Chapter Four

Visitation

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

One of the scariest words for most church members is "visitation".  It evokes images of knocking on the doors of total strangers, and facing possible insult and injury.  Another fear is having to tell people how to be saved; we either don't know how, or we're afraid of rejection if we try.  If your church has a pastor who is comfortable with visitation, he can take the lead..  If not, you can start with baby steps; do what is easy first, then gradually work your way up to more difficult visits.

Training can take away a lot of the fear.  If your pastor feels comfortable doing it, he can conduct a training about visitation generally, and about soul winning visitation in particular, which is a "graduate" course.  If your church doesn't presently have a pastor, or your pastor doesn't feel qualified or inclined to lead the training, turn to another pastor, or a strong witness, in the community.  It's up to them how they choose to conduct the training, but if it doesn't cover at least these points, it's not sufficient for the task:

• Preparation  You have to decide, as a group, that you want to do visitation to begin with.  If you don't, then this chapter and the rest of this book are useless to you.  You may as well close the doors.  Once you make that decision, or a minimum of three people (two team members and an alternate) agree to take on the task, your preparation (as covered in your training) should consist of setting an initial target area, determining which households in that area you will be visiting, and a definite date as a goal for covering the designated homes.  You should begin with people known to the members of the church: their family members, coworkers, and friends.  You should also make a list of people who once attended your church, and are currently not attending another church.  And, most important, if a new person or family visits your church, make sure they're on your priority list.  Your church should always have cards, or a sheet, for visitors to fill out, including a place to request a visit.  If some of these fall outside your geographic target area, but still close by, that's fine, so long as the people who know the prospects best think such a visit would be worthwhile.  Like everything you do as a body, your visitation program should be covered in prayer, and should be a part of what you pray for in your group and individual prayer times.  When the program actually begins, set a night that will cause the least conflicts. and stick to it unless it just becomes unworkable.  Realize that there will be nights when one or two show up, or no one at all.
• Organizing Teams  There are things you should do on visitation.  Number one, first priority goes to the safety of the team members.  Don't go into areas that are high crime areas, unless accompanied by people of strong faith who are familiar with them, and confident they can assure members' safety.  Next, never go alone; Jesus sent his disciples forth two by two, and that has been the model for visitation ever since.  There is both safety and comfort in having another person along.  Teams should consist of two men, two women, or a husband and wife (brother and sister, where that applies).  Men should always visit a household where at least one man is present, and women, where there is at least one woman.  Couples are best visited by couples, but, if not, the preceding rules apply.
• Tools  Make sure both of your team members have their Bibles along, and if you don't have some good Gospel tracts, order some.  Also, order a supply of "door hangers" to leave on the front door knob if no one is home; more on that later.  At least one team member should have a list of the names and addresses of the homes being visited, and should clarify directions with someone familiar with that neighborhood before leaving.  If your church doesn't have an information pamphlet, showing at least its address, phone number, and times of services, have one typed up and copied.  Include the name and phone number of the pastor, or the presiding elder if there is no pastor.
• When you knock, and someone answers  Look around when you first arrive, and see if there is anything about the house or the neighborhood that might serve as a topic of conversation. If someone is outside, greet them as you would if they answered a knock at the door.  Always step back from the door after you knock, if no one is outside; that is less intimidating.  Since your first visits should be with people known to the church, you should have an immediate "in".  If you're not the person who knows the individual or family, begin with something like this (one person should agree beforehand to take the lead): "Hello, Mr. Green.  We're from the First Baptist Church, and we're visiting some of the families in the neighborhood.  May we come in for a few minutes?"
• When you're invited in  Don't mention church or Christianity unless your host does,  This is a "get acquainted" type of meeting.  If you're the designated leader, look around the living room quickly and see if there any clues as to your host's interests: pictures, memorabilia, trophies, etc.  After telling a little about yourself, your companion, and your church (very briefly; don't get carried away), see if something you see gives a clue about the person, or couple, and their family.  For instance, if you see pictures of children on the wall or placed about the room, comment on how lovely they are, and ask if they're children, or, depending on the host's age, grandchildren, of the host.  If the conversation never turns to spiritual matters, leave it at that.  Don't overstay your welcome; you shouldn't be there over fifteen minutes unless circumstances cause you to be there longer.    In some cases, the people may already be active church members, if you were given inaccurate information.  If they offer information about their church and pastor, listen to it, but don't give credence to gossip or complaints.  In any event, the visit should be relatively brief.
• If your hosts want to talk about Christianity, or Jesus  Don't be drawn into any debates or intellectual discussions.  Just keep coming back to your own personal relationship with Jesus, and what it has meant to you.  Even if the person says something provocative, give yourself an "out" by saying something like, "We really can't get into any of that tonight.  We're just here to visit for a few minutes, and get acquainted."  If they point out how some church members they know are hypocrites, say something like, "We know that a lot of people aren't all the Lord wants them to be, but we'd really just like to talk about you this evening."  Never get into a conversation about doctrine or personalities, except the Lord himself.  If, however, one or more people in the home has genuine questions about salvation, don't panic.  The only scripture you need to know by heart is John 3:16; the whole Gospel is contained in that one verse.  Use it as a springboard to tell your host that salvation is a free gift, that it's available to everyone, and that it's not something you can earn by being "good enough".  If one or more of them want to get saved then and there, just lead them in a very simple prayer, something like this: "Lord, I confess to you that I am a sinner, and it's only because of what Jesus did for me that I can be saved. Please forgive me my sins, and come into my life now as my Savior and Lord."
• If you receive a negative response to being invited in  What you do depends on exactly what kind of response you get.  If the response is something like, "This isn't a good time", try to find out when a good time would be.  If your host won't be pinned down, it's just a polite way of putting you off.  If this is the case, or the person makes clear they don't want to talk to anyone from the church, offer the pamphlet about your church, and a tract, if they person will accept them.  If the response is hostility, however it's manifested, politely take your leave.
• When there are obstacles to your visit  If there's a hostile dog involved, not on a leash on in an enclosure, and no one is around in the yard, leave and go on to the next house.  You may want to follow up with that person with a phone call later.  If there is construction of some kind, or an emergency situation, also go on to the next location.
• You knock, but no one answers  This usually happens for one of three reasons: The residents are not home, they're home but can't hear or respond to your knock for whatever reason (hard of hearing, physically ill), or they're home but don't want to talk to you.  In any of these cases, leave a door hanger, and make a note on your list to check back later.  If no one is there on the second occasion, strike the person or family from your active list, but leave their names there for future reference.
• Follow-up  Here again, what you do afterward depends on the results of your visit.  In every case when you were received into the person's home, send a Thank You card on behalf of the church.  If the person, or people, indicated they would be at church the following service, call them the night before and tell them how much you're looking forward to seeing them.  Make sure you keep your word if you agreed to meet them at the church, or pick them up.  You should have a backup when there's a good reason you can't, like illness; this is why each team needs an alternate, even if it's always the same person for all the teams (not a good idea if you can avoid it).  If the person you call "begs off", ask them if there is a better time, and offer to call back later.  If it's clear they've changed their mind, and just don't want to come, let it drop.  For those joyous cases when someone accepts Christ during your visit, arrange for your pastor, or a pastor, to do a follow-up visit.  It is vitally important for the person to get baptized, get into a good, Bible-believing church (even if it's not yours), and get grounded in the Word and the habit of daily prayer.
• Cold calls  Once you've worked through your "hot" prospects (those who visited your church, whether they specifically requested a visit or not), and "warm" ones (those associated with members of your church, or who once attended there), and you will reach that point if you stick to the program, you'll have to start visiting the homes of strangers. or at least of people you barely know.  Start first with your target area, within a given radius around your church.  Rather than planning to visit each home in the target area, you should start first just by introducing yourself and your companion, tell where you're from, and offer your church pamphlet and / or a tract, and leave.  If you're invited in, don't pass up the opportunity, but don't make that the goal of your visitation for that evening.  Later, after you've canvassed your target area, you can come back and visit homes you identified as good prospects based on how you were received the first time.  The same rule applies to people attending another church; if it's a cult member, like a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness, don't get involved in a conversation unless you're well versed in both Scripture and the cult's beliefs.
• Referrals  Sometimes you will encounter situations that require attention beyond your capability to give at the moment,  If it's an emergency need for food, clothing, or utilities that your church can meet, you certainly should.  If not, you should have an index of Christian and Government agencies to which you can make referrals.  If there's a question of probable or actual abuse, discuss the situation first with your pastor, and if he concurs, contact the appropriate authorities.  When there is an emergency in such situations, and your confident of your facts, you may personally contact the authorities,  Those procedures should be worked our before you begin your program.

There you have it; the barebones outline of a visitation program.  Why should we do it?  Because the Lord commands it, and because the only way many people will ever be reached is if the church reaches out to them.  Stories abound of people who said they didn't become Christians earlier because no one ever told them how.  The basic principle, if you don't already have an active visitation program: Start with people you already know, and work outward from there.  A referral from someone you visit to go see someone they know is good as gold; don't miss any opportunities the Lord puts in front of you.