I told my son the other day I was making a house visit to one of our guests. He gave me the impression that personal visits were passe’ in our digital age. His only response was “Why?”. Thus this post.
If you are making in person visits, keep these 3 things in mind.
1. Take someone with you
In both of these visitation cases, I brought the students who brought the guests, I did this so the person we were visiting would be most comfortable when I, a stranger, showed up. This also gives you time to spend with some of your youth group kids. I usually schedule the visit around a meal time so I can take those who join me for lunch or dinner.
2. Make the gift you bring of value, but not too valuable.
The bag I brought had $5 worth of stuff in it. I did not include expensive items, etc. because that would be like asking your first date if they would like to marry you. A pricey gift could embarrass a kid, so I keep it simple and personable.
3. Respect boundaries
I never expect a guest to invite me into their home. Most of what we are there to do can be done on the porch/steps, I also respect a student’s time. I am there to do 3 things
1. Thank them for coming
2. Connect in personal conversation
3. Give them a reason to come back.
A normal visit for me is about 5-7 minutes and the bonus blessing is if I get to meet the parents.
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How about you? Do you do home visits? Are they passe’ in this digital age?
Do you bring some goodies with you? If so? What do you give them?
I would love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment below.