Welcome back to Having Killer Conversations, and thank you for reading. I write this every other Monday because the best conversations about faith usually happen between friends, not from a pastor or a professional. I'm still learning how to have them, but my goal is to get really good at this in Orange County, for the sake of the gospel, and to help others do the same. So I share what's working along the way, in the hope it helps you too.

There's a sticky note on my desk with one name on it. One friend I care about who doesn't know Jesus yet.

I thought the point was to change him. What it changed first was me.

It is a simple idea from Luke 15. Jesus tells three back-to-back stories: a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son. Three stories, one point. The one matters. It's a short read. Here's Luke 15 if you want it.

The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the single sheep until he finds it. When he does, heaven throws a party. Not over a crowd. Over one.

That reframed my sticky note. He is not a task. He is a person of real, God-given worth. Lost does not mean worthless. It means missing and valuable, the way your keys are. I used to check where he stood with God like a status bar I kept refreshing. Praying for him by name changed that. I stopped seeing someone to fix and started seeing someone to love.

You do not need a ministry for this. You need one name. Not a list, not a crowd. One person.

So pray for them quietly. While you drive, walk the dog, or brush your teeth. Thirty seconds. Ask God for what you actually want for them, not the spiritual version you think you should want. Health. An easier week. Their kid to be okay.

Do this for a month and something shifts. You notice them more. You text at the right moment without planning to. Quiet prayer turns into visible care.

I have not done this with my one yet. He is Muslim, and praying out loud would feel like a lot, too soon. So for now I keep it quiet, and I trust the moment will come.

But I have prayed out loud for others, and it goes better than I fear. Someone shares something heavy. You say, "Can I pray for you about that real quick?" Almost nobody says no. Keep it short. Do not preach inside the prayer.

The first time, I braced for awkward. Instead the person went quiet and said, "No one has ever done that for me." It did not convert anyone. It told one person they were not alone.

This is why value the one takes the pressure off. You are not responsible for the whole world. You are responsible to love one person and trust God with the rest.

So this week, pick your one. If no name comes, look at your week: where you live, your family, your work. A name usually surfaces fast. Write it where you will see it: the mirror, the dash, your desk. Start quiet. The out-loud moment will come, and you will know it.

Who is your one? And what might change in you if you saw that name every morning?