by Horace F. Dean, President, Christ for America
hrough VISITATION bility. Jesus selected the twelve with much care. The Gospel record shows that He likewise carefully trained these men for the specific ministry which they were to have. The Saviour also selected “ the seventy.” I suppose that these men were what we generally term today, “ lay men.” Every pastor will show wisdom by the care which r he exercises in choosing men and women for specific and important parts of the visitation evangelism program. Prayer groups can be established with home or cottage meetings or meetings in the church. Leaders of these groups should be given specific lists containing definite objectives for prayer. There should be prayer for the pastor and his assistants in the development of this com- munity-wide effort. Later on, there should be prayer for each visitation team who will be trained for the vital follow-up. After the actual visitation ministry is under way, there will, of course, be individual persons to be prayed for and here wisdom must be shown. It is not wise to publicly announce the names of certain indivi duals for which prayer is being made. Especially is this true in smaller communities where news travels fast. This sort of thing might cause offense and deep resent ment. Actually, the successful program of visitation evan- gelism will get under way beginning with an all-out community census-taking. It is not our purpose here to discuss the detailed technique of visitation evangelism. We merely would suggest that when this neighborhood canvass is made, there will be opportunity for almost all of the congregation to participate. The visitation campaign will require a certain amount of clerical work in the church office. Here is another place to engage the help of persons who are qualified. Still further opportunities to share in the crusade will be furnished. For instance, the pastor will invite all members of the church, Sunday school and other depart- ments to furnish names and addresses of good prospects to be reached in the campaign. These names will in clude friends and acquaintances, school-mates, neighbors and associates in business. The building of a large list of such prospects lies at the very heart of the program. Finally, and undoubtedly the most important assignment, will be the careful selec- tion, training and work of the actual visitation team. It may be that the church is rather small, say with a membership of less than one hundred. This should not deter the leaders. Perhaps at the very most, there will only be six or eight who could qualify as suitable men or women for the follow-up visitation in the homes. This work involves calling on the prospects, and dealing personally with people about spiritual matters. These visitors will be representing the pastor and the church. More particularly they will be representing the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the community. The Visitation Campaign Should he Directed by the Pastor We urge every pastor to give the local visitation evangelism program his direct leadership. This will not always be possible, and especially in very large churches. To insist on this might place a burden on such pastors ► ►
which could not well be borne. Visitation evangelism requires leadership and perpetual diligence if it is to pro duce the desired results. The man of God who plans to lead his church out into a continuous program of neighborhood evangelism should begin at once to prepare himself to be a specialist in this field. This will pay rich dividends and enlarge the borders of his ministry far beyond expectations. Plan the campaign, divide the work among your people, train the visitors, and “map out the strategy” of the campaign. In this program of evangelism, you are engaging in the most important business on earth. No work can com pare with that of bringing men, women, and children into fellowship with Jesus Christ. You will discover that before long your visitation campaign will bring a steady stream of “new people” into your Church and Sunday school. When such re sults begin to appear, the harvest will be like a tonic to your team of trained visitors. It also will bring much joy and a fresh awakening into every department of your church. These newcomers will need immediate care and at tention from the beginning. Your visitors may have done an excellent piece of work in the house-to-house ministry, but that of course only represents a beginning. Now, you should aim at the assimilation of these per sons into the life of the church. Some will be coming on confession of faith in Jesus Christ. These should be carefully interviewed by the pastor himself. This furnishes the minister with a splen did opportunity to know these converts and also to be assured that they are crystal clear as far as their salva tion is concerned. It is important that everyone uniting with your church should be fully informed regarding your doctrinal stan dards and what the church has a right to expect from its members. To fail in this cannot help but bring serious problems. Following this procedure also allows the pas tor to lay spiritual foundations in the hearts of new mem bers. Upon this strong base, coupled with effective preach ing and Bible teaching, the members will become happy and fruitful believers. You Are Now Building For God! If your visitation campaign has been properly plan ned, and you and your people are energetically and prayerfully following through, you will be definitely seeing good results within a few weeks or months. The desirable thing is permanent blessing and growth in the lives of the people of your membership. You must now embark on a definite program of building up your growing “ flock” in the faith. The need in your church is exactly what it was when these words were de clared centuries ago to a newly begotten group of be lievers, “ . . . brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up . . . As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (Acts 20:32, I Peter 2:2). END
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MARCH, 1960
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