"You cannot love your neighbor if you do not know that neighbor. Time spent with neighbors that does not result in conversions, does not result in spiritual conversation, or does not result in any greater appreciation of the work of Christ, is not a net loss. Let us be resolved to undertake this kind of work confident that it is a legitimate end unto itself, that our culture deserves our attention, and that God will call us to account for the time spent serving neighbors.
At the same time, far from laboring simply to address a social problem, we address some of the roots of the modern day crisis in evangelism at the same time. More than in any other way, churches experience the fallout of the problems described in this article when trying to teach about “friendship evangelism.” That is, if co-workers are tough to reach in a secular work setting, church friends are already believers, and you do not know your neighbors, it is unlikely that anyone will have the opportunity to observe your life in a context that would make spiritual conversation natural...
Given those realities, I would like to make a radical suggestion. The suggestion is not that knowing the neighbors should be important to Christians. The radical thesis I would like to present is: actually get it on your calendar for next month, and make that a habit."
Ben Stevens, To Know your neighbour, you must love your neighbour (read the full thing here)