I must have misunderstood the topic. I can't become a member of the Watch Tower Society in the United States. The most I can achieve by being a publisher and being baptized is privileges of association. Privileges that can be taken away much easier than they were earned.
No one I personally know became a member of the Watch Tower Society just by earning rite of passage as a person approved for association and being known as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. The baptismal words say "in association" with the ghost directed organization.
Me thinks actual membership has to be bought and paid for on some level.
Sorry if I miss the point.