Preaching the Truth Electronically

Paul was a true opportunist. He used every help available to him to spread the the Gospel.

Today we find that we have many different avenues available to us that were unheard of in Paul’s day.

One of the most exciting ways that is now being used is by the use of the telephone answering equipment with a recorded Bible message telling those who call the Good News of the coming King­dom.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the brethren and sisters in the ‘Westerly, Rhode Island ecclesia who, so far as we know, were the first to install and use this system. We believe that the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ecclesia was next and now there are many ecclesias in the United States and Canada now preaching the Truth electronically.

Brother James Beebe has sent us a report telling us how it all began. He says, “The Westerly Ecclesia is very small but very energetic in the Truth — only 13 members and for us it seemed to be a tremendous undertaking to have such a responsible program. We got together and made plans first to purchase the device (Sanyo Telephone Answering System M-139N). Now the work began. We thought that before we went on the telephone that we ought to have telephone talks to last a month because we change tapes every day. We asked everyone, sisters included, to write 21/₂ minute talks on any subject that we had pamphlets for and received pledges of one tape per week from at least seven brethren and sisters. Our goal of thirty tapes was reached and we began to advertise in the local paper.

We were soon recognized in the town of Westerly as the program “The Bible Speaks.” We knew that we had made an impression when one of the Westerly churches put on a telephone talk to counteract our influence. We have now been on the line about 3 years and we receive on the average of about 10-15 calls a day. Requests for literature run about one percent of the calls. We use the names and addresses as a mailing list for invitations to our special lectures. Indirectly we have had several baptisms. We are happy to know that what we are doing is bringing the word of Truth to those who maybe seeking it. After all, our Bro. Noah preached a lot longer than we ever will and had no results at all so we are encouraged.

Now as to the mechanics of the program, this is how we work it. Our telephone and recording and playing device is placed in the home of our Bro. Perry and Sis. Lanphear. Bro. Frank Locke and Bro. James Beebe do the recording which is done by microphone on an ordinary tape recorder. The recorded names and addresses and requests are played back at the end of the day and Sis. Shirley has a calendar on which she records each day the number of calls and requests. She then takes the addresses and requests and records them on a file card and either sends them out herself or delegates it to another sister.”

Bro. Gar Cooper and Bro. Peter Cooper of the Pittsburgh Ecclesia helped the ecclesias in Southern California get started by providing them with helpful suggestions as to how they did their tapes which are similar to the way it is done in ‘Westerly.

A great number of ecclesias are now using this method and finding the response overwhelming. Quite a few advertise in the personal section of the newspaper a small three line ad giving the phone number to call to get a taped message on whatever subject is current at the moment. In many ecclesias the message stays the same for some time, even up to a month. The message usually has to do with current events such as the conflict between Iran and Iraq or will Russia invade Israel. Some ecclesias offer the Bible Correspondence course and as a result many have completed the courses and are now receiving private studies or are attending ecclesial Bible classes.

The beauty of this form of preaching is that even one person can do it and the cost is not that great. After the purchase of the recording equipment, the only cost is the ad in the paper and the telephone charge each month for a phone. That particular phone is never used for making calls so the charge is minimal.

There really is something we can do to preach the truth, even if we live in isolation and even if we are few in number. There are so many ecclesias now using this system that anyone wanting to install an answering machine in their own home can receive expert advice and even copies of the taped messages or even the tapes themselves ready to use. The work begins when the responses are listened to and the literature is mailed out. Westerly reports that they now have a listening audience of about 15,000 people. In Southern California the response to the small ads in the personal section of the newspaper far exceeded the response from TV commercials that cost many times more to produce and air.

In these last days before the coming of our Messiah, it behooves each of us to do what we can right where we are with what we have and here is a way to tell a dying world that the Bible has the answer to their problems.