The Prospect community is general considered to cover as far east as Preston and Red Hill Roads and as far north as Old Maxton/Red Spring Rd.

Many believe the origin of the Prospect community began when Preston Locklear claimed large swaths of land along what is known today as the Long Swamp.

Locklear is listed as a founder of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in The Museum of the Southeast American Indian.

[6] Prospect United Methodist Church was itself founded by the Reverend W. L. Moore, the grandfather of Adolph Dial, founder of the American Indian Studies department at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

[9] The importance of Prospect Church to the community is best told through the vast assembly of its buildings, spanning a distance of 150 yards along W.L.

Moore Road; this series of buildings, known as the "Temple" serves the largest congregation of Native Americans in the United States.

[10] The construction of the church, which would become the basis for the founding of Prospect Community, was due in large part to the efforts of local farmers in the area, allowing them to come together relative to their shared space.

[12] The church is now the main producer of spokespeople for Lumbee Methodist, with members attending national conferences as representatives and delegates for the American Indian-Methodist community.

[13] A notable member of Prospect Methodist Church, Adolph Dial was the Founding Chairman of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.