Insight: Journal of Religious Studies PASTORAL VISITATION AS A VERITABLE TOOL IN STRENGTHENING FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS Evans N. Nwaomah, D.Min. Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria E-mail: enwaomah@gmail.com & Sikhumbuzo Dube, MA, West Zimbabwe Conference, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe E-mail: sikhumbuzodube7@gmail.com 1.0 Introduction One of the most powerful tools available to pastors in ministry, is the simple act of visiting families in the neighbourhood. The spiritual blessings resulting from such visits, are numerous. Family feud is settled, intractable problems between neighbours are resolved and home fellowship is encouraged. Truly, the pastor cannot fully understand the living conditions of his members if he does not visit. Although seminary training always equips pastors with a variety of tools, such as biblical languages, homiletics, church planting and church management. However, one area that pastors are ill equipped is the area of pastoral care. This ministry offers the cleric an opportunity to reach the neighbourhood and minister to families in a special way. The application of the African ubuntu philosophy not only makes it easier for the minister to do visitations but also communicates the high value that the cleric ascribes to his members. This paper, using secondary sources, highlights the importance of pastoral visitation, as a means of nurturing members' family relationships. The paucity or abundance of spiritual vigour and vitality of the church membership is to a certain extent linked to the pastoral care rendered by the cleric. When members are judiciously cared for, they will develop spiritual muscles to face any challenge. Their families will be filled with love and the churches will be strengthened. While this is very important, the clergy may either be unprepared or unskilled to meet the demands of pastoral care. One reason for this is that the seminary studies do not adequately prepare the pastor in this area. While the emphasis on church leadership and 1 administration, evangelism, applying proper hermeneutical and homiletical principles in the exegesis of biblical texts and delivering 2 of sermons is important, neglecting the provision of pastoral care produces a minister that is intellectually sound but socially disconnected. He will “rightly divide the word of truth” but be irrelevant to the needs of the parishioners thus making his ministry ineffective. Using secondary sources, this paper explored the biblical mandate of pastoral visitation by incorporating an African philosophy called “ubuntu” (humanity towards others, or I am because you are). The application of this philosophy not only makes it easier for the minister to do visitations but also communicates the high value that the cleric ascribes to his members. The paper highlights the importance of pastoral visitation, as a means of nurturing members' psycho-social and spiritual health which impacts positively in family relationships. 2.0 Pastoral Visitation Defined Pastoral visitation is the “ministry of presence” which the minister does to his members and the neighbourhood by personally extending the love of Jesus Christ to them. Prime and Alistair opined that this type of visitation is more than a “social call in that the pastor 126 125