Here are some very practical steps that will help you “touch your neighborhood” with the Gospel.

1. Identify the Seven Neighborhoods where you live…

We all need to identify who lives in your neighborhood. We all live in seven neighborhoods.

• We all live in a geographic neighborhood (those who live on your street and your immediate community).
• We live in a relational neighborhood (this includes your friends and relatives).
• We live in a retail neighborhood (those that work at the businesses you frequent [grocery store, car repair shop, etc.]).
• We live in a lifestyle (activities we do [bowling league, little league, gym, etc.]).
• We live in a career neighborhood (This includes people with whom you work or come in contact on your job or at school [employer, employees, co-workers, customers, service or delivery persons, teachers, students, administrators]).
• We live in a random neighborhood (This includes persons you have encountered in your “Social Network” or only once or several times [people whom you may never see again, but with whom you could stay in touch by letter, Facebook, internet or telephone]).
• We live in a ministry neighborhood (This includes people to whom you are your church family are ministering [persons who are grieving, physically ill, financially stressed, experiencing emotional difficulties, effected by disaster, unchurched]).

2. Pray: Set a special time for prayer and begin praying for the people you’ve identified.

Here’s the idea:  Divide your prayer list into seven daily lists.  Call each person periodically in the evening before you pray for them.  Say, “I’m going to pray for you especially tomorrow. What would you like for me to talk to God about for you tomorrow?”  When these friends need spiritual help, they will often come to you.

3. Diagnose: Get to know them well enough to be able to understand their needs, worries, and spiritual condition.

4. Serve them. Go the second mile for them.

Do something for them beyond the call of duty.  Consider some of the following possibilities:

• Help them with a difficult task (moving, construction, cleaning, canning, sandbagging.)
• Do something for them (wash their car, bake a loaf of bread, shine their shoes, do a job that they were assigned to do or that they are dreading, take them out for a meal.)
• Invite them to your home (prepare a meal, watch a video, play games, visit.)
• Take them to a special event (concert, sports game, theater).
• Accept their offer to help you with a special project (planning a party, coaching a team, moving, constructing something.)

Let your proximity to your new friends lead you to sharing your testimony of faith. Allow God to lead you into the next steps: Invite to church, men’s gathering, etc. Be there. Ask to pray with them.