Memikirkan Ulang Model Kunjungan Pastoral dalam Konteks Jemaat Pedesaan di BNKP

Abstract

Pastoral visits are an essential tradition in the ministry of the church. Traditionally, the pastor carries out this ministry by visiting the parishioners according to their needs. However, this one-way visit is not always carried out effectively. In various rural congregations in Nias, there has been uncomfortable feel among the parishioners and the pastor regarding this traditional pastoral visit. This situation arises because the parishioners feel unworthy to welcome the pastor’s visit. In contrast, the discomfort of the pastor arises because the “social welcoming” of the congregation to the pastor when doing a visit is seen as a “luxury”thing for the village community. This article explores the underlying factors that make congregation members feel “uncomfortable” and “unworthy” of welcoming a pastoral visit of the pastor and vice versa. After that, we offer an approach that is more relevant to the context of rural congregations concerning pastoral visits. Therefore, it is urgent to rethink pastoral visits, which have been one-way in nature, into two-way pastoral visits and interactions.