“It is 12:05 PM, and I am on the phone waiting for my class attendees to each check in,” says Pastor Jeff Marquardt, Lake Norman Lutheran Church, in Denver, North Carolina.
“Participants for our See Through the Scriptures teleconferencing classes include a gentleman who works out of his home, a man who works for a corporation in Charlotte, a woman employed by a Richmond (Virginia) company, a lady who lives in a town
20 miles away but has no transportation for weekday activities at church, retirees who call in from home, and people who have no other way to be in a small group study. A truck driver who can phone in from anywhere in the country may be joining us soon.
“Class members have a STS study manual, workbook, and/or notepad to use while they are listening . . . and for review and further study on their own later!
“We begin our teleconference with a brief review of the previous week’s study, and then proceed to discuss the next lesson. So far the folks have been pretty literate when it comes to Bible knowledge, so I feel that I have the luxury of ‘cherry-picking’ questions from the workbook that I think will generate good phone discussions. I try to keep my lecture time to a minimum, which describes my teaching style in general. We wrap up the lesson and discussion by 12:40 PM, close with prayer after seeking prayer requests, and participants hang up.
“I consider this teleconferencing method a great alternative to our other types of small group Bible studies held at our church. We initially advertised this through our Sunday morning worship announcements, on our small group bulletin board in the narthex, and via our website – and we look forward to the continuation of many teleconferencing opportunities.
“The Crossways International materials so nicely lend themselves to what we discuss in each lesson because of both the visual and verbal components. Both the right and left brained types are covered! Thank you!” concludes Pastor Marquardt.
