Do You Have A Calling For A Ministry From God?
If you have a calling to begin a ministry to help people in crisis that need the message of salvation from the Bible, consider the following. We are here to help you develop a personal ministry for either ordained ministers or laypersons.

We at Love Lines are pleased that the Lord has led you to consider the establishment of a Biblical, Christian telephone counseling ministry.

People of all ages and backgrounds have tremendous problems today and need a Holy Spirit-empowered person to talk with - and the telephone offers a quick, convenient and economical tool to minister to them.

A telephone counseling ministry will enable trained volunteers to share their faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ. They will provide spiritual emotional and physical healing through the work of the Holy Spirit and will grow in their walk with God by doing the work of the ministry.

As the Lord leads you into a similar ministry, we at Love Lines want to be of help in this powerful spiritual endeavor. We have established an e-mail/fax international network for prayer requests, training and fellowship. We would be happy to include you in this wonderful fellowship.

OVERVIEW OF LOVE LINES

Love Lines was started as a part-time, volunteer ministry over two decades ago under the specific direction of the Holy Spirit. Dan Morstad and four other volunteers began the ministry by being willing to help others and by being available to answer the telephone call for help. The ministry grew under the direction and leadership of the Holy Spirit for five years before Dan stepped out in faith as the first paid employee in the position of Director.

The Love Lines ministry has been operating since 1972. In the ensuing years, over 1,500,000 individuals have called for help and a word of hope. In 1999 over 75,000 calls were received, resulting in 2,000 salvations at the Minneapolis center alone. All telephone counselors have received extensive training live and via videotape. This training is available in print form, at a nominal charge. Director training is available on the Internet, on videotape and audiocassettes.

From the beginning, this ministry was a calling from the Lord. Individuals need to be called to a telephone counseling ministry. That fact has not changed from the first day to the present time. What has changed is the training. Volunteers need to be trained carefully to serve effectively and provide meaningful assistance to all individuals who call in for help.

Love Lines has been successful because people were open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are committed to excellence in four critical areas:
Prayer, intercession and worship
Ministry on the telephone
Teaching
Fund raising
Other telephone counseling ministries can use Love Lines as a successful "model" to follow.

THE LOVE LINES GLOBAL VISION

The Holy Spirit gave Love Lines a vision and challenge that is global in scope. It is to encourage the establishment of 360 telephone counseling centers throughout major metropolitan cities of the world. The vision is to have two established telephone counseling centers in each country. In turn, the people ministering in those centers can provide the prayers, vision and support to start centers in other communities or countries.

Love Lines provides the "model" of a successful center, provides video and audio training and a printed manual to be used with the video tapes. In addition, Love Lines will be available for advice and counsel via the Internet, e-mail, long distance telephone, FAX and postal mail.

HOW ANY LOCAL GROUP CAN START A
TELEPHONE COUNSELING MINISTRY

First, there needs to be a calling from the Holy Spirit that a telephone counseling ministry should be established. Second, a local church ministry or established parachurch ministry will provide the undergirding of prayer, ministry and leadership.

Based on Love Lines' experience, the ministry can start out as a small as one dedicated telephone line. Growth can take place as the Holy Spirit leads, one telephone line at a time or many. The key requirement is telephone availability for individuals when they have a need, eventually leading to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A Director will need to be selected and appointed for this specific ministry. The individual needs to be specifically called by the Holy Spirit, have the time available, management skills and be a person of vision. Volunteers must have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, be trainable and open to direction by the Director and other volunteers with demonstrated spiritual wisdom.

Based on Love Lines' experience, the Director should be a paid, part-time position at the start and then go to a full-time position as the calls dictate and the local funding is secured. The primary work of the ministry will be through unpaid volunteers but the leadership should come from a paid Director.

WHAT LOVE LINES WILL DO TO HELP

Love Lines will share its experience and spiritual support by providing:
Director's Video training - currently 6 hours of training
on how to operate a successful telephone counseling ministry.
A printed manual of instructions - used in conjunction
with the video training - with copies of all forms.
Advice and counsel via the Internet, e-mail, telephone and FAX as requested by the local telephone counseling ministry.
A "tie-in" with all other telephone counseling ministries
throughout the world, through our global network fellowship.

WHAT THE LOCAL MINISTRY NEEDS TO DO

The local church or established parachurch ministry will provide the local spiritual and organizational leadership. In addition, the local ministry will:
Select a paid, part-time or full-time Director.
Support the Director in recruiting qualified volunteers.
Raise the funds needed to pay for the Director,
telephone lines, training materials and housing of a
location where the telephone counselling wil take place.

Note: An existing telephone, at the local church or established parachurch ministry location, can be utilized at the start of the telephone counseling ministry. Further, a paid staff person from the local church or established parachurch ministry can be selected as the Director - provided he/she has the calling of the Holy Spirit to be involved in the telephone counseling ministry.

NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR CENTERS IS AVAILABLE
FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS CENTER.
EACH CENTER MUST BE SELF-SUPPORTING.


NEXT STEPS . . . SUMMARY

Pray for confirmation from the Holy Spirit to establish a telephone counseling and intercession ministry.
Obtain and read the Director Training Manual.
Have the Director study the training materials.
Fund the Director position. (We teach fund-raising techniques).
The Director can contact Love Lines for advice, counsel, prayer and fellowship via the Internet, e-mail, long distance telephone and/or FAX transmittals.

LOVE LINES, INC.
2535 Central Avenue, NE
Minneapolis, Minnesota  55418 USA

Telephone (612) 379-1199FAX (12) 782-8880
E-mail: <missions@lovelines.org>
Website: <http://www.lovelines.org>
Love Lines, Inc.