When visiting missing members, be a good listener, and let them vent
their anger, or frustration.
Ask the disgruntled members what they would like to see change before they
could return to church.
Many times they will tell you the solution, and then you can go from there!
Find out who their friends were when they did attend church, and then have
those friends contact them too!
Ask them to do you a favor and help you be successful in your work for the
Lord by letting you share a set of correspondence studies with
them.
Ask the member to pray for concerns that you have. This shows you still
consider him or her a Christian, and it gets the person involved in the
church again, even though it may seem in a small way.
Those absent from church usually go through a cycle that begins with
unfulfilled expectations of church life, then comes a perceived lack of
ministry from the church to them or their family. This is followed by
further disappointment, then comes absenteeism, and finally a complete drop out
from church and church attendance.
It is important to first notice when someone attends church sporadically.
This is the first sign that there is spiritual trouble.
Affirm the person’s importance to the church and encourage them to come and
have Sabbath dinner at your home, or the home of a friend in the
church. This will go a long way toward getting them back in the swing of
church!
Share Hebrews 9:25 with them, and before you end your visit with a
prayer, tell tern how important being at church is.
“Faith comes by hearing” the Bible says!
If you’re visiting someone who has a conflict with the church, or a member
of the church, or the pastor, there are some things you can do as a gospel
worker. When you visit them, appeal to the nobler issue
that is above the “war zone.”
When visiting as a peacemaker, never become part of the triangle. Don’t
take sides, and don’t be a messenger delivering messages from one side to the
other. Be on the Lord’s side at all times!
Pray for the person you visit, and ask the Lord for grace.
Be a constant learner and make yourself wise regarding conflict management,
ministering to those who have been abused, etc.
As a peacemaker, remind the person who is upset that we all make
mistakes.
The Lord knows that.
Seek for a compromise based on the principles of God’s Word.
Use the Standing on the Promises lesson 15, which deals with
forgiveness.
The principles in that lesson will greatly help those unable or unwilling to
forgive!