Though I am more energized by leadership and preaching than by visitation, I structure time for pastoral visits. Here are five reasons why:
1. Home visits are a great forum for sharing vision.
In a home, over a cup of coffee, I can discuss in detail where I see the church going. My host or hostess can ask questions, and then I better understand what they want to see happen in the church. Visits also allow people to know where their gifts intersect with the church’s needs.
Three families from a neighboring town belong to our congregation. While visiting one of them, I mentioned our strategy for multiplying small groups. They expressed a strong interest in belonging to a group. Since no group met near them, and because they had leadership potential, I asked if they would consider group leadership. They accepted the challenge. Within weeks we had a healthy group meeting every Sunday evening in their community.
2. Visits show other leaders how to care.
Whenever possible, I take an elder with me when I visit. During one visit with a couple who had yet to commit to joining our church, the host leaned back, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “I have a few questions I’d like you to answer.”
“Shoot,” I offered. Frankly I found some of his questions intimidating, but they helped me articulate the direction of our ministry. With an elder listening, I was able to model vulnerability as well as vision.
3. Visits bring healing to disillusioned people.
Recently I scheduled a follow-up call with a couple who had visited our church. They shared openly about the disillusionment they felt about past church involvement. Their hurt made them doubt their ability to trust not only leadership, but God as well.
I prayed at length with this couple, asking God to heal them and deliver them from evil. Afterward they said they felt God had given them hope—someone did care about them. They decided to go back to their church to try to be a blessing without causing friction.
Weeks later, the husband told me they had talked things over with their pastor. He thanked me for being sensitive to the Spirit and for being God’s messenger to them.
4. Visits help me see life from another perspective.
I had tried to arrange a visit with a particular couple for a number of weeks. There was always a legitimate reason why they could not find the time, yet I sensed they were not eager to see me. Our church was in a building program; I knew they had a concern about the project. They had not been to church for several Sundays.
When we did finally meet, they were amicable, and we enjoyed lighthearted conversation. After about a half an hour, I asked them about their walk with the Lord. Slowly, they began opening up about their misgivings regarding the building program. They said they couldn’t contribute as much as they would like. They said they had been asking themselves if they still belonged in our congregation. I appreciated their openness and told them they were an important part of the body of Christ no matter how much they could give.
A few Sundays after our visit, the woman brought a friend to church, and her friend turned her life over to Christ at the end of the service. Incidents like this remind me that pastoral visits are worth it.
5. Visits allow people to minister to me.
My first concern is serving those I call on. Still, there are times when it is appropriate to receive care.
One evening I visited a couple old enough to be my parents. She was ill with more than one chronic problem. Due to poor health, they were unable to hold positions in the church. That evening I prayed again for their health and for wisdom in making decisions they were facing. After saying “Amen,” I raised my head, but my host began praying for me, my family, and my ministry. He prayed as specifically as he could. I went home knowing my wife and I were not alone in ministry.
Time in a home builds a bridge that nothing else can build. That bridge allows us to cross over into one another’s life in mutually meaningful ways.
Grant McDowell is pastor of LeDuc Alliance Church in Millet, Alberta.
1997 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us
