The Director of the Men’s Ministry of The Church of Pentecost (PEMEM), who doubles as an Executive Council Member of the Church, Apostle Vincent Anane Denteh, has urged church leaders to promote visitation in the local church since it is one of the most important and expressive ways the Church offers care and compassion to members in real-life situations.
According to Apostle Anane Denteh, visitation in the local church could be promoted not only in times of crises but also in times of celebrations and good news such as weddings, outdooring, graduations, and visiting students.
“Besides, it is also our divine responsibility to look for persons who are shut off from the church’s fellowship due to old age, health challenges, or facing various kinds of hardships that may require the attention of other persons,” he stated.
Apostle Anane Denteh gave this admonition on Friday, January 27, 2023, at the 2023 Global Ministers and Wives Conference (GMWC’23) of The Church of Pentecost at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh near Kasoa in the Central Region of Ghana.
Presenting on the topic, “Visitation in the Local Church,” he emphasised that when church leaders promote visitation in the local church, there is godly fellowship, care for one another, brotherly love and members begin to bear each other’s burdens.
He, therefore, stressed that Christians must grasp that the love of Christ is the basis of our pastoral care ministry of which visitation is a part.
“The purpose of these visitations is to look for persons who cannot attend church services or fellowships due to old age, health challenges, or facing various challenges that may require the attention of others. This could be among members, local leaders, and other leaders of the Church,” he said.
The PEMEM Director further noted that visitation has always been a crucial practice in Christianity and cited Acts 20:20 to demonstrate how apostle Paul engaged in house-to-house activities as one of his visitation models to the believers in the early church.
Apostle Anane Denteh, therefore, urged ministers and church leaders to always uphold this principle and be ready to stay connected with the members so that they could identify themselves with their needs and help them solve those challenges.
He, however, cautioned that what transpires in visitation, whether house to house or wherever the visitation occurs, must be godly in nature and devoid of pursuing any rebellious behaviour against God’s church or a group of people.
“Negligence of the pastoral care, on the other hand, would incur the displeasure of God since all are duty-bound to carry out that aspect of divine obligation. This informs us of the importance of fostering visitation in the Church, particularly the local church, where the members are fundamentally accounted for,” he said.
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