1:6: He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. God never leaves us high and dry. That is why Pastor Paul urges a habit of Bible study: if you struggle with anxiety, worry, fear, doubt or anger, do a word study and find out what the Word says. It is okay to be real with God.

The fifth is James 1:4–8. If you lack wisdom, ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. He will not make you feel bad for asking twice before Monday morning. But ask in faith, because the doubter is like a wave driven and tossed by the wind. How do you get rid of doubt? Press into the Word, starve your doubts and, as he puts it, doubt your doubts.

As the Word fills you, he says, things that used to frustrate you become like water off a duck’s back. You may not even notice the change, but those are God’s blessings. His plan for your life far exceeds anything you could hope or think, so it is time to raise your expectations of life in Christ.

Launch Out Into the Deep: Luke 5

Now Pastor Paul says, come on, let’s go fishing, and reads Luke 5:1–11. The multitude pressed around Jesus by the lake, so He stepped into Simon’s boat, asked him to push out a little from the land and taught from there. Pastor Paul observes that the story is not really about the crowd or the sermon; it is about Simon and what Jesus asked him to do.

When He finished speaking, Jesus told Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Notice, Pastor Paul says, that Jesus told Simon to do it. We cry, God, do something, and He answers, I did; I sent you. We are His hands and feet. In his picture, we are the bait and Jesus is the fisher who has cast us here to draw people to Him.

Sometimes God asks for something radical, outside our comfortable zone, and the only way to please Him is by faith (Hebrews 11:6), not feelings. Worried what people will think if you tell them about Jesus? He repeats a saying of Dr. Hohman: what is the worst they can do? They cannot take away your birthday. The best that could happen is that a soul is saved.

Simon had toiled all night with the sons of Zebedee and caught nothing. Fish bite at night, not in daylight, and he was tired and wondering how to provide for his family. Yet he answered, “Nevertheless at your word I will let down the net.” Maybe he just wanted the stranger out of his boat, Pastor Paul says, or maybe he had listened to the teacher and was open to being changed.

Then the catch came. Pastor Paul translates it for local anglers: fifty to a hundred bluegill is a good day, five to ten walleye is a good day, and one musky makes a fisherman excited. Now picture your best catch ever multiplied by a hundred. Their net was breaking, they signaled their partners, and both boats filled until they began to sink.

Let’s Go Fishing for Souls: From Sinful Man to Fishers of Men

The catch reminds Pastor Paul of Ephesians 3:20–21: God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. God has given us the tools to catch souls, and he asks how we are using them. When people are being saved at the park or coming forward in prayer lines, the church should step in, pray and lay hands on them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

He points to Dr. Hohman, who calls himself just a hayseed, and lists what God has built through a willing yes: outreach in 37 nations, a radio station for over twenty years, a food pantry for forty years, a child care center, a K–12 school and a Bible college. We are all part of the body and need one another.

When Simon saw the catch, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” Pastor Paul connects this with the verse he quoted earlier, that whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Simon had thrown his nets in his own strength with no faith for a catch, which is what all of us did before Christ.

Jesus told Simon not to be afraid; from now on he would catch men. When we obey God, Pastor Paul says, other people notice. They are watching how we act, talk and treat others, and if we are no different from the world, why would they need Christ? Like a fish looking at a lure, they will either be drawn in or swim away. Fishers of men live in a way that draws people to Jesus.

Simon and his partners forsook all and followed Jesus. Pastor Paul does not tell anyone to quit their job, but God does ask us to speak when we do not feel like it and act when we think we lack time. The simplest way to start is to share the goodness of God. His final verse is Revelation 12:11: they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Church, he says, let’s go fishing.

Living It Out This Week

Pastor Paul closes by praying that the church would be lures that draw others to Jesus, lifting His name in word and in deed. Here are practical steps from this message to help you go fishing for souls:

• Memorize the five verses. Write down 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 139:14, Jeremiah 29:11–12, Philippians 1:6 and James 1:4–8, and go over them often.
• Declare who you are. Say aloud that you are not an accident, not overlooked, fully known and fully loved.
• Do a word study. When you struggle with worry, fear or anger, look up what the Bible says and feed on it daily.
• Ask for wisdom in faith. Bring what you lack to God without doubting, and starve your doubts with the Word.
• Launch out at His word. When the Holy Spirit prompts you to speak or act, obey even if it feels radical.
• Share the goodness of God. Tell someone how God has been good to you, and offer to pray with them.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Preaching on Father’s Day: let’s go fishing
• 1:05 Every kind of fishing takes preparation
• 2:13 Mark 1:17: follow Me, fishers of men
• 4:15 When Jesus says follow Me
• 6:16 Confessing Jesus, then living it
• 7:16 Knowing who you are in Christ
• 10:24 Fathering with confidence
• 11:28 2 Corinthians 5:17: a new creation
• 13:36 Psalm 139:14: fearfully and wonderfully made
• 14:37 Noah and the ark
• 19:05 A respect that takes your breath away
• 22:15 Fully known and fully loved
• 23:20 Jeremiah 29:11–12: plans for a future
• 25:21 Philippians 1:6 and studying the Word
• 27:26 James 1:4–8: ask for wisdom in faith
• 30:36 Luke 5: Jesus in Simon’s boat
• 33:55 Launch out into the deep
• 35:59 They can’t take away your birthday
• 36:59 Nevertheless at Your word
• 39:02 A great catch of fish
• 41:07 Ephesians 3:20: exceedingly abundantly
• 43:23 Depart from me, I am a sinful man
• 45:32 They forsook all and followed Him
• 47:39 Revelation 12:11 and closing prayer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is saying a prayer enough to follow Jesus?

Pastor Paul affirms that confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart saves you, and he calls it an act of surrender. But he warns against treating it like a prayer before a meal. After that confession we need to live it: change from what we were doing, come to church to have our faith built up, be around other believers and learn what God’s Word says about our lives.

Do I have to quit my job to be a fisher of men?

No. Pastor Paul notes that Simon and his partners forsook all, but he says plainly that he is not telling anyone to give up their job; the Bible says that if you do not work, you do not eat. What God does ask is that we stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit, speak when we may not feel like it and act when we think we have no time.

What should I say if I have never shared my faith?

Share the goodness of God, Pastor Paul says. Tell people how He has been good to you: how He healed your body, helped you overcome areas of your life or changed the words of your mouth. If someone is going through something, tell them you have seen God answer a similar need, and ask if you can pray with them right then. He asks who would say no to that.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Mark 1:17 — follow Me, fishers of men
• Luke 5:1–11 — launch out into the deep
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 — a new creation
• Psalm 139:14 — fearfully and wonderfully made
• Jeremiah 29:11–12 — plans for hope and a future
• Philippians 1:6 — He will complete the good work
• James 1:4–8 — ask for wisdom in faith
• Ephesians 3:20–21 — exceedingly abundantly
• Revelation 12:11 — the word of their testimony

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

Watch More Messages

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