This program or priesthood duty has been around for some time. A good 100 years at least in more or less the same format that is currently present. The corresponding program for the Women of the church called Visiting Teaching has also been around for an equally long time.
The Basic idea behind home teaching is that one or more priesthood holders are assigned to a family (can be anything from an individual to more individuals) to visit on a monthly basic. The idea is to visit them at least once during the month and more if there are any special needs or the like. They assess the spiritual and physical needs of the family and pass this information back up to the their group leadership. That information can then be passed on to the local unit leadership if additional assistance or follow-up is deemed necessary.
The church is well know for keeping track of its members. Much more so then a lot of other churches out there. For a detailed record is kept of the member and this follows the member around as they move the world over. Units in Asia for example don't have to guess if a person is a member. They simply request their records and they then know their standing. If you move back to Utah then they would request your record as well. Technology developed over the last 50 or so years has surely helped in this process. Though record keeping has been important from the moment the church started.
This is a very basic and simple thing that helps keep uniformity within the church. And ever member is assigned to a unit based on a geographical region. Does not mean I can not ever attend another unit outside my area. However, certain things can not be handled without ones record. Since this is based on area you have to see your leader in your area and not the neighboring city, county or state.
WE DO NOT CHOSE WHERE WE ATTEND SERVICES BASED ON THE PASTOR or WHO IS SPEAKING (this changes from week to week anyways).
So as we have stewardship over our fellow members we are very unique.
We do not have a perfect system since there are human beings involved. People moved and don't tell someone and in reality sometimes we just don't get out and do our visits. We get caught up with other things in life like work, family and the list goes on.
I do remember though once a local leader of the church was able to go to some type of forum or religious panel for high school students as a representative of the church. At this meeting a pastor of another denomination was impressed by the whole structure of the youth and home teaching programs. He thought he'd like to implement something similar in his church and asked a lot of details of how this was all setup. A couple months later the same two people were able to met again in a similar setting. So our church leader asked him how things went with implementing a youth and home visiting program. It is very interesting what he responded. He basically said that things started out very well. He went out and lined up a couple of people to be the youth's leaders. He also put in place the system for home visits. However, in as much as things went well the first couple of months it began to fall apart in a short period of time. People started to wonder why they needed to visit someone every month if there were regularly showing up at church services. The youth leaders not being paid caused problems. They kind of could not see volunteering so much time. The whole thing basically fell apart in as little as 6 months.
He then said that this church's new programs did not function since they lacked Priesthood Authority.
We sure do a lot of things as members of the church of Jesus Christ. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf explains this perfectly.
Yes, we do home teaching in general to a wide variety of members active and less active alike.
And many units get on average more then 50% visits per month. It can vary widely from location to location depending on the number of members and other circumstances.
The challenge is HOW DO YOU GET BETTER NUMBERS IN HOME TEACHING. OR BETTER YET...... HOW DO YOU REALLY THE MET THE NEEDS OF THE DYNAMIC MEMBERSHIP?
I'd like to talk a bit about this. In our local area we have some lack luster figures. But, are these figures true figures. In many cases there is an issues with reporting.
Could it be that people are so busy with life's challenges that they do not have the time or ability to get out visit more then 35% of those they have stewardship over. In a typical unit that means we are visiting around 2 of 6 people assigned.
So what might be the lack of motivation? If you have faith and a testimony of the Gospel some would think you would always do your home teaching. That you would have high numbers of visit on a consistent basis. But, that is not always the reality.
Are there factors that you can take into account to make sure that the number of visits is consistently better month upon month.
Here are some things to consider that might be impeding better visits.
1) People are assigned to visit someone very far away. Geographical assignments help beyond the regular visit in cases of emergency.
2) Are your assigned families all unknown. It is hard to keep yourself motivated when you are chasing people down all the time. Regular spiritual experiences are needed in this program.
3) Keep the number of assignments manageable. We all have lives and there is a point of diminishing returns
Then once we have the basics in place and any major impediments out of the way we can concentrate on why we might be getting low numbers.
For starters we need to follow up. The hallmark of the Home teaching program is that it involves individuals and families. That it is a personal program. We try as best we can to actually visit the person in their home. To actually present a spiritual message and access their needs, to be a friend for more then the 3 hours we attend church.
We have to personalize things. We have have to get beyond figures and numbers and talk about people. Once we start talking about people we will surely improve things.
Here are a few things to consider beyond the obvious to help improve the quality and as a result quantity of visits.
1) Make the undesirable desirable. Hard though possible. You have to change the way people look at doing visits, their focus, and help them see they are having some effect.
2) Utilize ability. Some may not know how to do a good home teaching visit. Do we just pass off assignments and hope for the best? Maybe you need to go with them on a visit.
3) Peer pressure. Some times we need to bring attention to our successes. That can come in many forms. As others see things are happening they will gain a desire to join the band wagon. They may even feel guilty for one reason or another.
4) We many need to hold people accountable and reward good work. Though promising donuts does not always work or seem appropriate.
5) Change the environment. That means are certain companionships not working? Does someone have a friendship already that can be used to your advantage? Maybe people are having a hard time identifying those they home teach. Providing pictures if possible might help. Attack the problem in a different way. If the old method is not working then something has to give.
Once we line up our home teaching using the above ideas we can truly become Active shepherds instead of the passive ones referred to in President Monson's talk.
"Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep.”2 He provides for us the perfect example of what a true shepherd should be."
True Shepherds By President Thomas S. Monson
"If you seek truth, meaning, and a way to transform faith into action; if you are looking for a place of belonging: Come, join with us!"
Come, Join with Us By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Second Counselor in the First Presidency
For those that want to see the blessings that come from this inspired program, come and find out. And for those that already know its benefits let's make that extra effort to get out there and bless the lives of those we have stewardship over.
Buiadh - NO - Bas
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