Its leaders listen to the homebound members. The homebound-friendly-church is a listening church. Volunteers who visit with the homebound might use their own cell phones to show a recorded worship service or video greetings from the church. The visionary church will use the technology that the homebound are comfortable using so they can be fully engaged. They may not have computers or cell phones. Some older homebound members may not have adopted the latest and greatest technology. These assessments can be as simple as a mail or phone survey, or they may involve a visit with pastoral staff.Ī great homebound ministry takes advantage of appropriate technology to connect with its members. One of the best ways of listening is to do periodic assessments of what the homebound need and what they would like to offer the church. Older-adult church members make excellent volunteers for this ministry, and it requires little training and cost. They make phone calls during the week to check on the mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing of the homebound members. These are volunteers who are trained to hear when something is wrong. By receiving Communion from volunteers who visit their homes, the homebound church members develop new friendships and meaningful connections.Īnother way of providing church is through volunteer “Comfort Callers” for the homebound. They miss their friends and the fellowship of other church members. The homebound need to have fellowship brought to them. One way of taking church to the homebound is through volunteer Communion visitors or Eucharistic ministers who deliver both Communion and community to those who are confined to their homes. The visionary church says, “If our homebound members are unable to come to church, let’s take the church to them.”
Fortunately, there are a few churches that take a visionary approach to their homebound members. In other churches, these once-active members receive a few visits a year from pastoral staff and volunteers, but they are largely unknown to most of the congregation. In some churches, the homebound (who are primarily older adults and their caregivers) may be forgotten, ignored, or misunderstood. However, they also offer substantial gifts to the community of faith.
Generally, though, the homebound do provide challenges to the church, because they require specialized care. They are known as the homebound or shut-ins, both of which are inadequate terms because they address people’s limitations rather than their gifts. Every church has them: once-active church members who now have limitations (temporary or permanent) that have reduced their involvement in church.
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