How to Organize a Church Visitation Ministry

One of the most fundamental ministries that the church performs is visitation.  A church, no matter how big or small, will have people who are sick, in the hospital, shut-in and in need of a visit.  As a result, pastors spend a significant amount of time visiting people from their church and community.   As the church grows the amount of visitation required can bury a pastor unless structures and systems are put in place to spread the load of visitation out.  Developing systems ensure that the pastor does not burn out, but at the same time ensure people receive the care that they need.  There are no doubt a variety of ways that a church could set up a visitation system but here is how one church takes on this need:

shutterstock_410997181

Visitation & On-Call Pastors - Every day there is one pastor that is assigned to do all the hospital visitation for that day. If the church is aware going into the day that someone is in the hospital, and in need of a visit, then this is the pastor that goes.  Additionally, there is another pastor that is on-call each day.  This pastor handles any pastoral care that cannot be planned ahead.  This would include anyone who is rushed to the hospital or anyone who calls or walks in wanting to talk with a pastor.

Hospital Visitation Frequency - A pastor from the church does hospital visitation every day of the week, except Sunday.  This means that someone who is in the hospital for multiple days will get a visit from a pastor every day unless they are in over an entire weekend.

Visitation Frequency for Rehab & Long Hosptial Stays – If someone leaves the hospital for rehab, or is in the hospital over a weeks time but is not in critical condition, then the parishioner will receive visits only three days per week from the pastoral staff.  If they stay in rehab for an extended period of time, then the visits may be reduced to only two visits per week.

Shut-Ins Visitation Frequency – Shut-ins, those who are physically unable to come out to church, are visited by one member of the pastoral staff monthly.  They also receive a weekly DVD of the church service so they can watch the service from their home, and if the shut-in doesn’t have a DVD player the church will purchase one for them.

Pastors Who Visit - Every single pastor of the pastoral team is a part of the visitation ministry.  The associates pastors, even the associate pastor of youth or kids, is assigned one day per week to do visitation ministry.  The senior pastor also participates in pastoral visitation but their visits are in addition to the schedule mentioned above.

Others Who Visit - The pastoral visitation team is just one layer of the visitation ministry of the church.   In addition to the pastors, there are also ministries in place that visit shut-ins, another ministry that writes cards to shut-ins, a nursing home ministry that performs services in nursing homes where some parishioners live, and more.  There are also trained lay leaders in the church that visit people when they are in the hospital, including one lady whose ministry is to walk with people as they are facing life-threatening illnesses or those who have been brought into hospice care.   There are lay/retired pastors, board members, interns and others who all participate in the visitation ministry of the church.  Finally, there is the church family.  People from small groups throughout the church visit one another when they are in need of care.

It All Works Together - All of this visitation works together to provide the love of Christ to each member of the church family throughout their time of need.  Take shut-ins for an example  Although it probably doesn’t happen this perfectly often, it is possible that a shut-in will receive a visit from an associate pastor one week of the month, another visit from the visitation ministry another, perhaps a visit from a friend in the church another and then from the senior pastor another.  In one month, even though they can’t get out to church, the church will get to them every week.  Additionally, they receive a copy of the service each week on DVD, and even receive the church’s weekly newsletter.   They could receive contact from their church three times a week, every week of the month, even though they can’t leave their home.  Whether shut-in like this, or in the hospital, this visitation ministry ensures that no one is forgotten.

It Scales – Some might argue that a church with multiple staff can do visitation like this, as they have multiple pastors for multiple days.  However, this church did visitation like this even when it was much smaller and didn’t have the staff that it does today.  When the church was smaller, there were fewer people who were in the hospital, thus requiring fewer visits and time per week.  As the church grew, no doubt because of the level of care and attention people were receiving, they were able to add staff and volunteers to keep up with the increasing demands of pastoral care.

This is how one church structures their visitation ministry, how have your seen other churches handle this vital minsitry of the church?

Posted on
Categories: Church Life, Staffing

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

Leave a Reply to how to charge a solar light without sun Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

34,823 thoughts on “How to Organize a Church Visitation Ministry”

  2. Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this site.

    It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very difficult
    to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appearance.
    I must say you have done a awesome job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely fast for
    me on Safari. Outstanding Blog!

    Reply

  8. Хотите построить надежный и красивый загородный дом в Санкт-Петербурге или Ленинградской области? Мы предлагаем полный спектр строительных услуг: от разработки проекта и расчета сметы до сдачи объекта «под ключ». Используем кирпич, газобетонные блоки, пеноблоки и другие современные материалы. В прайсе подробно указаны расценки на кладку стен, перегородок, устройство перекрытий, штукатурку и отделочные работы. Стоимость фиксируется в договоре, чтобы каждый рубль был учтен. В нашей команде трудятся опытные подрядчики — https://builder-spb.ru/kamenschiki-kladka.html каменщики, штукатуры, сварщики, мастера по облицовке и внутренней отделке. Мы берем на себя все заботы о стройке, а заказчику остается только выбрать дизайн и дождаться завершения строительства. Построим дом вашей мечты с гарантией качества.

    Reply

  10. Nice post. I used to be checking continuously this blog and I am inspired!
    Extremely useful info specifically the final part 🙂 I deal with such information much.
    I used to be seeking this particular information for a very long
    time. Thanks and best of luck.

    Reply

  17. Thanks for a marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author.I will make sure to bookmark
    your blog and will come back from now on. I want
    to encourage you to ultimately continue your great posts, have a nice afternoon!

    Reply

  18. Hey there excellent blog! Does running a blog like this take a massive amount work?
    I have absolutely no expertise in computer programming but I had been hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyhow,
    if you have any ideas or techniques for new blog owners please
    share. I understand this is off subject but I just had to ask.

    Thanks!

    Reply

  19. Hey superb blog! Does running a blog like this require a massive amount work?
    I have no expertise in coding however I was hoping to start
    my own blog in the near future. Anyways, should you
    have any ideas or techniques for new blog owners please share.
    I know this is off topic nevertheless I simply needed to ask.

    Thanks!

    Reply

  25. Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude!
    Many thanks, However I am having troubles with your
    RSS. I don’t know the reason why I cannot subscribe to it.
    Is there anybody else getting similar RSS issues?
    Anybody who knows the answer can you kindly respond?
    Thanks!!

    Reply

  29. When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four e-mails with the same comment.
    Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  39. naturally like your web-site but you need to test the spelling on several of your posts.
    Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to inform the reality nevertheless I will definitely come again again.

    Reply