How to start a telephone ministry in your church

A telephone ministry is one of the most cost-effective and loving things a church can do for its elderly and housebound members. You don't need a large budget or a big team to begin — you need a plan and a willingness to be faithful. Here's how to start one that lasts.

Step 1: Identify who to call

Start by listing every member who is housebound, recently bereaved, unwell or simply isolated. Note their preferred name, their best contact number and the time of day they'd most welcome a call. This list becomes the heart of your ministry.

Step 2: Decide how often and by whom

Daily contact is ideal but hard to sustain by volunteers alone. Many churches combine an automated daily devotional call — which reaches everyone reliably — with weekly personal calls or visits from volunteers for deeper conversation. Decide what your team can genuinely maintain.

Step 3: Agree what a call includes

• A warm, personal greeting by name.
• A short devotional, scripture reading or uplifting thought.
• A simple wellbeing check — 'are you well today, or would you like someone to call?'
• A way to leave a prayer request.
• A clear next step if the person needs help.

Step 4: Put safeguarding and alerting in place

Decide in advance what happens if a member can't be reached. Who is called? How quickly? A good system alerts both the pastoral team and the member's own family the moment a call is missed, with a simple way to confirm someone is following up.

Step 5: Record consent and keep it private

Always record each member's consent before calling, and keep their details secure and separate. This protects both them and your church, and it builds trust with families.

Step 6: Start small, then grow

Begin with a handful of members and a simple routine. As confidence grows, add more. Purpose-built tools such as My Church Calls can handle the daily calling, retries, alerts and record-keeping automatically, letting your volunteers focus on the human moments that matter most.