Let Your Congregation Talk to a Foreign Missionary Overseas!

by   T. C. Pinckney                                                                                                                                                             Vol. VII, No. 7, September 1994

Recently I heard that Pastor David Johnson of Rileyville Baptist Church had arranged for his congregation to talk over the phone (really long distance!) with a missionary on the field last fall during the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering drive. Individuals were able to ask questions of the missionary and receive immediate replies. Everyone was excited. The missionary knew the folks at home cared. And the church's Lottie Moon Offering went way over the top!

YOUR church can do the same thing this fall. All it costs is the price of the overseas call, but these days that's not nearly as expensive as it used to be. I contacted the Foreign Mission Board in Richmond and was sent the following information.

The Foreign Mission Board encourages churches to set up live phone conversations between the congregation and a foreign missionary. The most important key is to contact your missionary in advance in order to agree on an exact time and day for the call. Keep in mind the time zone difference and make certain the missionary can be by the phone prior to the call.

For many church situations, an acceptably audible conversation can be obtained by simply using a normal speaker phone found in many homes. Simply place a microphone by the phone for amplification. Or you may wish to pursue a more elaborate setup which your phone company can assist with.

Have some preliminary questions in hand to ask the missionary. And provide some time for your people to ask questions also. Make sure you ask the missionary for his or her prayer requests, and ask them about what the Lottie Moon offering means to them.

Please don't just stop with a phone call. Pray for your special missionary and family on a continuous basis. Drop them a note and share your church's dreams as you hear of the missionary's challenges.

If you need the names and numbers of the missionaries, simply write the Customer Services Department of the FMB [now the IMB, International Missions Board] at Box 6767, Richmond, V A 23230, or call 800-866-FMB 1. Ask for the Overseas Personnel Directory to select the names and addresses of your phone call partners around the world. Once you've decided on a missionary, the Customer Services Department can give you a phone number for that family. Thanks for all you do to encourage and support our missionaries.

Hey, is that exciting, or what! A live conversation like that can give your folks a real sense of personal participation and make the Cooperative Program come alive to them. But don't delay. You need to make the arrangements well in advance. Just be sure you and the missionary clearly understand the exact time of the call in both time zones. He can probably make some good suggestions as to the break-the-ice questions of interest to lots of people.

Merry Christmas, and let's go over the top on Lottie Moon!