An important aspect of pastoral ministry is visiting church families. Indeed, a key to ministerial success is the pastoral visit. Ellen White wrote, “A pastor should mingle freely with the people for whom he labors, that by becoming acquainted with them he may know how to adapt his teaching to their needs. When a minister has preached a sermon, his work has but just begun. There is personal work for him to do. He should visit the people in their homes, talking and praying with them in earnestness and humility.”1
A practical plan for pastoral visitation
As pastors, we need to make time for pastoral visits, despite the many challenges we face. “Too often, our good intentions for visiting members collide with reality in the form of overcrowded schedules, urgencies trumping essentials, insufficient time for our own families, plus inadequate planning.”2
There are many suggestions for pastors concerning a visitation plan. Jonas Arrais suggests that the visits should be planned and organized in such a way that meets all the territory under the responsibility of the pastor, while giving church families the option to book the day and time for the visit.3
As a pastor of six congregations, I have tried to set aside time to visit the families in my churches. This article comprises some relevant aspects that have helped me keep pastoral visits a priority in my ministry.
Prepare for the visitation. “The sense of commitment to pastoral visitation requires preparation of the whole being.”4 This preparation includes taking time for prayer and Bible study and meditating on how Jesus treated people here on earth.
Use a scheduled visit card. The pastoral visit card has been a useful tool in planning the pastoral visit. The cards are distributed to the families of the church, who are to write on the card their preferred weekday and time for a visit. I often ask the church secretary to distribute the cards Sabbath morning. The crucial point, however you do visitation, is to make sure that you coordinate the time with the family.
[Editor's Note: See PDF for Scheduled visit card]
On the back of this card space is provided for notes on specific issues to be addressed during the visit. In the card I prepared, these issues are already defined (see figure 2), but they can vary according to the needs of the families and the nature of the visit.
It is very important to approach these issues, even if doing so in the form of a spiritual questionnaire. “The pastor is a spiritual doctor, and his task becomes easier and more effective if he also asks questions in order to help identify the spiritual needs of his congregation.”5 But avoid giving the impression that you are indiscreetly investigating people’s lives. Ask these questions with much naturalness and sincerity, giving members the right to, or not to, answer. Again, the crucial principle, whether you use cards or something else, is to know as much as possible beforehand about the needs of the people you intend to visit.
Schedule only two or three visits. I suggest that the minister plan a maximum of three visits per day. It is prudent not to be the pastor who “over visits” his members: all day long he did just one thing and that was visit members.6 Learn to be sensitive to the needs of your parishioners.
Do not make the plan too rigid. Another important aspect focuses on flexibility. There will be situations when the pastor is called to some urgent matter. The pastoral visitation plan should provide a space for such contingencies. Also note that the duration of the visit will vary according to the type. When visiting a seriously ill person in a hospital or at home, do not stay too long. Other visits will require more time from the pastor so that he or she can listen and advise.
Be careful, and act tactfully to help gain confidence and build trust. The pastor must respect the time and privacy 7 of members, which is why letting them schedule the visit when they want to be visited becomes important. The pastor should also take some care with respect to certain matters discussed during the visit, avoiding deep discussions on issues not in your area and that require expert advice. The pastor would find it prudent to advise the person, when necessary, to look for a specialist.
Last, but not least, a pastor should avoid visiting a solitary person. One way I prevent this from happening is that I make clear to the church that I visit the family, and not just a specific member. If necessary, make special arrangements to meet in a public place, or have someone accompany you while visiting.
Multiply the ministry of visitation.The pastor should not be the only one to visit church families. He must make disciples and develop in them skills for pastoral visitation. I usually start this process of multiplication by visiting the leaders of the church. This way, even the elders will have the opportunity to learn from the pastor. After that, the pastor can form a support team to help him during the year in the visitation plan. Usually, the elders and leaders who demonstrate those skills for visitation are chosen for the team. The small group leaders should also be part of the support team. It is important that the pastor meet with the visitation team from time to time to evaluate and hear a brief report on their experiences. I do not agree with the idea that only the pastor should visit church members. He or she will always need a team of support. Visitation should be under pastoral coordination.
Goals achieved by visitation
The effect of a pastoral visit is extraordinary both in the ministry of the pastor and in the lives of the families. Here are four goals generally achieved when I visit the families from the churches under my responsibility:
1. Encouragement. The world we live full of circumstances that bring us fear, fatigue, and discouragement. Discouragement can cause a lot of harm: depression, laziness, feelings of worthlessness, unresolved past issues, and loss of focus and of goals in life. When visiting people struggling in these areas, the pastor can encourage them with the Bible. Some verses I usually use in my visits to cheer members are Exodus 14:13; Isaiah 43:1, 2; Isaiah 57:15; Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 9: 12; Matthew 11:28; Romans 8:37–39.
2. Spiritual food. One thing I have noticed during the visits is that many people are hungry for God, a symptom that reflects a crisis that exists today in many pulpits. The knowledge of God is increasingly superficial because, in many churches, preaching has lost its real value. “Preaching today, more than ever, requires knowing the lives of people, the listeners: not only knowing people but being part of people’s lives, being close to them.”8 When I visit church families, I encounter an opportunity to enhance my sermons and provide solid spiritual food. The pastoral visit loses its value when it becomes an end in itself, but when the visit reflects excellence in the pulpit of the church, the visit reaches its goal.
3. Greater commitment to Christ. The pastoral visit reaffirms and raises the level of commitment of church members. It is during the visit that they are exhorted to remain faithful to the principles and values of God’s kingdom.
4. Authentic relationships. One of the most discussed topics in the church today and an emphasis in Christian discipleship is developing authentic relationships. I have found that the pastoral visit helps in building close relationships between members and the pastor. In a congregation with more than 200 members, the pastor finds it almost impossible to meet everyone and build friendships with members when the pastor has contact with them only from the pulpit. When the pastor does not know the members and they do not know the pastor, pastoral care is compromised. Chances to influence the lives of members become too small, leaving the pastoral leadership impaired.
There to serve
I always jot down the names of every person from families that I visit. I also try to know when they were baptized and their birthday. During the visit I always say that the church family is always ready to help in any situation. In visiting, the need of practical help may arise, when helping goes beyond words of advice and prayer. Pastors should never forget that their mission is to serve. “Pastors are servants who sacrifice by those who are under their care.”9
I will never forget the pastor who visited my family during my childhood. He pastored our church for six years in a row. One day he and his wife arrived at my parents’ house for his yearly pastoral visit, just as my mother was recovering from major surgery. On that occasion my father was not a Christian; indeed, he lived mired in alcohol. My mother was having a hard time taking care of my younger sister and me and also doing the housework. I remember that day he and his wife said to my mother that they would clean the house and prepare the meal. While working on the chores in our home, he told us many stories. How we loved that pastor and his family.
Conclusion
The Lord desires His shepherds to look after His sheep. They need to be guided and fed with the truth. They need rest and security. The pastor must seek the lost sheep, bandage the wounded ones, help the weak, and help bring back those in danger of wandering away. The real task of the pastor includes both care and discipleship.
For all these reasons, and others, the pastoral visit remains an indispensable and irreplaceable activity.
References:
1 Ellen G. White, The Acts ofthe Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), 363, 364.
2 James A. Cress, Common Sense Ministry Multiplied (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2010), 100.
3 Jonas Arrais, Procura-se Um Bom Pastor (Tatuí, SP: CPB, 2011), 76, 77.
4 Chor-Kiat Sim, “Reflections on a Pastoral Visit,” Ministry, January 2001, 24.
5 Arrais, Procura-se Um Bom Pastor, 82.
6 Cress, Common Sense Ministry Multiplied, 100.
7 Sim, “Reflections on a Pastoral Visit,” 27.
8 Júlio Cézar Adam, “Prefácio” in Jilton Moraes, O Clamor da Igreja (São Paulo, SP: Mundo Cristão, 2012), 13.
9 Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson, Edificando uma Igreja de Pequenos Grupos (Editora Vida, 2003), 156.
