Writer: Dina Hair
A ministry that began after a simple prayer is becoming a God-sized ministry at Martha Franks Baptist Retirement Community in Laurens, and it is having a positive effect on people from all across North America.
I prayed for ways that residents and employees at Martha Franks could become more involved in kingdom growth, and God answered the request in a perfect way for our community of faith. The day after my prayer, cottage residents Ray and Nancy Cook shared information with me about the Billy Graham Evangelistic TV Telephone Ministry in which they had participated at their church before they moved to Martha Franks.
I learned that this ministry coordinates phone centers around North America to answer calls generated by Billy Graham Association’s evangelistic programming on television. Viewers who respond to the telecast’s invitation to receive Jesus Christ dial a toll-free number and are greeted by trained volunteers who can lead them in a prayer of faith.
Ray and Nancy and I immediately began working to set up eight phone connections and a room to house the ministry. After months of planning, the TV Telephone Ministry began May 13 at Martha Franks in the HOPE Ministry Room (HOPE stands for “Helping Others Prepare for Eternity”) with 20 resident and staff volunteers.
Prior to answering calls that evening, resident Jean Phillips, a former missionary to Zimbabwe, was apprehensive about whether or not callers would be able to hear her over the phone. Her caller was a young man who said that he was going out to a bar, but his Christian roommate had encouraged him to call the number on the TV screen. Jean talked with him about his drinking, encouraged him not to go to the bar and shared the love of Christ with him. At the end of the conversation, the young man told Jean that he was so glad she was the one who had answered his call. He said he had been touched by her words and especially by her voice, because it reminded him of his grandmother. He decided not to go to the bar.
Jean shared with the residents and staff that she was humbled that God could still use her and her “croaking” voice. The thing she was most apprehensive about — her voice — was what God used to draw the young man closer to Christ.
During the first evening of our new ministry, there were 17 calls, and four of the callers accepted Christ. We are seeing firsthand that there are many lost and hurting people throughout America. God is using the senior adults and staff members at Martha Franks, who have a desire to serve, to impact others for Christ so they, too, can find hope in him.
— Dina Hair is executive director of Martha Franks Baptist Retirement Community in Laurens.