First FAITH Visitation

Tonight was our first night to go on visitation with church. We've been in FAITH training for visitation for the past two months, and this week was the first designated week to actually go out and knock on a few doors.  Even though I've never really been on a formal visitation for the church, I wasn't very nervous about it at all.  I know the material that they want us to share pretty well, and after all, they pair two people that have never been before with a "leader" that has been.  So, basically I was looking forward to a interesting, fun, on-the-job training experience tonight.

Well, that's not exactly how it went down.  Actually, that's not even close to how it went.  It ended up that they were short on leaders, so they just told the four of us from our class to go ahead without one.  And, since I'm the Sunday School teacher, I was instantly nominated as the "leader" for our group. In addition, it appears that this is the way it's going to be the rest of the time.  It was at this point that the panic decided to strike.  I think everything that I had learned the past two months instantly was replaced by fear and nervousness.  It wasn't just me either.  I could tell that the other members of my team didn't feel real thrilled with the idea of going out without a coach.

However, thankfully, that feeling only lasted for a few seconds.  I was able to pull myself together, gather my thoughts and resources, and make a few decisions that needed to be made. I could tell that my team had done the same thing, and everyone was starting to get a much happier look on the faces.  We were getting excited!  This is what we'd been training for after all!

So, we set out on our first visit.  All we had was an address and a Louisville map, and it just so happened that there were two roads in Louisville with the same name.  We made a decision on which one we thought was most likely, and pointed the vehicle in that direction.  It was 30 minutes away however.  (Actually, it was probably only 15 or 20 minutes away, but we got lost a few times.)  And, once we got there, we quickly figured out that we were NOT in the right place.  The street name was right, but the house numbers were WAY off.  We had chosen the wrong street.  So, by this time, it was getting close to time to head back to the church.  On the way back, I called one of the prospects that lived between our current location and the church, in hopes of making an actual stop before going back.  The wife answered the phone, and explained that her husband was a student minister and that he had accepted a position at a church in Florida, and that they were moving next week.  She thanked me for the phone call, and I wished them well.  We never even got out of the truck for the whole night.

The great thing is, even though it seemed an apparent failure, Kevin summed the night up really well for us.  "We were obedient."  And that we were.  We went with the intention of sharing the Gospel with our friends and neighbors.  It just so happened that we struck out in that regard, but I think more importantly, it was a time of bonding for the four of us.  I love our team.  We had a great time, and we went through a range of emotions with each other in just a matter of a couple of hours.  We were excited, then nervous, then confused, then disappointed, and finally rejoiceful that we had set out on a journey together to fulfill our Great Commission.  I couldn't be more proud of our FAITH team, I think we're going to have a great semester!

Comments

[Mim]

It sounds like you had quite a night! Are all the members of your FAITH team in your Sunday School class? Hang in there ... with your great attitude your visits are sure to be more productive in the future. I'm glad you're enjoying this experience.

[Granny]

Andy I am so proud of you just for being faithful and trying. I know the Lord will bless your efforts. Visitation is a great and rewarding work and an answer to the command the Lord gave us. After all He did not save us to sit bck and keep it to ourselves. I know this happened for a reason and I feel you will be better prepared and have better luck next time. Keep up the good work and know that I will be praying for you.

[Jason]

Andy,
Sounds like you had quite an interesting experience. The effort alone was enough to be proud of. I'm glad to hear that you are becoming so involved in your church home. Sounds like you are your team had a great time just getting to know one another, and thats reason enough to say that the night wasn't a waste. Hopefully the next trip will be better for you and your team. Continue working hard.