Pastoral Visits for Your Joy
January 17, 2023
Dear CPC Family,
Have you ever been visited by a pastor or an elder?
I know that question may cause some readers’ anxiety levels to spike. Perhaps you’re not super enthusiastic about that possibility. Please read on to see how a regular pastoral visit can be a blessing to your spiritual health and vital to the health of the church!
Pastoral visits are, first of all, biblical. Just as the Apostle Paul was about to leave Ephesus, he met with the elders of the Ephesian church and called them to “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
Paul set the pace, reminding the elders a few verses earlier that he “did not shrink back” from teaching them “in public and from house to house.” (Acts 20:20) We are familiar with the regular public ministry of the Word but we shouldn’t ignore the “house to house” opportunity for more focused ministry of the Word.
From this biblical example, among others, the tradition grew of pastoral visits through much of church history.
Why?
The simplest answer to the “why” question is that pastoral visits enable pastors and elders to care well for church members and their families. Yes, pastoral care should be communicated through preaching and in public worship. Pastors and elders can show care in small groups, Sunday School classes, or in conversations at church. But there is a unique opportunity when pastors meet in a focused way with the members and families that make up the local church. Pastors and elders are “those who will have to give an account” for the believers entrusted to their care (Hebrews 13:17). Regular visits help us to fulfill our mission as under-shepherds of the Great Shepherd: “that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28)
What?
A pastoral visit is an opportunity for you to share joys and challenges, questions or concerns, and ways your elders can pray for and assist you in your growth in grace. To prime the pump for conversation, I usually send this questionnaire for members or families to work through beforehand. For the pastor, this visit is an opportunity to encourage, teach, and pray for you. These visits need not be long and are usually around an hour, capped off with Scripture reading and prayer. It might help relieve anxiety to know that your pastor and elders don’t approach these routine visits with any agenda other than to listen and to be of help and encouragement.
When?
It’s good to be reminded that you are always welcome to schedule a meeting with a pastor or elder. If you’re struggling, need counsel or prayer, don’t hesitate. I can safely speak for CPC’s session that we want to know how you are really doing and we want to be of help early in seasons of difficulty. At the same time, regular and routine pastoral visits are beneficial to your spiritual health in the same way a regular check-up is beneficial to your physical health. Regular pastoral visits can prevent a crisis (big or small) and, when a crisis does happen, regular visits often lay the groundwork for a trusting pastoral relationship to help in the midst of the storm. We aim to have at least one visit like this with each member/family per year.
How?
This pastoral letter serves to get you thinking (hopefully with a little more enthusiasm than you may have had before reading it!) about a pastoral visit with me and/or one of CPC’s elders before the end of 2023. One of us will get in touch to work out the details. Of course, if your need for a visit is more pressing, please do not hesitate to contact me. The meeting place does not need to be your home and is usually wherever is easiest for you.
I can testify that every pastoral visit I have done has been a great encouragement to me and I hope these visits will be a reminder to you that your pastor and elders “work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.” (2 Corinthians 1:24)
In the Father’s Love,
Pastor Andrew