Feebleness, accessibility and other factors keep some senior adults out of contact with their local church. But ministers say it doesn’t have to keep the church from contacting them.
Ministers to seniors at several Alabama Baptist churches said telephone conferencing to conduct Sunday School classes for seniors — a ministry that has already proven successful in other states — could be beneficial in reaching a segment of the church whose needs are often not met. And at least one Baptist church in Alabama is already making plans to implement such a ministry.
Mark Seanor, minister to seniors at First Baptist Church in Huntsville, said his church is planning to begin contacting seniors through conference calls as early as late February.
“We have already checked with the phone service we are using and have all that information,” he said. “Right now we are compiling a list of our homebound folks; our plans are to try this for a while and then evaluate.”
Seanor said the format will not necessarily consist of a traditional Sunday School lesson.
The church plans to have the pastor call seniors before he preaches during the congregation’s live television broadcast, Seanor said. During the call, he will ask them how they are doing, share his sermon topic for that morning, Scripture references and ask them to follow along during the service.
“We will also have a brief devotion for that day,” Seanor said. “Our thoughts are to begin slow and then evaluate this new ministry. Many times just a word and prayer from their pastor means so much.”
Seanor said First, Huntsville, may expand the length of the telephone calls and format after evaluating the new ministry.
The pastor of another Alabama church, First Baptist Church in Opelika, also believes contacting seniors via telephone could help in keeping them connected with the church.
“Some of our seniors are homebound and it would be beneficial for them to be in contact with someone to encourage them,” said Henry Bailey, minister to seniors at First, Opelika.
Bailey said along with visiting homebound senior adults and taking them food, First, Opelika, members also frequently call to check on them. He said homebound seniors are a group who sometimes get left out of the life of the church and believes telephone conferencing is a way to address their needs.
Andrew Holder, president of LifeTree Enterprises in Shawnee, Kan., which provides conferencing services for churches, said the idea of using telephone conferencing to conduct Sunday School classes is not new.
Holder said First Baptist Church in Raytown, Mo., and Nall Avenue Baptist Church in Prairie Village, Kan., have conducted a regular ministry via telephone for more than 20 years.
“These Sunday School classes are just like those that meet in the building,” Holder said.
Doyle Taylor, associate pastor emeritus at First Baptist Church in Raytown, Mo., said as many as 30 seniors have been enrolled at one time in that church’s telephone ministry.
Taylor said the ministry involves an operator calling each senior on Sunday mornings at a set time. Once every member has been called, Taylor comes on the line for the lesson, during which members sing a hymn, share prayer requests and he teaches a lesson.
“It gives those people a connection with the church they’d never have otherwise,” Taylor said.
Following the Sunday School class via the telephone, he said homebound seniors can watch the worship service live on television. “That gives them an opportunity to experience both Sunday School and church,” Taylor said.
Jim O’Dillon, minister of education at Spring Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, also was excited about the idea. While Spring Hill currently has no plans to implement such a ministry, he said it’s important to do whatever is necessary to assure someone is ministering to older members.
“It helps them stay connected at a time when their physical limitations may keep them from coming to church,” O’Dillon said.
Holder said the ministry can also be used for other church members.
While most telephone class members are senior adults unable to attend church on site, he said contacting church members who are confined to their homes is an excellent way to reach them.
“Anyone who is physically disabled, recovering from illness or surgery, or is the primary caregiver for an elderly parent, is a prospect for the telephone class,” he said. “A telephone Sunday School class can also be an important component of a church’s homebound ministry.”
Seanor said making sure the needs of homebound members are met is important whether they will only be at home for several weeks, several months or longer.
“Both groups need the church’s care and love,” he said. “A phone ministry like this can provide a weekly touch from their church and leaders.
“Keeping them informed as to what is going on in the church and how they can still be a part of it is important,” Seanor said.
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