An important aspect of pastoral ministry is that of visitation. Pastoral visitation will be done in a number of different contexts, but whatever the venue and whatever the situation, pastors need to be ready to minister the Word to those in need, especially when it comes to visiting and ministering to the sick. In his helpful book The Pastor’s Ministry, Brian Croft encourages pastors to have “a large store of passages laid up in memory and ready for use.” He goes on to list and categorize several different Scripture passages that can be used depending on the situation. They include the following:
- Passages of comfort: Psalms 23; 28; 34; 46; 62; 145; Hebrews 4:14 – 16
- Succinct gospel passages: John 11:25 – 26; Romans 5:6 – 11; 2 Corinthians 5:17 – 21; Ephesians 2:1 – 10
- Passages dealing with the purpose of suffering for the believer: 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 9; James 1:2 – 4; 1 Peter 1:6 – 7; 4:12 – 19
- Passages related to the reality and hope of eternity with Christ: John 10:27 – 30; 14:1 – 3; Philippians 1:21 – 23; 1 Peter 1:3 – 5
I would add just a few more: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, Isaiah 40:28-31, James 5:14-20, Psalm 139:1-16, and Colossians 1:15-20
Obviously, the Word of God is vast and deep and you will no doubt find many more relevant passages, but this list does provide a good start. The important thing is to come prepared to minister to the Word of God to those in need.
Acts 20:17-20: 17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
