This ministry is designed to coordinate efforts to welcome newcomers to our worship services and to visit our shut-ins, sick, bereaved, and out-of-duty members. After all, people matter to both us and God. The minister leader in this ministry will work closely with the minister leaders assigned to the “Personal Evangelism” and “Greeting” ministries to ensure that members and non-members get visited as appropriate and that Southwest has trained personnel to supply any evangelistic needs. Who Needs to Be Visited: Anyone needing encouragement, comfort, or a sense of belonging profits from a visit. While that could include everyone, there are certain individuals who especially need to be reminded that they aren’t forgotten. These are people who can feel rather lonely at times.

  • elderly people still living independently especially if they are shut-ins
  • elderly or disabled people living in nursing homes
  • people who are sick for a prolonged period of time
  • people who are hospitalized
  • bereaved people
  • prisoners
  • people in shelters
  • people in crisis

Who Should Do The Visitation: Many a minister has fallen under criticism for failure to do enough visitation. Realistically, however, if the minister is to adequately prepare sermons, counsel, and provide general leadership for the church, little time remains to visit everyone. That’s why we’re all a part of the visitation ministry in some form or fashion. The biblical reality, when you look at the one another passages of Scripture, is that visitation is a corporate effort not just the elders or minister. If we are truly going to express care for one another, then we must sometimes go where the people are. We must lay aside our busy schedules and excuses and make people a priority. How nice it is if the minister from the church visits in our time of need. How encouraging if another member also visits during this time of crisis. But to have numerous people visit over the course of time, now there’s a caring, loving church. To be sure, visitation will come easier for some people than others. While we all should be visiting one another on occasion, especially in time of need, people with a more outgoing personality or with the gifts of hospitality, exhortation, and/or mercy will be more prone to make visitation a part of their regular ministry.