Online Church: Setting Up A Dial-In Phone Service

We are in surreal times, and in the last five weeks, how ‘church’ exists has changed beyond recognition. We cannot gather in person, so the most ministry has moved online and pastoral care to the phone. I have found it so encouraging to see the new opportunities that have been seized by churches of all sizes and styles. Yet, with opportunity comes challenge. In this new digital world, there is a real and imminent concern with how we reach those who are not digitally savvy, who lack the ‘smart’ to their phone or who even due to physical limitations some new forms of outreach are beyond them.

There have already been some excellent resources produced, and I am not claiming credit for what I am about to explain. As Ecclesiastes 1:9 reminds us ‘there is nothing new under the sun.’ As Church, we got wind of this method from Derryvolgie Parish. Thus, we had adopted it and used it accordingly. Some other useful resources and guides are already out there:

• Create A Phone Number Which Plays an MP3 using Twilio, by Paul Freeman-Powell. This is excellent but somewhat technical.
• Podcasting to those without the Internet, by Nick Holcombe. This is excellent if you have a podcast set up with an RSS Feed, but a lot more technical.
• Playing Audio using Plivo, I have not used this, but again it looks interesting.

There are options out there, I realise they can seem a bit technical for most people, so I am going to explain briefly how to set up a ‘Dial-in-service’ using VOIPfone. I have no links to this company, and I have not tried any other VOIP services to see how they would work. I found this one simple enough.

1 — You Will Need An MP3 File

The first thing that you are going to need to have is an audio file of your service. If you are putting together your own video’s, you should be able to via the export function of whatever software you are using, choose the export type. I would recommend MP3 as your preferred file. VOIP will accept either MP3 or WAV. However, MP3 tends to be smaller and more comfortable to upload. If you have an audio file and it is not an MP3, then you could use a website like:

• Convertio
• Free Audio Converter
• Online Converter

Figure out which site is best for you! The rest of this is written assuming you have an MP3 file, so please do have that before you embark on this journey!

2 — Getting Setup

1. The First thing to do is to go to the website:

Voipfone free trial.

(This is my referral link, and I am only putting it here because it is offering a free trial, I have no desire to get paid for this!)

1. After that, you will want to go to the sign-up so that you can register for an account. Voipfone Sign Up. I would note here that during sign-up, you will be asked about the business type. In the drop-down, I chose ‘charity.’ Also, when you are registering for an account, the sharp-eyed will note that you do not get asked to create a password. I did find this strange, especially in this era. They send you out a login code.
2. When the Sign-up is complete, you will get an email to whatever email you used to activate your account. Once you click that you will be shown a ‘one-time’ screen with your username (your email) and your login code/password (numeric sequence). You will need to take a note of this because you cannot change it. However, if you forget your details at a later stage, they will email you a one-off link that will again display your login code and username.
3. When you finish your registration, you will also receive an email that will give you your account number and free telephone number. It will be an 0560 number. This is the assigned dial code for VOIP numbers in the UK. Important Note: You can use in theory us this number to set up your ‘Dial-in-service.’ I will, however, assume that most people want a localised number to make it more appealable.
4. When you are registered and logged in, you should see a dashboard that looks like this:

At this point, I am going to show where to upload an MP3 file so you can test it using the free number. That way you can decide if it’s for you. After that, I will then outline how you can buy a phone number.

3 — Uploading An MP3 File

This VOIP system was not build to be an analogue podcast system; what we are doing is a bit of a work-around. But it works (in my opinion). You have the option to upload a custom voicemail message for people who phone your number; by default, the calls seem to route straight to the voicemail. Hence our custom voicemail is an MP3 of a service. There seems to be no time limit to the voicemail greeting. Our service on Sunday previous (to writing this) was about 35 minutes long. I was able to listen to it.

From the Dashboard above you want to click Services, (in the top menu, not a submenu) then you will move to another admin panel. From this Panel, you should see the menu that looks like the one on the left here. On this menu clock ‘Voicemail’ it is the 11th one from the top or bottom.

When you have clicked it, you will get an expanded menu that looks like this, From here head to ‘Upload Voicemail Greetings.’ There are two options here:

• Default Group: This is the default message, which will always play. In theory, this is the only one you will need to use.
• Closed: Via the settings, you can set hours of your business. I would suggest you do not need to…

Once on this page, click the ‘chose file’ and upload your MP3 file to both (just to be sure). You will see your filenames in purple. Then hit save, which will trigger a progress bar. Depending on your internet speed and the file size, this should not take to long to finish. You also need to give it a few seconds to properly process; then when it is done you should just see should see a progress bar is running against them and then once it is finished it should automatically go to a screen like this:

In theory, you are now ready for a ‘Dial-in-Service,’ and you can test it using the free VOIP number you have received, this was in your email, or if you go to Dashboard and then numbers, you will see it there.

4 — Buying a Local Number

I am assuming now that you have the MP3 file in place, phone the free VOIP number of your mobile or landline and are satisfied. The next thing you will want to do is rent a number with a local dial code.

First, you need to click package builder along with the Top menu again, then from there Click ‘UK Voice Numbers’ on the left-hand menu. This will expand another drop-down menu. You want to click the first one within that submenu: ‘UK Local Numbers.’ On that Screen go to ‘Add Numbers to your Package.’

On the Numbers, pop-up just works your way through:

1. Chose: Here select the number of numbers you want to rent, I assume one is enough. Then go to Step 2 — configure.

2. Configure: From here, search for your preferred dial code. In our local case, it was Banbridge (misspelt as Bambridge here). When I click my preferred dial code, it will give me a series of numbers to choose from. As far as I know, you have know chose bar what it gives you at this moment. When you have a number, go to step 3 — Checkout.

3. Checkout: Setup your preferred billing information. Billing Address & Invoice address, the card that you will be using. Then confirm and pay.

Once you have paid for the number, it will be linked to your account. As long as you have done everything according to the outline here, if someone rings that number, then it will go straight to the voicemail greeting, or in our case the MP3 file of your sermon.

This should be you ready to go with your dial-in-service. I hope this has been reasonably clear.

5 — A Few Other Bits of Information

I just want to highlight a few other thoughts that are not essential to the process but important.

• Calls are dependant on the person who is calling the service. Thus, if a parishioner has free minutes on a landline or phone number, it will be free for them to call. Just be mindful of communicating that.
• This is not a service built for what we want to do, and it is a work-around. It is not going to sound like Dolby digital. Your file will sound a bit flat in terms of quality.
• I would suggest if you are someone can edit the MP3 that you add an intro and outro to it. That way, the service does not start straight away, and when it is finished, it gives them time to hang-up and saves you being emailed a lot of random voicemails. When the service finishes, it will ‘beep’ for the voicemail.

Here are some useful tools for editing MP3’s and creating intros:

• Audacity — this is one of the best tools out there for editing audio. It is a bit technical but fairly easy to figure out. Also, it is free! Premium open-sourced software is hard to find. You can edit your podcast file here. Create your start and end, and then add them and export it all together. (There are lots of tutorials on Youtube)
• If you are creating an intro and outro, a nice tune alongside your voice makes it sound a bit more professional, if you want some copyright free music checkout both Free Music Archive & YouTube music Library