The Trouble with Fishing

Many Christians rejoice as long as the catch looks like this:




But what if the catch looks like this:




Or this:




Or this:




In my experience, the people we most often invite to church are the ones that look the most like they would fit in. We tell them, "You should come visit our church -- you would really like it."

What about those of different ethnicity? If our church is entirely caucasian, do we dare invite orientals, hispanics, or african-americans? If our church is hispanic, do we dare invite gringos?

What about different religions? Are we ready for Muslims or athiests?

What about different societal viewpoints? Are our arms open to those confused about their gender or sexuality? Can we show love to someone who has aborted their baby?

Tony Campolo put it this way:

My question to pastors is not, “Who is coming to your church?” but rather “Who isn’t coming?”

Take a look at your congregation. What people groups are missing? What would it take to get them there?

Please note that I'm not talking about changing our message. I'm just asking what we'd have to do so other people groups would feel welcome enough to hear our message.