The Bible indicates that visiting other people is a fundamental and essential role for all church members. Being with others socially is the best way to built up strong relationships. Far from being just casual social calls, this visiting is an intentional act of care, encouragement and teaching.
“Visitation is an intentional direct encounter by an individual with another person or persons for the purpose of getting to know them, understanding and addressing their felt needs, providing encouragement and assistance in the name of Jesus, and expressing through words or deeds the constant love and care of God”
Behind this need is the understanding that the church, the body of Christ, is a family, and the local church is the basis on which the values of the family are developed.
“The local church has always been the focus of church growth because that is where church members meet for fellowship, training, and deployment for ministry”
A Mandate for All Believers
The Bible emphasises that the church is made up of a priesthood of all believers and therefore all Christians should be encouraged to be involved in this activity. It is therefore essential that church leaders take an active lead in this and model it. While often thought of as being the responsibility of pastors, the Bible places the responsibility of visiting on the entire church body.
The phrase ‘Am I my brother's keeper?’ originates from Genesis 4:9, where Cain asks this rhetorical question to God after murdering Abel, his brother. It is widely interpreted today as a moral obligation to care for, to protect, and to support others. Every Christian is called to be their brother's keeper and this will include visiting, befriending and caring for one another.
One way that true members of God’s kingdom are distinguished is by the way they do care for other Christians when they are in trouble. In Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats, the sheep were characterised by this care:
”I was sick and you visited me.” Matthew 25:36
James, the brother of Jesus, defines the true Christianity as being characterised by the visiting of orphans and widows in their need.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
The Purposes of Visiting
Scripture and early church history highlight several key roles that visiting plays in the life of the church. It allows Christians to ‘keep watch’ over the flock, identifying any spiritual, physical, and social needs. No Christian should be anonymous, lost in the crowd:
“Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds". Proverbs 27:23
This passage prioritises the care of others over worldly success; it continues:
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure for ever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” Proverbs 27:23-24
Vibrant, Spirit filled service of Jesus Christ can easily fade away within a generation if personal relationships are not strongly Christ-centred. The crown can disappear from God’s churches, even those that remain theologically sound!
Jesus applied this to himself:
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me". John 10:14-15
Just as Jesus cared for others, so each of his people, who have all been given his Spirit, should follow his example. This means we should have deep, personal, and reciprocal relationships where the shepherd recognises his own and the sheep recognise his voice.
Examples
Philip Hacking was a great Christian leader, having been chairman of the Keswick Convention and vicar of Christchurch, Fulwood, in Sheffield. He died in 2024 but what he stood for continues. Why?
“Because Philip invested in people, those who have gone on, maturing in faith and gone into Christian ministry because of him are those who take his place.”
He was an excellent preacher and spent most mornings in reading and talk preparation but the afternoons were primarily for visiting. He prioritised visiting any newcomers to the church services. In this way he served others, he was a true minister.
The Apostle Paul often visited believers or expressed a longing to visit them so that both he and the local Christians might be ‘mutually encouraged’ by each other’s faith.
“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Romans 1:11–12
James encourages church members who are sick to ask the church elders to visit and pray for them,
“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” James 5:14
The early church grew through ‘house-to-house’ activities, where visiting was used to share the gospel in personal environments.
“You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.” Acts 20:20
People feel comfortable and tend to be more open and sociable in their own homes, so what better place is there to encourage others in their walk with the Lord. This applies very much to families with children and teenagers, they need to be visited too.. Those leaders who visit homes tend to be the ones who see their groups grow because people see that the leaders really care.
When the apostles Paul and Silas were miraculously released from prison in Philippi, they visited the home of the Philippian jailer, where they his entire family to put their faith in the Lord Jesus. (Acts 16:25–34).
In the early church Christians were known for having meals in each others homes. They also met up daily for fellowship.
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46
How need to encourage all Christians to understand that visiting others for Christ is part of the purpose for which we have been called.
BVP
