Why visiting still matters
Richard Baxter set out to know every family in his parish. What that looks like today, with a phone and a full calendar.
There is a kind of knowledge you only get by sitting in someone's living room. You notice the photos on the wall, the medication on the counter, the way a husband answers for his wife, the question a teenager almost asks. A lobby handshake can't show you any of that.
A pastor who knew his people
In the 1650s, Richard Baxter served the town of Kidderminster in England. In The Reformed Pastor, he urged ministers to meet personally with every family in their care, and he practiced it. With an assistant, he set aside regular time each week to talk with households one by one, until every family had been seen.
He didn't do it because it was efficient. He did it because he believed each person mattered to God, and so each person should matter to their pastor.
"…and have taught you publickly, and from house to house." Acts 20:20
What it can look like now
You may not be able to visit every home yourself, and you don't need to. Here is a simple way to borrow Baxter's idea:
Count your households. Not attenders, households. Many churches find the number smaller than they feared.
Divide them. Share the list with your elders or leaders. A church of 140 households shared among five people is 28 each, or a little more than two visits a month.
Keep visits simple. Thirty to forty-five minutes. Listen first. Ask how their faith is really doing. Ask how the church can help. Read a short passage, pray for each person by name, and write down what you learned.
Track it. Not to keep score, but so no one falls through the cracks. The family who joined two years ago and was never visited is usually the one that quietly leaves.
Start with one
Don't wait for a perfect system. This week, call one family you haven't seen in their home and ask if you can stop by. You'll likely learn more in that hour than in a year of Sunday greetings.
We made a free Household Visitation Plan to help you start.