Shut-Ins Who Feel Shut Out: Increasing Ministry to Homebound Congregation Members Through Lay Visitation and In-Home Bible Study

Abstract

Is shut-in ministry as strong as it should be? Pastors often do not have enough time to visit members in their homes regularly. Involving lay members of the congregation can be an excellent way to combat this problem. Homebound members of the congregation need to be in God’s Word just as frequently as the rest of the members who can make it to church every week. By involving lay members, shut-ins can be visited more often than if the pastor does visitation alone. The lay members ought to be properly trained before they can be expected to carry out this ministry faithfully and well. This also presents an opportunity to bring additional devotions and even Bible studies to the homes of the shut-in members with the ultimate goal of helping them grow in their faith in Jesus Christ until he ushers them into heaven’s glory.