8 minute read
BOOK REVIEWS
Callahan, Kennon L. Visiting in an Age of Mission: A Handbook for Person-to-Person Ministry. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997 [1994].
Way back in 2011, my internship supervisor (and by the way, one of the speakers at this conference), Pastor Brad Hales, recommended that I read this book. I have to admit that I skimmed it briefly but wasn’t quite convinced of its importance. After all, weren’t other things besides visiting more impactful? Wasn’t it more important to be a great preacher, a great theologian, or a great leader?
Well, I’m a slow learner, I guess, or perhaps just thick headed, but in my last fourteen years of ministry I have come around to Brad’s way of thinking. Visiting really is the most important activity for a pastor, and it can grow a congregation like nothing else.
So when Brad mentioned Callahan’s book in his talk, I thought I would read it again, in detail, and share his insights with our SIMUL readers.
Now I know that a lot of pastors don’t think visiting is useful these days. They think that people don’t want to be visited. However, after many years of ministry I have become convinced that people really do want to be visited. So my guess is that our members aren’t the problem, instead our pastors are the problem.
One issue is that pastors are often bogged down in administrative tasks which take up all their time. This leaves little time for visiting. But Callahan suggests that pastors should spend a maximum of twelve hours a week in administrative efforts. If that means hiring more administrative staff, so be it, because freeing up more time for visiting is absolutely crucial for a successful ministry.
Callahan also believes that fear dissuades pastors from visiting. It is simply safer to work on an internal committee or a new liturgy inside the church than visit strangers in the community. This is what Callahan calls “turn[ing] inside” (6). But doing that ignores Jesus’ command to “go.” And so our first priority must be the Great Commission.
Another problem is that pastors simply don’t want to visit people―they’d rather argue theology on Facebook or spend twenty hours a week perfecting their sermons. But I think that if they’d spend three hours on sermons and minimal time on Facebook, and use the extra seventeen hours to visit people, they would see their ministries grow. Instead of concentrating on preaching, we should concentrate on visiting. In fact, Callahan suggests that we visit an hour for every minute we preach!
Now I doubt I’ve convinced you, but please humor me, because I think if we all would start prioritizing visiting in our ministries, God would use us to ignite a world-wide revival.
But how do we go about visiting? Well, Callahan says that we shouldn’t specifically target the unchurched or visit simply to add membership. Instead, we visit to build relationships, and in doing so we seek to become “good friend[s]” (5). Indeed, we need to help “people advance their lives and destinies in the name of Christ” (14). We need to engage the community, because the societal conformity which used to bring people into the church is long gone.
Callahan also suggests having fun when you visit. So don’t visit when you are hungry or tired. The more you can demonstrate a sense of grace and peace, the more your visit will enrich the lives of others.
He suggests that we create a congregational visiting plan, and we start with first-time worshippers and newcomers. When we visit church shoppers or people who have just moved to town, we leverage “a natural opportunity to welcome them as a part of the community.” We then move to “occasional worshippers and constituent families,” the “persons served in mission and relational persons” and then “specific vocational groupings or specific neighborhood groupings” (18). Each group gets a little harder to penetrate as the circle is widened, and so a pastor needs to hone his visiting skills to master successful visits with all these groups. We shouldn’t ignore inactive members, but they shouldn’t be our top priorities either.
Callahan feels that visits in October, November and December are most fruitful, except in the case of occasional worshipers when the months before Easter are most effective.
Then we must consider how to visit. Callahan believes the home visit is most effective, because it has what he calls “sacramental significance” (32). Brad has even taught me the skill of stopping by unannounced. Because if you call first, they’ll just tell you not to bother, even though they’d really love to see you (go figure).
Callahan believes the home visit is most effective, because it has what he calls “sacramental significance.”
Callahan also advises developing a good sense of when you should leave and then go before they want you to without mentioning a specific reason why. That also means avoiding impersonal parting statements like, “Well, I guess I had better get going. I have someone else to visit as well” (97).
Now if the family visited isn’t at home, you should leave them a note. But Callahan advises that you should never say, “sorry, I missed you,” a double negative. Instead, say something positive like, “Glad we could worship together this morning. I look forward to our visiting. I’ll give you a call” (32).
Work visits are also helpful, especially with busy people – after all, Jesus did the same himself. Meeting a member for breakfast in the building cafeteria or joining him or her for lunch is a great way to keep in touch—you might even end up becoming the pastor for the entire building!
But other means like personal notes, small group gatherings, and phone calls are also good means of visiting. Take small groups, for instance. Our church has a crochet group and a game group. When I visit those meetings, I am able to connect with many people at one time. Since this book was written in the pre-internet age, we might add texts, instant messaging, and emails as good ways of visiting as well. I also like reacting to Facebook posts (while avoiding endless scrolling).
Community events are also a great way to connect with people. Our church has an annual Oysterfest and most of the people who attend are not church members. Events like this allow the church to penetrate the community at large.
Mailed invitations for Christmas or Easter services or for a special event are also a great way to reach people. And don’t forget newsletters, which can be printed or emailed, as they keep people up to date on what’s happening in the church. And a phone call on someone’s birthday or the anniversary of the death of a loved one is another special way to show you care.
Caring is the key, because when people tell you they are just shopping for a church, there is likely something else going on there. Is there a child who hasn’t been catechized? Are the visitors suffering from grief? Finding out the reason for the visit and solving it shows that you are concerned about them, rather than simply interested in gaining a scalp.
Caring is the key, because when people tell you they are just shopping for a church, there is likely something else going on there. Is there a child who hasn’t been catechized? Are the visitors suffering from grief?
Callahan also warns against saying or doing things that might insult those we interact with. People want to feel welcome the first time they arrive at a new church, so avoid any “you and us” statements in your preaching which might indicate that outsiders will stay outsiders. Avoiding numerous questions while visiting is also important because these queries might be interpreted as an interrogation.
And don’t limit the visiting to just the pastors –council members should be part of your visiting strategy as well, so start a congregational visiting team. Callahan also advises church members to visit individually. He believes that visiting two-by-two can be intimidating and it cuts in half the number of people who can be visited. These are just some of the highlights. And while Callahhan’s book is a little dated since it was written before the internet age, it is still a vital resource for evangelization that every pastor should read and consider.
