HAVE I DONE MY PART?
Life Bible-Presbyterian Church is a flourishing
church in the central part of Singapore. Since her founding in the
1950s, God has been blessing her in so many ways. The congregation has
grown from barely 50 people to well over 1000 members of good standing.
God sees it fit to increase her membership year after year. For that we
praise and thank Him. But with the increase of membership it also means
the increase of responsibility of the pastoral staff. Now the question
before us is, can they meet the pressing needs of the congregation?
The pastoral ministry is not a one-man ministry. It
is a team ministry. It is also a vast ministry and it includes many
activities of the church. And visitation is one of them. There is
nowhere in the Bible that teaches that the pastor of the church is
solely in charge of visiting his members. Though it is expected of him
to make pastoral calls, it is also the responsibility of members to see
that their fellow-brethren are not in need. Paul reminds us that we are
members of one another and therefore, we should have the same
care one for another (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:25). So every member
of the church has a part to play in this vital ministry. We are one
another’s keepers.
What is Visitation Ministry
What constitutes visitation ministry? Does it differ
from the other ministries of the church? What is so special about it?
Visitation ministry includes visiting members’ homes, counseling
troubled souls, ministering to the sorrowing, visiting the sick in the
hospital, visiting shut-ins in the prison, and proclaiming Christ to the
lost in the family.
The visitation ministry is a "heart" ministry.
If it involves the heart, then there is feeling, emotion and sympathy
involved. Since it is a heart ministry, it must not be done in a
"heartless" way. Unfortunately, one of the setbacks of the
visitation ministry is doing it just for the sake of fulfilling a
pastoral duty. When a pastor does his pastoral calls out of a sense of
duty, it becomes a formality. He sees it as a part of his "must do"
duty or else his conscience will bother him. That’s tragic! Of course,
there are times we need to take into consideration the circumstances.
Some people may not feel comfortable having too many visitors. In such a
case, a phone call will do.
Visitation ministry is a joyous, exciting and
rewarding ministry. The Lord Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give
than to receive" (Acts 20:35). When you go visiting a brother who is
in need, you are doing it in the name of Jesus Christ. Your act of love
will encourage him especially in time of difficulties. Such an act God
will not forget (Hebrews 6:10). He will reward you in due time. Jesus
said, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew
25:40). There is no regret in visiting someone who is in need. You may
not be able to say much but your presence will surely lift him up.
Purposes of Visitation Ministry
The purposes of the church are not only to win souls
for Christ, to baptize them and to instruct them in the Word, but also
to visit them. A church that does not have a visitation program does not
know the spiritual welfare of its members. Proverbs says, "Be thou
diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds"
(Proverbs 27:23). How can the pastor know that his sheep are doing
fine spiritually? By the thousands of dollars they give to the Lord? By
the hundreds who attend the prayer meeting? By the amount of Bible
knowledge they know? May be or may be not. I believe the best yardstick
to know the spirituality of God’s people is to call on them and to
listen to what they have to say. When you pay them a visit and listen to
their joys in the Lord, their inner struggles and failures of life, you
will soon know the condition of their walk with the Lord.
Paul could not visit the saints in Philippi because
of his confinement in prison. So he appointed young Timothy to go on his
behalf to find out the spiritual welfare of the church (Philippians
2:19). Paul was a true pastor. He cared for God’s people. In
Thessalonians he tells us how he cared for the believers as a nurse who
cherishes her children. How could he do it unless he actually visited
them when he was in Thessalonica and showed them that he cared (1
Thessalonians 2:7).
Though Paul was incarcerated in Rome, he had high
hopes to see the Philippian Christians in the near future. Like Christ,
he always put others before himself. He placed others’ needs above his
own. He wanted to go home and be united with Christ, but he also felt
that it was more needful for him to remain on earth to help the
spiritual welfare of the Philippians (Philippians 1:22-26). That is what
visitation ministry is all about. It is only when the pastor visits his
members that he can know the spiritual condition of the flock and
minister to them more effectively.
God’s people always like to seek advice from the
pastor of the church. Somehow they feel that they can find strength
through the pastor’s counsel. So when the pastor visits them and gives
them a listening ear, they are more than happy to receive him and share
with him their problems. And when the pastor offers to pray for them,
they feel blessed and assured that God will take care of the situation.
The Benefits of Visitation Ministry
A pastor is a shepherd. Because he has a shepherd’s
heart, he enjoys making pastoral visits. He may not know them
personally, but upon calling on their homes, he gets to know them
better. Many a time, pastors do not know their members well. As a
result, they are not able to minister to them effectively. One by one
their sheep go astray. However, there is always joy to see members of
the church walking in the truth. John, in his Epistle said, "I have
no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John
4). Joy fills our hearts when we see a strayed member of the church
return to the sheepfold after a brief visit to him.
Visiting members of the church whose families are
non-Christians can be a challenge. I remember visiting a member’s
grandmother at a local hospital to share Christ with her. Her son
resisted so vigorously that he created a scene in the ward. In no time
everybody was looking at me. I didn’t know what to do but pray to the
Lord. The woman died without knowing Christ. However, there are
occasions when the Lord opens doors for me to share the Gospel with
them. I know of families that came to the Lord in this manner. Indeed,
our God works in mysterious ways.
Visitation ministry is beneficial. You never know
what God has in store for you when you make a pastoral call to members
of the church. There are many surprises awaiting you!
The Problems of Visitation Ministry
There are several problems or shall I say
"hindrances" faced by members of the church in the visitation
ministry. One of the problems is I do not know that person, why
should I visit him? Why should I visit someone whom I do not know? What
am I going to say to him? I may be at a loss for words. I think this
is a very bad excuse. If visitation ministry is a "heart"
ministry, then you need first of all to have a heart for people. How you
minister to them is secondary because the Holy Spirit of God will grant
you words of wisdom to meet the situation. Jesus said, "… take no
thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that
same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the
Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:19, 20).
Though these verses are given in the context of persecution, I think
they can be applied in the visitation ministry.
The other problem is people. Nowadays, it is
difficult to find a core of committed people for the visitation
ministry. There are many "valid" and "invalid" reasons
given for not committing one’s self to the ministry. However, each
member of the church must make an effort to be a part of this ministry,
for the simple reason, WE ARE ONE ANOTHER’S KEEPERS. Therefore, you must
not allow these "setbacks" to hinder you from visiting your
fellow-brethren. Hebrews reminds us to consider how we may spur one
another toward love and good works (Hebrews 10:24). In this respect, I
would like to thank God for some brethren, especially the Men’s and
Ladies’ Fellowship for their faithfulness in visiting needy fellow
brethren. May I encourage you too to reach out to other needy Lifers!
You may be surprised what God can do through you!
The Preparation to Visitation Ministry
When you visit a person or a family, there is
something that you would like to do or say. Therefore, it is important
to make preparations for it. Let me suggest a few of them.
1. Have a list of people you want to visit. If you
are visiting more than one person, it is good to have a list.
2. Have a passage of scripture ready to read. Choose
something that suits the occasion.
3. Pray before you embark on visitation. Prayer is
important. We need to ask God to prepare us spiritually because we do
not know what to expect when visiting a person (especially those in
hospital).
4. Plan your program. Everyone who involves himself
in the program must know his part before he enters a home. For instance,
do not call upon someone to pray without prior notice. He may not be
ready for it. Always assign responsibilities to individuals before you
enter a home.
A Challenge to You
The task of visiting every member of the church is
stupendous. The pastoral staff cannot meet the demands of the ministry.
However, I believe that with the help of God and each member
co-operating in this visitation ministry, it can be carried out
successfully.
Let us remember the words of James – "Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction" (James 1:27a). I am sure
each and every one of us would like to hear from King Jesus, "Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in
prison, and ye came unto me" (Matthew 25:34-36).
My dear Lifer, be involved in the visitation
ministry! Someone out there is awaiting your visit!
—CW
