Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction xi

Step One: The Persons

1 A Joyful Invitation 3

2 Choosing Whom to Visit 9

3 An Amazing Mission 15

Step Two: Ways of Visiting

4 Visiting Possibilities 25

5 Personal Visiting 31

6 Visiting in Gatherings 42

7 Special Ways of Visiting 47

Step Three: The Best Timing

8 A Simple Approach 59

9 Life Stages and Celebrative Events 68

Step Four: Your Gifts for Visiting

10 Gifts and Graces 79

11 Training and Praying 86

12 Suggestions for Visiting 92

13 Excellent Sprinters, Solid Marathon Runners 102

Step Five: Building Your Mission

14 Your Visiting Outreach 109

15 The Congregation’s Witness 118

16 The Pastor Visits 128

17 Sacrament and Cloud 135

About the Author

KENNON L. CALLAHAN, ??researcher, professor, and pastor?is one of today's most sought-after church consultants. He has worked with thousands of congregations around the world and has helped tens of thousands of church leaders and pastors through his dynamic workshops and seminars. Author of many books, he is best known for his groundbreaking study Twelve Keys to an Effective Church, which has formed the basis for the Mission Growth Movement, a widely acclaimed program for church renewal. Callahan has earned the B.A., M.Div., S.T.M., and Ph.D. degrees. His doctorate is in Systematic Theology. He has served both rural and urban congregations in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia and taught for many years at Emory University. Ken and his wife of over forty years, Julie, have two children, Ken and Mike, and three grandchildren, Blake, Mason, and Brice. They enjoy the outdoors, hiking, horseback riding, and camping.