First and foremost, there is no urgency to make a decision about beginning a correspondence course in your area. Current students (9,000) have received notification that they will continue being ministered to by the Mailbox Club. The Mailbox Club is already incorporating the students into their system. There is ample time for discussion with state boards, local committees, staff and volunteers. This will allow you to strategically consider the long-term effects of launching a correspondence course in your state or local chapter.
Last week we provided three options for proceeding with a correspondence course.
- Option 1: Purchase Bible lessons from CEF Press® and manage your own Truth Chasers Club. (IHQ is not staffed to be able to offer support.)
- Option 2: Obtain from the Mailbox Club sign-up post cards (or some other tool) so that children in your area will be enrolled and serviced by the Mailbox Club headquarters in Valdosta, Georgia.
- Option 3: Purchase Bible lessons from the Mailbox Club and have your own Mailbox Club on the field. The Mailbox Club offers a software program to manage the student information, training, and some support. The Mailbox Club prefers this option, but they are willing to help with option two as well.
If the decision is made to start a correspondence course in your chapter/state, USA Ministries recommends option 3. This recommendation comes after reviewing the options in more detail and hearing from the field. If you want to launch a correspondence course, working through Mailbox Club makes the most sense because of the tools they provide -- software, training, resources available and other support. The information and FAQs below provide more information.
THE MAILBOX CLUB Here are some reasons why USA Ministries recommends the Mailbox Club for correspondence course ministry. The Mailbox Club offers the following support for running a state or local correspondence course:
- Student Tracking System (database)--$100 annual fee includes routine updates and basic technical support
- Training via SKYPE
- Lessons (see the downloadable order form). View samples on their website.
- Startup kits and custom kits (p. 1 of order form)
- Grading keys (see the order form).
- Promotional, Administrative and Certificate supplies (p. 12 of order form)
- Spanish courses (p. 9 of order form)
In addition to paper lessons anyone with Internet access can enroll through MBC "lessons online" web site and complete Bible studies electronically.
MBC has provided you with their order form. Download it at cefonline.com. Log in as staff and search "Mailbox Club Order Form" or follow
this link.
TRUTH CHASER CLUB LESSONS
- Download the order form for TCC lessons for information on pricing and availability.
- Grading keys will be available for download.
- CEF IHQ is not able to offer support for a field operated Truth Chasers Club.
General Questions about Operating a Correspondence Ministry
1. What costs are associated with operating a correspondence course? These are some areas you want to consider:
a.Inventory of lessons
b.Inventory of prizes and awards for finishing series
c.Postage for outgoing lessons and prizes/awards
d.Computer needs (equipment, database management)
e.Space (inventory and operations: grading, data entry, prep mail areas)
f.Fixtures (desks, chairs, tables, office equipment)
g.Training materials for volunteers
2. How much does it cost for postage? The cost of a first-class stamp.
3. What kind of manpower is needed? Volunteers must manage the program, otherwise staff will lose time for the face-to-face ministries of training, promotion, Good News Club, 5-Day Club, etc.
4. How will I know where to start a student? Students that were active with TCC have been notified and transferred to the Mailbox Club. Each student starting with a state/local correspondence course will be starting as a new student in a lesson series appropriate for their age group.
5. How do I get children enrolled? MBC provides sign-up tools (online and postcards). Using TCC lessons, you need to create your own vehicle for signing up students.
6. How much time is required to set up? To set up a correspondence course from scratch is time consuming. To have an effective CEF ministry (Good News Club, training, 5-Day Club, promotion) the correspondence course must be set up and managed by volunteers.
7. How do I report statistics for a correspondence course? R-11 in the USA Organizational Manual provides instructions for recording statistics for correspondence course ministry.
8. Do volunteers in a correspondence course ministry need to be screened for child protection? If the volunteers are working in CEF ministry and have contact with children, even by mail, they need to be screened according to the CEF USA Ministries Child Protection Policy. They also will need to sign the annual Worker's Compliance Agreement.
9. If our state/local chapter decides not to have a correspondence course, what are the other options for discipleship? The correspondence course has always been one of several tools for discipleship. CEF USA Ministries continues the commitment to our three-fold purpose of evangelizing, discipling and establishing in a local church. Good News Club is an evangelistic and discipleship ministry. Also, as we help to establish children in local churches, that too provides opportunity for discipleship. Wonder Devotional Books and the new weekly quiet time sheets (still in development) are also considered discipleship tools.
FAQ Specific to Truth Chaser Club Lessons
1. What if I have questions about how to manage TCC lessons (setting up a database, etc.)? CEF IHQ is not able to offer support in this area. IHQ is only able to offer lessons to purchase and provide the grading keys.
2. Will IHQ provide a list of students and what TCC lesson series they are in? Current students have been taken care of by the Mailbox Club and IHQ. The 9,000 active students have received notice that the Mailbox Club is now serving them. IHQ cannot provide additional lists of students to local chapters.
3. What if a child was almost finished with a TCC lesson series and was close to being awarded a Bible? If a child was one or two lessons away (as of Oct 1, 2015) from earning a Bible, IHQ is sending one with their name engraved on it. Bibles will ship in February and March to allow time to complete the engraving and packing.
4.
How many TCC lessons are needed to run a correspondence course? There are nine levels and six TCC lessons per level. That's a total of 54 TCC lessons for kids ages 5 - 17. See
the download for the list of lessons and age groups.
5. What is the cost of TCC lessons? $24.00 per bundle (sold only in bundles of 100) plus shipping.
6. Do I need to buy all the lessons at once? That is not necessary. Typically you will find that the first two lessons in the series are the most used because many students do not complete a lesson series.
7. How do I get TCC lessons? Use the order form provided for helpful instructions.
8. How soon may I order lessons? Orders may be placed in February 2016. They will begin shipping in March 2016.
9. Can I order 10 TCC lessons of each series to get started? The lessons are sold in bundles of 100 only.
10. Do I need to adjust my budget? Most likely, as there will be additional expenses. Remember budget changes may need to be approved by the state board. (See section 600.3 of the USA Organizational Manual V 3.0)
11. Can I get TCC lessons printed with our local/state address? Custom printing is not available.
12. Can I have the artwork for TCC lesson files so that I can add my address? For several reasons, files are not transferrable.
13. How will children know where to return the TCC lessons? You will want to supply a return envelope or instructions on how to return the lessons in an envelope.
14. How can we grade TCC lessons and manage the correspondence course in addition to other CEF ministry? The only way it can feasibly be done efficiently is through faithful volunteers managing and running the program.
15. Where can I get help to know about TCC lessons? CEF IHQ offers a list of the lessons available for purchase and grading keys.
16. What do I do with the TCC STARTER lessons? They must be recycled. They cannot be used, because they have business reply mail directed to Warrenton.
17. What should be done with the tracts that contain invitations to join the Truth Chaser's Club? You will want to remove the TCC portion of the tract before distributing so that responses are not being sent to Warrenton as we are closing the BRM (business reply mail) service.
18. What should be done with other material that contains TCC promotional references? A team will be reviewing these products in the near future.
19. May I use the TCC logo and registered trademark name? The logo and registered trademark continue to be property of CEF Inc. You may continue to use them following the style guide and graphics standards manual.
20. How will I know where to start a student in TCC lessons? Each student starting with a state/local TCC correspondence course will be starting as a new student in a lesson series appropriate for their age group.
21. How long will IHQ offer the discounted TCC lessons with the BRM marked out? Only as long as supplies last. Orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please refer to the TCC lesson order form for more information.
