Pastor Teelbaney Singh
In the book ‘Restoring the Art of Pastoral Visitation: A Practical Guide for Successful Pastoral Visitation,’ Pastor Teelbaney Singh presents the benefits of pastoral visitation and the various types of visits that can be made, as well as provides practical guidelines for making each type of visit. Pastors, elders, deacons, deaconesses, religious educators, Bible workers, Sabbath School teachers, and all those who engage in member visitation will find this book to be an invaluable asset. This book will make visitation easy, effective and purposeful.
Pastor Singh notes that the work of the pastor falls into four general categories, in no particular order of priority – Evangelism, Preaching, Church Administration and Pastoral Care – with Pastoral visitation falling under the category of Pastoral Care.
Pastors have a responsibility to provide care and support to all the members of God’s flock, and this is best done through visitation. One of the challenges facing the modern day pastor is discovering the best place to provide pastoral care for church members. Some say, it is the church; however, it is an irrefutable fact that the worship services of the church occupy less than ten percent (10%) of a member’s weekly activities. And even when they come to church, members do well to mask themselves – to leave their burdens at home, all the while cloaked in bright smiles and pretty clothes. To compound the reality of member-masking, the liturgy of the worship service provides little opportunity for worshippers to unburden their souls when they come into the presence of God. It is not difficult to conceive therefore, that some persons can attend a church service, participate in praise and worship, listen to a soul-stirring sermon, and then return home to pick up their troubles again. At best, the worship service ministers to the congregation and not to the individual member; so the church has not proven to be the most effective place to provide pastoral care.
An alternative to the house of worship is the use of social-media. Social media is an easy, convenient, and cost effective way to contact and stay in touch with church members. And now technological advancement allows for audio and video engagement. It is wise therefore, to make the best use of the technology. However, one must agree that there are some matters that members will not want to discuss on a social-media platform due to privacy concerns and the lack of personal touch that some situations require.
The purpose of this book is to propose to the clergy that pastoral visitation is the chief means by which the pastor interfaces with church members and others to provide pastoral care. This hands-on show of care allows for membership growth and development, thus improving the quality of life of the members and their families. Many persons are in need of a safe and confidential place to lay their troubles down, and the visiting pastor has an excellent opportunity to lead such weary ones to lay all their cares at the feet of Jesus.
Pastors are trained to administrate the church, to chair boards and committees, to preach, to do the work of evangelism, and to win men and women for the kingdom of God. Yet throughout his entire college/seminary life, the pastor, most likely, will not take a single course in the art of pastoral visitation. He has no formal training in this important area, yet, is expected to perform this very essential work assignment.
As we attempt to restore the art of pastoral visitation, the author proposes a return to the time when a mature senior pastor would take a younger pastor under his care, and teach him the art of visitation by way of actual example. The young pastor will learn the job best when he learns on the job. Therefore, every Christian organization should have a strong mentorship programme with a module specially designed to restoring the art of pastoral visitation.
This book was written to help put in perspective the biblical basis for the task of pastoral visitation as an important part of ministerial work. It is written in two parts; the first part explores the five ‘Ws’ of pastoral visitation – What, Where, When, Why, and Who, while the second part provides a practical guide to pastoral visitation. The author holds the view that every pastoral visit must have a purpose. This purpose may range from a routine visit, to a visit for support and counselling in a time of crisis. The book also offers guidelines on how to go about each visit and provides Bible readings and prayer points to support the different types of visit. Forty situations and/or opportunities deserving of a pastoral visit are considered. It is hoped that this piece of literature will contribute in some small way to restoring the art of pastoral visitation.
