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Any individual Christian who has a heart for lost people can be used by God to begin seeing their fellowship grow in its commitment to evangelism and local missions. It all begins with a commitment to pray and a commitment to set an example for the glory of God. 

First Step: Brainstorm a list of individuals in your church who you believe have a heart for missions or for the lost.

Second Step: Contact them and share with them that you would like to have a single prayer meeting where the focus is to seek for direction in regard to local evangelism. Be sure to express your heart for the lost and your desire to be more active in reaching the unsaved yourself. Schedule a time that is convenient. Be sure not to be too specific as to how you visualize it developing. Otherwise, you will be asking them to join you and your plans rather than joining you in an attempt to pray for the lost and for your particular church.

Third Step: Meet with those you have invited in a setting where you will not be interrupted with phones, children or activities. Pray together, share your hearts, and pray again. Discuss how to bring changes to your own personal outreach ministries (hospitality, etc.) and ways that those present could set an example for the rest of the congregation in regards to evangelism. A few “Dos and Don’ts:

•Don’t become critical of the church.

•Don’t become critical of those who may not have joined you.

•Don’t allow any particular evangelistic ideas, approaches, or programs to become the focus of the group.

•Do remember that you are there to ask God to deepen your heart for the lost.

•Do remember that you are praying that God would cause evangelism to be promoted in all its Biblical approaches.

•Do remember that you are gathering to pray primarily for yourselves, your example and God’s leading in regards to what you all can do to encourage local evangelism. 

Fourth Step: Keep good notes as to what God is teaching you and the group, in regard to evangelism. For example:

•All approaches to evangelism are Biblical and should be encouraged.

•God is responsible for the results of our evangelistic endeavors.

•Everyone is called to evangelism—because all are commanded to do evangelism.

•It is important that we not only share the words of the gospel, but also the music of the gospel.

•Evangelism is more caught than taught.

Fifth Step: Identify those who would be interested in continuing to pray together on a weekly basis until you all begin to see changes in your lives and in the loves of your fellow believers.

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