As a missionary having an organized contact list is massively important. Initially it is a lot of work to put together but in the long run it will make your life a lot easier when it comes to communication. First off, what is this contact list for? Well, this is for you. This is the list of all the people that you have interacted with in school, at church, in your job etc… These are people that are interested in what is going on in your life and ministry and might want to be involved in some capacity. So here are a few steps that will help you get this task started:
- Figure out a software that works for you. i.e. Outlook, Contacts (Mac), Excel Spreadsheet. You might actually double up on a few programs here. Because outlook might be good to store your contacts but and Excel spreadsheet might be better at organizing them into categories.
- Stat compiling the lists of names and any and all information you can get. i.e. phone numbers, e-mai addresses, dates of birth.
What do you do with this list?
Well the answer to this question depends on where you are at in the missionary process. If you are a new missionary you need to take this list and divvy it up into categories of people (i.e. family/close friends, friends, acquaintances) so that you can start reaching out to them appropriately and communicating with them about your calling to become a missionary. Or if you are a veteran missionary this list functions in multiple levels. Spiritually speaking this is a great prayer list for you to pray through. Also, it is your avenue to communicate and send happy birthday cards etc… in order to stay engaged in people’s lives.
In short, this is simply a tool for you to use. Networking is massively important and a way of keeping track of people and reaching out to them is necessary.