It seems as if house calls have become a thing of the past. Pastors on the other hand tend to view it as a requirement of the job. Listed below you will find ten reasons pastors call on their church members.
- Prayer requests. When a member of a congregation is in need of someone to stand with them in prayer for any reason, the one person they think of asking first is usually their pastor. Pastors tend to be the ones we think of with the most experience, when it comes to prayer and are generally trusted by their church members, if it is a personal matter that they wish not to make public during an open prayer request time.
- Church duties. Sometimes the needs of the church property are not being met, and pastors need to reach out to the members for help. Whether it is repairs and general upkeep, mowing the lawn, or decorating church, members are usually the first to get called upon when help is needed.
- Funeral arrangements. The one topic no one wants to get called upon for, but funeral arrangements are another top reason that pastors call upon their church members. It is usually for helping out with food after the service, but can also be to pray for the grieving and just be there in general for them if needed.
- Special announcements. Sometimes things come up that are unexpected and a call out to church members may be required. Maybe a last minute party is being planned for a baby shower or graduation and the pastor wants to make sure everyone is aware and prepared.
- Healing. When someone is hospitalized or very sick the pastor is one of the first people that are called. Pastors will make trips out to their church members’ homes or to the hospital when someone is ailing and in need of healing prayer.
- Making the rounds. Some pastors make it a practice to get out and visit with each of their church members on a regular basis. This is a great practice and can help the congregation to feel more personable with their pastor if they can get one on one time with them away from the church.
- Crisis of Faith. Unfortunately, a crisis of faith can happen when someone is having doubts about their faith or feel like they are slipping spiritually. When a pastor is aware of this situation they will go and visit with this church member to minister to them.
- Personal Struggle. This can be for many reasons; marriage problems, financial problems, drug or alcohol problems, but when a pastor hears that a member of their congregation is struggling, a visit with them can be beneficial. They can provide counseling, prayer and even just an ear to listen.
- Shelter for travelers. Many churches have from time to time a guest speaker come in to minister to the church. When this occurs accommodations are usually provided for them by the church. However, not all churches have hotel stays in their budget so sometimes they will call upon their church members to provide a place for the guest to stay.
- To grow the church. Now this may sound intrusive to some, but one of the objectives of Pastor’s is to grow the church, not their church, but God’s. Some churches have cards for new attendee’s to fill out when they first come to the church that includes a spot for them to put their address. Pastor’s will then go out and visit with those folks to see if they can be of assistance in any way. Sometimes the new attendee just moved to the area and is looking for a church home. Other times they have never been to church before and have questions.
In this day and age with the advancement of technology, face-to-face communication is becoming a thing of the past. One way pastors can keep the personal connection they need with their congregation is to make home visits. Whether it is visiting the sick or stopping by to catch up, the main goal for these visits is to minister to their church members.
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