October 15th, 2026
by Matthew Spoon
by Matthew Spoon
Who Is Your One?
There is a striking moment that can happen in the middle of an ordinary day — a name surfaces in your mind, someone you care about who does not know Jesus. Maybe it is a coworker, a sibling, a neighbor, or an old friend. The thought comes and goes. Life moves fast. You tell yourself you will get around to it eventually.
But what if eventually is the wrong answer? What if the most spiritually significant thing you could do this week is simply write down one name?
The Power of One
We tend to think about evangelism in large, sweeping terms. Reach the community. Impact the culture. Change the nation. And while those are worthy aspirations, they can also become a way of avoiding something much more personal and immediate. When the mission feels enormous, it is easy to feel paralyzed. But what if we narrowed the focus entirely — not to a crowd, not to a neighborhood, not even to a family — but to one single person?
That is the heartbeat behind Luke 15, where Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. A shepherd has one hundred sheep. One wanders off. And rather than shrugging at a ninety-nine percent success rate, the shepherd leaves the flock and searches relentlessly until that one lost sheep is found. When he finds it, he does not simply note its location and move on. He lifts it onto his shoulders and carries it home rejoicing. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and throws a celebration.
One sheep. One search. One party.
Jesus then draws the connection plainly: there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine people who have no need of repentance. Heaven does not reserve its celebration for mass revivals or historic movements. Heaven goes wild over one.
Jesus and the One
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus modeled this singular focus in a way that is both convicting and deeply encouraging. In John chapter 4, the text says that Jesus needed to go through Samaria. That word — needed — is striking. His disciples would have had a dozen reasons to avoid the region. But Jesus had a reason to go: one woman at a well who needed living water. He sat with her, spoke to her honestly about her life, and offered her something no earthly well could provide — eternal satisfaction.
Then there was Zacchaeus, a man perched in a sycamore tree, dismissed by everyone around him. Jesus stopped, looked up, and called him by name. There was Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night with his questions, and Jesus gave him his full attention and one of the most profound conversations recorded in all of Scripture.
In each case, Jesus saw past the crowd and fixed his gaze on the individual. He was not performing for an audience. He was pursuing a person.
This is the nature of God's love, captured beautifully in 2 Peter 3:9, which reminds us that God is patient toward people, not wanting any to perish but for all to come to repentance. Whoever you are thinking about right now — that person whose name keeps coming to mind — God wants them saved. Jesus died for them. Heaven is waiting to celebrate over them.
You Were Someone's One
Here is something worth sitting with for a moment. If you are a follower of Jesus today, it is very likely because someone made you their one. Someone prayed for you by name. Someone found a way to bring up faith in a natural conversation. Someone invited you somewhere, sat with you somewhere, or simply refused to give up on you. You were their priority. You were the name they wrote down.
That is not a small thing. That is an eternal thing.
And now the question turns: whose name are you writing down?
What It Looks Like in Practice
Committing to pray for one person does not require a seminary degree or a bold personality. It starts with a name. Write it somewhere you will see it — on your bathroom mirror, tucked in your wallet, saved in your phone. Let it be a daily reminder to bring that person before God in prayer.
When you pray for your one, consider asking God for three specific things. First, ask him to open their heart to the gospel. Second, ask him to give you wisdom and courage to love them well. Third, ask him to create natural opportunities for spiritual conversations. These are not complicated requests, but they are powerful ones.
From there, the opportunities are more accessible than we often think. Invite them for coffee. Go to lunch together. Ask them how they are really doing and actually listen. Share something honest about your own faith — not a rehearsed speech, but a genuine two-minute version of your story. Where were you before you knew Jesus? How did you come to trust him? What has life looked like since? Three simple movements: before, the moment of faith, and after. That story belongs to you, and no one can argue with it.
And when they push back, or seem uninterested, or change the subject — keep praying. The shepherd in Luke 15 did not search until he got tired. He searched until he found. Persistence in prayer and relationship is not pressure. It is love.
Heaven Is Watching
It is worth pausing to consider what heaven sees when one person places their faith in Jesus Christ. Not the stock market. Not a championship game. Not a political victory. One person, in one quiet moment of surrender, choosing to trust the good shepherd — and heaven erupts.
That is the value God places on one soul.
The question this parable leaves us with is not complicated, but it is serious: does your heart beat for the lost the way God's heart does? Not with guilt, but with genuine longing. Not as a project, but as a person you love.
Pick one name. Pray for them. Look for the moment. And get ready to celebrate — because if heaven throws a party over one, so should we.
There is a striking moment that can happen in the middle of an ordinary day — a name surfaces in your mind, someone you care about who does not know Jesus. Maybe it is a coworker, a sibling, a neighbor, or an old friend. The thought comes and goes. Life moves fast. You tell yourself you will get around to it eventually.
But what if eventually is the wrong answer? What if the most spiritually significant thing you could do this week is simply write down one name?
The Power of One
We tend to think about evangelism in large, sweeping terms. Reach the community. Impact the culture. Change the nation. And while those are worthy aspirations, they can also become a way of avoiding something much more personal and immediate. When the mission feels enormous, it is easy to feel paralyzed. But what if we narrowed the focus entirely — not to a crowd, not to a neighborhood, not even to a family — but to one single person?
That is the heartbeat behind Luke 15, where Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. A shepherd has one hundred sheep. One wanders off. And rather than shrugging at a ninety-nine percent success rate, the shepherd leaves the flock and searches relentlessly until that one lost sheep is found. When he finds it, he does not simply note its location and move on. He lifts it onto his shoulders and carries it home rejoicing. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and throws a celebration.
One sheep. One search. One party.
Jesus then draws the connection plainly: there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine people who have no need of repentance. Heaven does not reserve its celebration for mass revivals or historic movements. Heaven goes wild over one.
Jesus and the One
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus modeled this singular focus in a way that is both convicting and deeply encouraging. In John chapter 4, the text says that Jesus needed to go through Samaria. That word — needed — is striking. His disciples would have had a dozen reasons to avoid the region. But Jesus had a reason to go: one woman at a well who needed living water. He sat with her, spoke to her honestly about her life, and offered her something no earthly well could provide — eternal satisfaction.
Then there was Zacchaeus, a man perched in a sycamore tree, dismissed by everyone around him. Jesus stopped, looked up, and called him by name. There was Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night with his questions, and Jesus gave him his full attention and one of the most profound conversations recorded in all of Scripture.
In each case, Jesus saw past the crowd and fixed his gaze on the individual. He was not performing for an audience. He was pursuing a person.
This is the nature of God's love, captured beautifully in 2 Peter 3:9, which reminds us that God is patient toward people, not wanting any to perish but for all to come to repentance. Whoever you are thinking about right now — that person whose name keeps coming to mind — God wants them saved. Jesus died for them. Heaven is waiting to celebrate over them.
You Were Someone's One
Here is something worth sitting with for a moment. If you are a follower of Jesus today, it is very likely because someone made you their one. Someone prayed for you by name. Someone found a way to bring up faith in a natural conversation. Someone invited you somewhere, sat with you somewhere, or simply refused to give up on you. You were their priority. You were the name they wrote down.
That is not a small thing. That is an eternal thing.
And now the question turns: whose name are you writing down?
What It Looks Like in Practice
Committing to pray for one person does not require a seminary degree or a bold personality. It starts with a name. Write it somewhere you will see it — on your bathroom mirror, tucked in your wallet, saved in your phone. Let it be a daily reminder to bring that person before God in prayer.
When you pray for your one, consider asking God for three specific things. First, ask him to open their heart to the gospel. Second, ask him to give you wisdom and courage to love them well. Third, ask him to create natural opportunities for spiritual conversations. These are not complicated requests, but they are powerful ones.
From there, the opportunities are more accessible than we often think. Invite them for coffee. Go to lunch together. Ask them how they are really doing and actually listen. Share something honest about your own faith — not a rehearsed speech, but a genuine two-minute version of your story. Where were you before you knew Jesus? How did you come to trust him? What has life looked like since? Three simple movements: before, the moment of faith, and after. That story belongs to you, and no one can argue with it.
And when they push back, or seem uninterested, or change the subject — keep praying. The shepherd in Luke 15 did not search until he got tired. He searched until he found. Persistence in prayer and relationship is not pressure. It is love.
Heaven Is Watching
It is worth pausing to consider what heaven sees when one person places their faith in Jesus Christ. Not the stock market. Not a championship game. Not a political victory. One person, in one quiet moment of surrender, choosing to trust the good shepherd — and heaven erupts.
That is the value God places on one soul.
The question this parable leaves us with is not complicated, but it is serious: does your heart beat for the lost the way God's heart does? Not with guilt, but with genuine longing. Not as a project, but as a person you love.
Pick one name. Pray for them. Look for the moment. And get ready to celebrate — because if heaven throws a party over one, so should we.
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