In this article we want to help you kickoff your evangelism goals for 2025 through prayer. Year after year we recycle the tried-and-true New Year’s resolutions. Typically, an assortment of health, financial, and relational goals. For some that may also include a generic spiritual category as well. Eat better, lose weight, make more money, and love God better. All noble aspirations, no doubt. How often do we plot out our evangelism efforts for the New Year?  

“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”

― Zig Ziglar 

Who Are We

Before we jump in a quick side note. Who Are We? 

Global Catalytic Ministries (GCM), you may have heard about us in the critically acclaimed documentaries Sheep Among Wolves I and II. We are on the front lines, supporting persecuted Christian believers worldwide, and sharing the love of Jesus with those who violently oppose the Gospel. 

Our journey began under the oppressive rule of a strict regime in Iran, then expanded within the grip of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and now, at the heart of Islam in Mecca, the holiest site in all of Islam, our modern-day Goliath.  

Our mission is to make disciples in every nation, tribe, and tongue by reaching the lost in unreached and persecuted places and by coaching believers to reach their families and neighborhoods. 

Today, we are a global family of disciple-makers committed to Jesus’ disciple-making method shared in Matthew 10 and Luke 10. We work in the harvest field and equip others to do the same. More on that later. 

The information in this article is pieced together from our global family of disciple-makers serving in the heart of Islam in places like Saudi Arabia and Kurdistan to neighborhoods in SoCal and Kentucky. This specific conversation was pulled from a global call of disciple-makers who meet to champion one another and hold each other accountable in their disciple-making journeys. If you are interested in joining something like that let us know here.

Disciple-maker “Anne” shares her real-life experience of applying these strategies in her very own home and neighborhood. The strategies have more than flourished; they are now on the cusp of seeing a movement. (Movement is an exponential multiplication of unbelievers discovering Christ that form churches who turn around and repeat the process over and over. It is like a revival.) 

Jumpstart 2025 Evangelism Efforts

Now back to the real reason you are here. You want to jumpstart your 2025 evangelism efforts. This is truly a beautiful process that has seen millions of unbelievers discover Christ. It is founded in God’s word and is Spirit led. 

We all enjoy a solid gardening analogy, right? Making disciples is a patient and nuanced process. Let us go ahead and drop the word process. It is a lifestyle; a commitment. Really it is a command of Christ. Before we spiral into condemnation, please know (a) we do not roll that way here and (b) God empowers you to live it out. 

When you garden, you are not really growing vegetables. That is a byproduct. You are establishing the right conditions so that vegetables may grow. We do not produce anything, we nurture soil.  

That is the approach we need with disciple-making.  

Disciple-Making vs. Discipleship

Why are we using the phrase “disciple-making” and not discipleship? In short, when training believers, often from the west, we bring certain connotations and concepts to Christian terms. Discipleship can at times be used as a word that means an education program to be a proper church member of a certain denomination. To circumvent those preconceptions, we prefer a term that can bypass eastern or western contextualization and roots us in God’s word and more specifically Christ’s commission. If you are hungry to learn a bit more, we offer a free disciple-making bootcamp; sign up here. 

Last thing we will say on that is when you are replicating disciples in a wide variety of cultures, nations, politics, and languages you need the simplest and most concentrated of principles from God’s word. In other words, the replicable DNA, or the seed form. This one of the most amazing things from Jesus’ disciple-making method in Luke 10 and Matthew 10. The fact that it works any time, any place, and with anyone. We are seeing that from Manchester to Mecca. 

Evangelism

 It is essential to define the term evangelism. Here is what we do not mean: 

1. Evangelism is not event based. Outreach and events are not bad. We use a similar idea. We call them access ministries. Meeting physical needs can be a doorway to meet spiritual needs. These are all excellent tactics. However, our main concern with this approach is the unspoken psychology it can produce. Consequently, evangelism can be interpreted as an event on a calendar. It is something you elect to do at a certain place and time.  

Here is what we do mean: 

1. Evangelism is not a faucet you can turn off and on. It is a committed way of life. The disciple-making method Jesus taught in Mathew 10 and Luke 10 it sincerely is a new outlook, a new way of thinking. It drastically changes your approach to your daily interactions and helps you cultivate habits to engage unbelievers.  

2. We often work with native and nationals. These typically are not westerners who come from the outside world into their context. The best way to reach an Iranian is another Iranian; not a New Yorker. The best way to reach a New Yorker is another New Yorker. The insider knows the culture inside and out. Nuances that are extremely difficult for foreigners to learn. All that to say is they cannot “clock in and out” of disciple-making. You cannot punch a clock.  

To plan your 2025 evangelism calendar, you need to be prepared for a new way of life. It is full of excitement and wonder but also can be a routine and monotonous. (Read our recent article on Radical Ordinary Obedience.) 

These initial concepts we describe are essential. Remember we are establishing the right conditions so that produce can grow.

Step 1 for establishing your 2025 Disciple-Making Calendar is prayer. There are hundreds of methods for prayer. All of them wonderful. We are going to focus on just four.  

The Conversation Quadrants 

The first one is called Conversation Quadrants. Not only is it a phenomenal prayer method, but it also doubles as a conversation tracking tool. Not to mention it also reveals pressure points that can be addressed and overcome as a team. Developed by Paul Watson co-author of Contagious Disciple Making.  

Ideally, a poster board would work best but any sheet of paper works fine too.  

Draw an X and Y axis and create four large quadrants. 

• Top Left: Casual Conversation 
• Top Right: Meaningful Conversation 
• Bottom Right: Spiritual Conversation  
• Bottom Left: Discovery Conversation 

You begin tracking your conversations with unbelievers.  

Example: It could be the Lord has led you to a certain cashier at the market. You make it a point to grocery shop according to their schedule and always elect their checkout line to develop the conversation. Let us call him Omar. 

You write Omar’s name in the Casual Conversation quadrant.  

Your team writes the names of the unbelievers they are engaging with as well.  

This is a clear visual to help you and your small group prepare and pray for the next steps in the conversation. It helps your team track conversations and helps them pray more specifically. If you notice a name is stuck in one quadrant your team can brainstorm ideas and pray to develop that relationship further.  

Prayer Columns

The second one, we will call Prayer Columns. It is like Conversation Quadrants. It is based on the Kanban method of goal tracking designed by Taiichi Ohno the Toyota engineer from Japan. It is based on the philosophy of continuous improvement. 

You will need: Poster Board/whiteboard and something to write with. 

Start with a group of believing friends that love the Lord. 

Draw 5 columns and write the following as the headings for each; Simple, Serious, Spiritual, Struggle, Discovery, and Baptism. 

List the names of all potential Persons of Peace. The unbelievers you are routinely cultivating conversations with.  

A person of Peace is a nonbeliever who is willing to gather a group of nonbelievers to go on a journey of discovery with them. 

Place them in the column that correlates with their status. Where are they along the journey? Are your conversations simple and surface level? (We can train you how to go deeper; click here) Are they in serious conversation and you are unsure how to move the conversation forward? Have you been able to identify their God need or struggle? Are they in a discovery group of unbelievers reading the discovery stories?  

Different names will be at different points along the journey.  

As your community lists the persons of peace, they can take a moment to share that person’s story. Example: I met John at the gym. He noticed my crucifix. He said God was dead. 

Next, we pray. 

(If you have a large group you can divvy into smaller.) 

You now pray for them through the quadrants that is praying for them through the process together as a group. This gives you specific targeted prayers for each person of peace. Example: We know John is engaging in spiritual conversation we are now praying for God to reveal John’s struggle. This is something the person of peace will confess within their conversation.  

In John’s example it could be:

“My father passed away of a terminal illness. God is dead.” 

“John, so sorry to hear. I cannot imagine how difficult that must be. I can see you are hurting man.” 

John’s struggle could be hurt and disbelief. We pray that the Holy Spirit would open opportunities for conversation to progress from simple to serious. Depending on which column the Person of peace is you pray for the Lord to work and the relationship to progress into the next column. 

We like to snap a quick photo and share it safely and securely in a private group so that we can all be praying throughout the week. 

Next, we go live it out. If it is a coworker, or clerk at the bank, someone from the gym, you continue the patient and deliberate spirit-led engagement with them. 

Your team meets to fellowship, pray, and strategize, engaging with unbelievers. It could be weekly or biweekly. The next time you come together, each person reports how the journey is going. You update the column and repeat the prayer process.  

If significant time goes by and you start to see some names are stuck in one column this opens a coaching opportunity. Let us look at what is going on here. Let us pray for that specifically. (We have disciple-making coaches available to help start your journey here.)  

It also helps as a diagnostic tool for your team. It could be a team member is working through fear. They are rushing into spiritual conversations too quickly. There is an opportunity to coach on building relationships. 

It is a remarkable way to have a record of God answering prayer throughout the disciple-making process. Yesterday’s stories will provide your team with encouragement and faith for years to come.  

Sticky Note Prayer 

The third method is called Sticky Note Prayer. You can print out a map of your city or pull one up online. You start with 10 minutes or so of individual silent prayer. This is an exercise in listening prayer.  

Example: 

• God speak to us. 
• What is on your heart for our city? 
• What are the areas you want us to go to? 
• Show us what we are not seeing. 
• Where is their brokenness in our area? 
• Where do you want us to engage the lost? 

We write all the impressions that come to mind.  

Example:  

• Addiction, Divorce, Suicide, Depression 
• Physical Locations on the Map 
• Scripture References 
• Even Pictures 

The group does not reveal their impressions until the very end.  

Then, each person, one by one, takes their sticky note over to the map. They place and begin to pray as the group joins in agreement. The next person goes up and so on. For example, if your target word is addiction then you pray that God would lead you to persons of peace with that struggle. That through a discovery of Christ the broken and hurting would be restored and healed.  

Remember a person of peace is a nonbeliever who God has prepared and is willing to gather a group of nonbelievers to go on a journey of discovery. 

The next person prays and often you begin to see a synergy of God speaking to the group. At the end, you have this visual representation of God’s heart for your city and a strategy of a very neighborhood that he is pointing out to all of you.  

We pull all the sticky notes into a Ziploc bag and date them. Over time we begin to stockpile an archive of all the things the Lord has been speaking to the team. We have seen remarkable collaboration and confirmation of the Lord speaking. Some people have done this that have never learned how to hear God’s voice. 

“Anne,” testifies they launched a disciple-making community by applying these methods. Now they are a mobilized small army reaching their city!  

“This has transformed believers who struggle with wanting to engage the lost or they are terribly busy in a lot of Christian activities.” – Anne, Disciple-Maker  

30-Day Prayer Calendar  

A simple and remarkable method to incrementally develop a robust prayer army is the 30-Day Prayer Calendar. Inspired by Contagious Disciple Making written by David and Paul Watson.  

It brilliantly harvests the power of micro-habits. Little tweaks and additions to your life that can overtime render shocking results. In a couple of months, you can spark a mammoth prayer movement with your friends, family, and churches.  

• Step 1: Create list numbering it 1 through 30 
• Step 2: Populate your list 
• Step 3: Pray for each person corresponding with the date of the month.  

Example:

“Hey I started a prayer calendar. I pray for you on the 10th of the month. How can I pray for you today? Can we pray now?”  

Tip: Prioritize phone calls, then voice memos, and lastly text messages. 

The conversation should be short and sweet. No more than 5 minutes. 

• Step 4: Follow up. “When you begin to see answered prayers would you mind sharing the praise report with me?” (Of course, respectful, and mindful if the prayer request is private.) 
• Step 5: No doubt a handful of your believing friends will express interest. Train them in how to do it and keep them accountable.  

If you pray for 30 people and each of them pray for another 30 people and so on… we are talking colossal repercussions of prayer. Let us say half of them start their own prayer calendars. That is 15 people also praying for 30 others. Your on your way to having a small prayer army of almost 500 prayer warriors.  

If your prioritizing praying for unbelieving persons of peace on the journey of discovering Christ, you consequently are mobilizing hundreds to pray for the lost in their neighborhoods and cities.  

This is one of the greatest ways we have piqued curiosity in disciple-making. Other believers not trained in disciple-making or may not be stepping out in evangelism begin to pray for our persons of peace for our unbelievers. As time goes by, they begin to see God answer those prayers and those persons of peace move from simple conversation into discovery groups and finally into baptism.  

When you ask someone how I can pray for you today, typically they will reciprocate. Well, how can I pray for you? You begin to exponentially multiply prayer. 

Conclusion 

These are not the only ways to pray for the lost in your city. These are some of the tactics our teams use all around the world. Feel free to try them out for your group. Whether you use these methods or others, the important thing is that you saturate your city in prayer. Prayer is like the soil that we spoke about. It is establishing the right conditions so that produce may grow.  

The keystone to kicking off your 2025 evangelism efforts is prayer. There has been no historical move of God that was not first preceded by a prayer movement. Prayer breaks up the fallow ground. Prayer prepares our very own hearts to be tuned to the Spirit’s promptings. Remember disciple-making is not a formula it is a fellowship. You need fellowship with God and with others.  

Lastly, for church leaders and pastors these four methods are an excellent way to cultivate hearts that are burdened for the lost in your city. Many believers are swamped by the busyness of life and flooded with distractions. Exploring these prayer methods in your community will foster hearts that burn for the lost in your city.  

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30 KJV

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