How to make and use a prospects list

Evangelism prospect List

Why have an “Evangelism Prospect List?”

If you were given 20 seconds to name the pre-Christians you know who are closest to becoming Christians, how many could you name?  You would probably quickly realize your need to give some thought and prayer to the matter.  This illustrates the benefits of such a list.

A key to seeing people come to faith in Jesus Christ is to be specifically praying for them and “having them on your heart.”  See Romans 9:1-3 & 10:1.  Having a list helps you do this.  Often prayer and thought lead to action.  Hopefully your prayers and thoughts will lead to helping specific people come to Christ.  Use a 3×5 card to record your list.

Five Steps for Setting up Your Evangelism Prospect List

1. Pray for wisdom; ask for the Lord’s guidance.
2. List the names of about 10 pre-Christians you are in contact with. These could be neighbors, relatives, people at work, friends from school, and others.
3. Sift through the list and determine those whom you would consider a priority to reach for Christ.  Ten guidelines for determining priorities are listed below.
4. Make a final list of no more than six people you feel are your highest priority as evangelism prospects.
5. Begin to pray daily for these people.

Guidelines for Determining Your Final List

1. Those you think are closest to coming to Christ.
2. Those with whom you have frequent, good communication.
3. Those that who have shown spiritual interest.
4. Those who are being prayed for regularly.  Perhaps you have been doing so, and perhaps you know of others who have been praying.
5. Those whose respect and friendship you have.
6. Those you may have a limited time to reach:
   1. Those moving out of your area.
   2. Those who may not have long to live.
7. Those who have a Christian marriage partner.
8. Those to whom others have given a testimony or presented the gospel.
9. Those for whom the Holy Spirit has given you a recurring spiritual concern.
10. Those whom God seems to bring across your path repeatedly.

Step by Step Prayer

Prayer and action should be focused not only on their conversion, but also on intermediate goals for your evangelism prospects.  You may do social things with them to deepen your friendships.  Try to understand prejudices and remove them, help them get a better grasp of who Jesus is and why he is trustworthy, answer their questions, etc.  Pray about these intermediate steps as well as their conversion.

Maintaining Your List

Every few months you should rework your evangelism prospects list.  Probably four times a year should be enough.  Keep the size of your list at ten names or less.  You will share your faith with many who are not on your list, but will concentrate on doing whatever you can to help those on your list come to Christ.  So pray, plan, and proceed!