How to Start a Bible Telephone Line in Your Area

Telephone Bible Teaching Ministry Guide

What is the Telephone Bible Teaching ministry?

This ministry provides a concise teaching on the daily Mass readings to people willing to dial a local phone number each day. It encourages them to go to Mass frequently. Additionally, it allows them to leave prayer intentions that are important to them on the line.

Why should I take part in this ministry?

If you believe the Mass

• is making present Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary,
• is the greatest prayer,
• is receiving Jesus’ body and blood,

then a ministry which helps people go to Mass and live the Mass is an extremely important ministry.

If you believe that the Bible readings at Mass are

• the word of God,
• the truth,
• life-changing,
• healing and up_building,

then a ministry which provides a teaching on the daily Mass readings is a privilege and a joy.

When did the Bible Telephone Line ministry begin?

Fr. Al Lauer founded this ministry in 1991 in Cincinnati, and these teachings quickly spread to other cities.

Who teaches on the Bible Telephone Line?

Fr. Al continued as the primary teacher until shortly before his death. In the summer of 2002 with his health deteriorating, Fr. Al asked Wayne and Darlene Davis to begin teaching a couple of times a week. At the 1999 Presentation Ministries Bible Institute, both had been commissioned by Fr. Al to teach the Bible. In October, 2002, a week before his death he completely passed this ministry to them.

How can I establish a Bible Telephone Line in my city?

• Pray for God's will about setting up a Bible Telephone Line.
• Form a team to support this ministry with you. Although a Bible Telephone Line can be handled by one person, a team is more effective in praying, financing, publicizing, and performing the daily tasks - especially on a long term basis.

How do I setup a Bible Telephone Line using a voice mailbox and 3-way calling?

A voice mailbox service can probably be obtained from your local telephone company. The voice mailbox can be connected to a telephone number in your home, or it can be a "stand alone" voice mailbox that is only used to play and receive messages. In either case, the telephone number should be dedicated to playing the Bible Telephone Line teaching 24 hours a day.

The advantages to a voice mailbox are:

• never a busy signal, several callers can call at one time
• highest quality recordings
• It is possible to set up a Bible Telephone Line in a city other than where you live
• Easy to transfer to another person while retaining the same number

Make sure the voice mailbox you get supports at least a 4 minute greeting or outgoing message. Also be sure to set your voice mailbox to answer in the fewest number of rings possible.

You will also need a 3-way calling feature on the phone which is used to update the message.

What is the daily procedure of operation?

In order to be available before early morning Mass, the Bible Telephone message should be updated the evening before - anytime after 6:00 PM Eastern time. It is important to choose a consistent time to update so that callers will know how long they have each day before the message is changed.

1. Call your voice mailbox to check for new prayer requests or messages left by callers. Write these messages for later use.
2. Press the number to tell your voice mailbox you want to record a new outgoing greeting. (Directions vary with different companies.)
3. Call the main Presentation Ministries Bible Telephone Line - using your 3-way calling feature, (859) 291-7000.
4. The next day's teaching will start playing via the 3-way call and will record as your outgoing greeting. A mute button on your phone will eliminate background noise.
5. When the teaching has finished recording, press the digits that tell your mailbox to save the new greeting. Disconnect from the 3-way call.
6. Since you are still connected to the main Bible Telephone Line you may now leave the messages you wrote down from your mailbox.

If you have a ministry team it is good to rotate the daily transferring of the message among several people so that you will have a backup when you are not available.

What is the cost of running a Bible Telephone Line?

Costs can vary greatly depending on what city you live in, how much you pay for long distance calls, and the type of advertising you choose to do. The following is a loose estimate. You can get cost estimates from your local phone company that will be more accurate.

Voice mailbox ($12 - $20 per month)		$144	to	$240
Long distance ($.35 - $.50 per day)		$128	to	$183
3-way calling ($4 - $5 a month)		$48	to	$60
Publicity		$50	to	$200
Total yearly cost		$370	to	$683

How do I publicizing my Bible Telephone Line?

Publicity is very important! It is important to do a lot of publicity to begin a Bible Telephone Line, but ongoing publicity is necessary for the ministry to be effective. People must be informed about the line before they will call. Most people need more than one reminder to form a habit of calling on a regular basis - which is your goal.

The main way to publicize your Bible Telephone Line is to print and distribute business size publicity cards. Presentation Ministries can handle the printing of the cards for you or you can do it yourself.

Every November Presentation Ministries sends a letter and two cards publicizing your Bible Telephone Line to PM's mailing list in and around your city. A similar mailing is done whenever a new line begins. This letter allows recipients to order various quantities of extra cards to which you must be ready to respond.

We suggest:

• Mail cards to individual acquaintances
• Ask people to distribute several cards to their church, prayer group, workplace, youth group, Bible study, local Catholic bookstore, etc. Try to form a team of distributors.
• Hand out cards as people leave Mass
• Mail cards to those that request them by leaving a message on your local Bible Telephone Line.
• Publish your Bible Telephone Line number in surrounding parish bulletins and newsletters
• Publish the Bible Telephone Line number in the local diocesan newspaper or other local newspaper.
• Make use of free public service announcements on radio.

For additional information contact:

Darlene Davis
(317) 462-5010
bibleline@presentationministries.com

Order videotape V-66 to learn more about why the Telephone Bible Teaching Ministry is important.