Visitation and Outreach

[J.R.Maddox]

What do you do for outreach and visitation in your church? Let's share some ideas and maybe some frustrations with this vital need in the church today. Door to Door? When and How? Relationship building? How do you do it? Anything at all? Have you simply given up?

You get the idea

J

 

[dfi]

I am kinda suprised this post has set here almost a week with no response. Perhaps that is a response in itself. We have church visitation scheduled 2 times a week and do various other things on the side. we have worked with door to door, door hanging packages and various other things

 

[bapmom]

We have a bus ministry that runs on Saturday and brings in lots of kids. Also on Saturday we have a group that goes out to visit first-time visitors of our services. And there's several groups that go to various nursing homes in the area and pass out tracts.

Then on Sunday we have 2 or 3 nursing home services running each Sunday afternoon. We also have a group of bus kids that comes to morning service and stays at church all afternoon for extra preaching and games and activities. These are kids who want to be more active and want to learn more about how to live for Christ. We also have a program that allows some of these bus kids to attend our Christian school. So they regularly run fund raisers and things to help pay tuition.

Tuesday morning we have Ladies Soulwinning, passing out tracts on the street and/or door knocking.

Wednesday afternoon we have Teen Soulwinning, they pass out tracts on the street.

Thursday night we have All-Church Soulwinning, mostly passing out tracts on the street, but also does some visitation.

and Friday night we have Reformers Unanimous....our addictions program.

Nah, we haven't given up yet.

 

[bobbyd]

First i celebrate the fact that i have at least one person who will go out on visitation with me; and if there is more than one, i have an impromptu revival meeting in the parking lot.

We try to cover all the bases while we are out: prospects, evangelistic visits, shut ins. Usually we can't get them all since only two out of 100 active members are participating.

And this is followed up by complaints from people that not enough visitation is taking place and it isn't being done right.

Did i miss anything?

 

[USN2Pulpit]

bobbyd, I share your feelings on the matter. Lately I have been convicted though - that I'm not leading them in visitation well enough. I'll admit it just got so tiresome begging people to show up, and it was easier to give up and just go do it myself, along with my wife or teenage kids.

I've gotten them used to not showing up, and it's my fault. Now I have to get them "un-used" to it.

 

[John of Japan]

I go out three times a week. On Wednesdays I go door-to-door with tracts with H. San, and sometimes get to witness. (It is legal to put them in mailboxes here.) On Thursday my wife and I visit folk--right now it is Mrs. Ueno in the hospital across town. I think she is close to salvation. On Saturday I go out with tracts by myself.

I am currently working on two projects with evangelism in mind. The first is a new version in Japanese of the famous tract by John R. Rice, "What Must I Do to Be Saved?" I am also working on a new Japanese translation of John's Gospel which will have plenty of footnotes on salvation.

I have a supporting pastor who did this, having a Gospel printed up in English with copious footnotes on salvation. His folk would visit someone and give them a free Gospel with the stipulation that they read it through. The prospect would sign a paper to that effect. Then they would make a follow-up visit a week or two later to talk to the person about what they had read. I think it's a great idea to reach folk for Christ! The early reports were good, but I haven't heard anything lately.

 

[pituophis]

bobbyd & USN,

I understand and can relate to both of you. What is sad is the lack of desire. If at my church we desided to have a "go to the stock car races" night. The church has never had such a thing, so they are not "used to it." How much effort would I have to put into it in order to get some people to come? Uh...none. Just announce it. But when I say that on "____ night" we are going to go and minister to people and show them Christ in us.... I, like bobbyd, usually have only 1 person show.

I thought that if Christ lives within you, it would be a natural thing to want to share that? You should not have to beg (unless we are trying to beg the lost to do something....hummm?)

 

[Karen]

Here's a suggestion that you may or may not have done. Don't present it like church visitation just happens 7:00 on Tuesday nights. Then when the person can't come, everybody feels bad.

My church does have a FAITH team on Tuesdays. And you are right, that only a small percentage of people go to that. But just like many other Baptist churches, there is some important meeting almost every night.
And there are many Saturday projects.

We have a lot of visitation though. Through cards to take and email, we can get visiting assignments to do on the way home from work on Thursday afternoon, Monday morning, whenever it is going to work for you and your target visit.
There are elderly people in our church who don't drive at night but do visitation for the church on the phone.

More visitation goes on than you realize, I imagine. Over the years I have witnessed to my neighbors extensively, yet it never showed up on my church's visitation statistics. I have done visitation at Walmart and taking people to lunch. That didn't show up on the stats either.

And official visitation is a method that does not work in every region of the country. Gated communities and apartment complexes often prevent it. Having said all that, I think visitation is important. But sometimes if there isn't enough, some other church meetings need to be cancelled to make time. (Only a general comment.) I don't imply anything specific about your churches.

Karen

 

[mima]

I am very interested in visitation and outreach. I once went to a pastor to ask him if I could be the hospital Visitation person. Yes indeed you can he said. I found it to be a wonderful opportunity to present the message of salvation to people. I don't know exactly how many but I have seen many salvations during the hospital visitations. I distinctly remember one who told me that he attended church regularly for 40 years. And when he returned to church he went up at the invitation call and told how happy he was and how he got saved during his hospital stay. I also recall an elderly lady and our church who ask me to go with her to nursing homes and so we did. This dear lady would introduce me to the people in the nursing home and standby while I presented the message of salvation to them. I believe she told me once that we saw over 132 commitments to The Lord Jesus Christ over a 18 month period.
Concerning visitation and outreach I would like you to consider this question. Does the Holy Spirit just want you to plan seeds or does He desire you to be a harvester?

 

[bobbyd]

I think the Holy Spirit desires for us to be both seed planters and harvestors.
There are times we plant seeds, and there are times we reap from other's seed planting. Now, if i'm not mistaken...didn't Paul mention something about that once? :tongue3:

Sometimes i think it is too easy for us to assume that if we don't do it, someone else will do it...and we know what ends up happening; nothing gets done because no-one will do it.