“So that every man, woman and child in our sphere of influence can hear a compelling presentation of the gospel given by a person living a compelling life in the gospel, and do it in such a way that people say the Church is the best thing in their community.”
Neighborhood Lighthouses: A Systematic Process
w PRAYER
Ø Start raising the level of prayer in the Church:
- Pastors have prayer shields
- Prayer teams have shields
ð Provide a comprehensive covering for the pastors and churches as they lead.
Goal: every lead church has a prayer covering.
Ø Move into the Community:
- First Responders have prayer shields: Fire/EMS, Police, Sheriff, ER
- Governor’s Prayer shield: city, county, school board, state, nation.
- Schools: adopt a school in prayer
ð Missionaries in each neighborhood throughout the city are quietly identified, unified, and equipped to target their neighborhood for Christ.
Ø Identify neighborhood missionaries in each congregation.
- Start by praying for five on each side, three front and back - by name.
ð Provide a comprehensive prayer covering for the community.
Goal: every person prayed for by name every week.
Goal: Turn up the spiritual temperature in the neighborhood and community.
Goal: Have a core of people tuning into God and each other daily.
w CARE
- Neighborhoods: five on each side, three front and back identified - by name.
Goal: Provide a complete listing of each household by name.
ð Identify needs of, issues in, and spiritual condition of the neighborhood.
Goal: name each head of household
Goal: assess spiritual condition of each home (house/apt.)
Goal: identify awake/asleep in Christ, those dead to Christ open/closed.
Goal: build relationships with those dead to Christ.
Goal: build cooperative/affirming relationships with those alive in Christ.
- Service projects:
o food drive, prayer groups, soup nights, neighborhood cook outs…
ð Work together to meet strategic needs.
(Goal: neighborhood units lead mission efforts to their neighborhoods)
w SHARE
ð Storm the gates of hell.
- Strategic community level outreaches informed by neighborhood intelligence.
- One on one outreach through relationships as the foundation for all the rest.