The Importance of Pastoral Care
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28, CSB)
Let me share a story with you. This story is about a church member several years ago who said something to me that has stuck in my heart. This member was having surgery. I prayed, called, and got the details of the procedure, and on the day of the surgery, I showed up. I prayed with them, talked, and encouraged them. As a rule, I will generally stay until I know the patient is in recovery, then I head home. This patient/member later told his family, “I have never had a Pastor show up to a surgery.” Friends that truly broke my heart. Pastoral care is so important to your people. They need to see your heart towards them. That you care not only for their spiritual walk but also their physical. To be honest, one affects the other.
Just after I was born, my mother was in a terrible car accident. People died, and she coded a few times in surgery. At the time, my parents were going to a Methodist church in town. Not once did their pastor come to see or visit with them. One of my mother’s friends attended a Baptist church, and she shared with her Pastor what had happened. That Baptist Pastor visited them often, checking on them and praying for and with them. When all was settled, my parents decided that it was that level of care that they wanted and needed from their Pastor and church family. It was because of a caring Pastor that my family started to attend a Baptist church. Pastoral care matters to your people. It matters because when you care for the physical needs, you also will strengthen the spiritual side of that person.
The Bible calls us to care; Acts 20:28 says, “Be on guard for yourselves and for the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.” Paul is speaking these words as Luke records them. He is telling us to be on guard, be ready to guard not only ourselves but also the flock. Yes, we need to be sure that we are taking great care of their souls to guard against falling away. Yet we also are to guard them, for the same reason, when physical needs arise. What a great discouragement when you feel that your church family does not care about you. It would seem, at that point, they only cared about your number and your dollar.
I sat with a new young Pastor who told me he had three members in the hospital. I said, “When did you go and visit them?” His response nearly knocked me out of my chair. He said, “Should I be doing that?” Yes, friend, yes! Go and make those hospital visits. Make those home visits. Care for the people.
Reach out to your people, go share a meal with them, and ask them how things are going. When we invest in the lives of our people, not only does it bring them closer to us, but it helps us minister to them better. How can we know what needs the people have in order to plan out our sermons if we don’t do this? Let me share a truth I have learned through experience: on Sunday mornings, when they tell you that they are “fine” as they walk down the hall…they may not be “fine.” Shepherding your people is an investment in their lives.
Pastor, If you want your people to know your heart, you need to know theirs.
Steve Ammon is the pastor of Meadowbrook Baptist Church in Rockdale Texas.