“Visitor.” I hate that term. It carries a sense of non-belonging or anti-kinship. I understand that they are called “visitors” because they “are just passing through” or “worship somewhere else on a regular basis.” Yet we would not dare call our own family members “visitors” when they come to see us! This term sends faulty, misguided, and unscriptural messages when used to talk about our transient brothers and sisters in Christ.
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
-Acts 2:46-47
God is making additions to His church every time a non-believer or a misguided disciple learns the way of Christ more fully and then puts on Christ in baptism. In Acts 18:26, Apollos stands as an example of a misguided disciple of Jesus who needed further teaching since he only understood the baptism of John the Baptist. God, not man, is responsible for adding this new person to the church. They do not transfer their “membership” to another congregation because they belong to the same “one Body” Paul talks about in Ephesians 4:4-6.
There is one Body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
In 2010, my family visited Melaka, during a tour of Malaysia during our summer break. We arrived in the city during the week and began to immerse ourselves in the local culture. We were very unimpressed with Melaka until Sunday morning. After a rough night’s sleep, we nearly decided to hold a little worship ourselves instead of meeting with the local family. Thankfully, we determined we were being “toonsies" as my dad would say (think wusses) about the lack of sleep and “girded our loins” instead. As we showed up to the store front (Malaysian churches are not allowed to have buildings of their own), we were engulfed by the local Christians. Since we were simply expecting to be greeted, this took us by great surprise. After the worship service was over, we were invited to lunch where the locals refused to let us even take out our wallet! After lunch, we received a breakfast invitation at a nearby restaurant and a supper invite for Monday night at one of their homes and a breakfast invitation for Tuesday! This congregation was saying, “You are one of us. You belong here.” In short, we were treated like FAMILY not visitors. Our outlook on Melaka changed literally in 1-day - a day with His people!
When Christians are traveling through, let us treat them as though they belong. These immersed believers are part of the same Family as Christians in the local congregation…God’s Family. As we treat them as such, we honor God, we send a message of solidarity to any non-believers in attendance, and we may just encourage everyone to walk with or closer to our Father.