Lord’s Day, Vol. 2 No. 47
Blessed Hope Visitation Ministry
Our Lord Jesus, at the end of the Olivet Discourse, gave His assessment of true believers in Matthew 25:35-36, “For I was an hungred, 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.” The Apostle James also mentioned visitation in his epistle, highlighting in particular the visitation of widows and orphans in their affliction: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
The purpose of visitation is to know the state of God’s flock and to minister to them personally. This work is to be done diligently. Proverbs 27:23 teaches: “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.”
The phrase “be thou diligent” is a mandate to this work of oversight that must be done with conscientiousness and godly wisdom. The word “know” means to be skilful, to have experiential knowledge, the ability to assess and understand. The word “state” literally means “faces”.
It means to read faces to understand the spiritual state of the flock. The most effective way to know someone is in a conversational encounter, face-to-face, during a visitation. In person, one is able to observe not only what is said but also the body language and expression, and thus be able to have a fuller picture or assessment of the other person’s situation, feelings, responses etc.
Our Lord Jesus sets for us the perfect example of ministering with love and compassion for the straying flock. When we visit out of love, we are doing it as unto the Lord. Visitation is a witness of God’s love. We read in Matthew 14:14—“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” And in Mark 6:34—“And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”
A home or hospital visitor goes with the good news that in Jesus Christ there is hope in every situation.
- It enables those who were visited to be updated of the activities of the church and thereafter may be encouraged to participate.
- It strengthens the heart of the person who may be encountering various problems in life. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “…the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us…that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
- It encourages the person to pray, study God’s Word, and grow spiritually.
- It is an avenue to reach out to the unsaved.
Visitation includes both home and hospital visitations, and even funeral wakes and a trip to the prison. The people we visit may include:
- Church members and regular visitors.
- Those who are sick, whether in hospital or convalescing at home, especially when they are unable to come to church.
- Those who are out of job.
- New believers and newcomers.
- New parents.
- Those who have recently suffered bereavement or other sorrows.
- Those who have requested for visitation.
- Unsaved loved ones.
- Widows and orphans.
- Worshippers who have absent themselves for some time.
Our pastoral advisor, Rev. Dr. SH Tow shared his experience in the visitation ministry when he said, “Visitation ought to be made with purpose, not randomly or haphazardly. A visitor should be careful, selective and prepared for each visit. Preparation time takes longer than a visit. Prepare, know in advance what the concern is or need might be.Visitation takes time. A visitor is an ambassador. He or she is gentle, kind, diplomatic and humble, bringing glad tidings of good things. There should not be pretence or hypocrisy.” He also gave some guidelines when he said, “Unless visiting in groups, one to one visits should be restricted to man to man and woman to woman, to avoid awkward situations. Things shared in confidence should remain confidential.”
Other guidelines include:
- Pray before visiting. Ask the Lord for the words to speak.
- Always include words of comfort and encouragement from the Word of God.
- Do not gossip.
- Start or end the visit with a prayer.
- Do not overstay, that is, don’t stay too long in order not to inconvenience the family.
Dear brethren, would you consider being a part of the visitation ministry? We would begin Blessed Hope Visitation Ministry on 10 January 2015 and thereafter every 2nd week of the month on Saturday afternoon 2.00pm – 5.00pm.
Do pray and consider to be part of this ministry. We would visit in teams of 3-4 persons. Very often, the visitor himself or herself is encouraged in the heart while conducting the visitation. It is a blessing to visit. May the Lord bless this ministry for His glory! Amen.
Yours lovingly in Christ,
Ps. Lek Aik Wee