One of the elements of my ministry I enjoy most is meeting church Evangelism Teams and working out ways to best reach their community. Depending on the community, the ways a church can best reach lost people changes across Georgia. As we meet together we try to decide on what approach would work best for that environment and the church’s culture.

However, there are some element for reaching people that are consistent no matter the church, environment, culture or history. Prayer is one element that remains constant. Many times praying for the lost by name is not something we regularly do. We pray for “lost” people, but praying for them by name is not as common.

I encourage Small Groups, prayer groups & Sunday School classes alike to work through a prospect list. The church should take advantage of praying people in the church to pray for and lift up lost people and a divine opportunity to share the Gospel. There might be new people to the community, church, workplace environment or the ballfield, who need Christ.

Just as each church is different in how they reach the lost, each person has different barriers that keep them from Christ. Those barriers and that person need specific prayer. As the members of that team of people come together for prayer, a good practice to begin would be praying for people by name. The group then prays for the person at the point of need. General prayers for lost are still needed, but praying for a specific person to be saved at the point of need should be the priority.

The need is universal; it’s the need for the Christ.