48% Capacity at Kingdom Halls - A post on reddit

by berrygerry 41 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  sir82

  Just goes to show how shortsighted and, frankly, stupid the WTS is.

  OK, so you've got 48% capacity. So let's compress & combine congregations so KH attendance is say 90% capacity.

  So what happens? A kingdom hall with 180 chairs suddenly has congregations of 150, 160, 170 members. When visitors, family, etc. come to visit on a Sunday, it's standing room only. Those who are seated are cramped, unable to put their coat or handbag on an adjacent seat. The auditorium gets repressively stuffy from all those bodies. 20 babies start howling all at once, and there isn't room to take them anywhere.

  So what happens? One or 2 per week, week after week, say "screw this!" and stay home. "Why should I drive 40 minutes each way to sit uncomfortably for 2 hours?" Maybe they listen on the phone, maybe they don't. The depressed say "no one will notice if I'm not there" and will stay home. People on the edge of fading say "now is my chance" and stay home. The 6 elders in the congregation can't shepherd 25 people each, so people slip through the cracks.

  A year or 2 after compressing the congregations to double their size, KH attendance is once again at 48% capacity - only it's due to half the congregation giving up.

  Idiots.
  
• 

  dozy

  When I was younger , you literally had to be at deaths door not to attend a meeting. Before I left , 7 years or so ago , people habitually missed for any ( or no ) reason at all - typical attendances were maybe 60%. The phone-in system must make things even easier as anyone can say they aren't well but are listening to the meeting on audio ( while actually cracking open a beer & watching the football game. )
• 

  tor1500

  Hi.

  Its all smoke and mirrors. Take some from here put them over there, nope that's uneven. Take those from here and put them way over there. And on the last day of the month, God ah sorry the org looked at it and said It was good, then they rested. Why? Because they fooled the flock again ( so they think).

  The org is now just a social setting. For the young that are stuck in for the moment they utilize it as a social media just like others that are not JW. Each age group has their little click. And for those who think they are too good to rub shoulders with non Jw's this suits their purpose. Religious snobs. And in every religion those are dying out. Why because folks can read. Most don't care nothing about the flip flop doctrines. That thought don't even come into play.

  Many have never come from a home of unconditional love, so the hall just like churches are full of hurt folks. So when good folks come into these places of worship the hurt folks are drawn to them only to suck The niceness out of them to make the just like themselves. Then there are those who come from a great home and did what their parents told them to do as long as they lived at home but inside they are not what they appear to like us all but those type come to the hall. And they are who they have always been. Snob or lazy (full time ministry), need to be validated and so on.

  The halls are not filling up because of the internet. You can conduct your own bible study on line. Then when you get to the part that talks about DF'ing. That's when they say why continue because eventually ill most likely do something and get put out, I'm out now, why get shamed and put out. Plus no commitment. But they told us to direct folks to the JW org. Well for that month anyway, because the next month was can you use only the Bible in the ministry.

  &&& another real good reasons the halls are not filling up with Bible students and the young one. Because nobody is standing in line to be celibate. Now that's the real deal. Folks in and out of the truth are filling the earth and being fruitful.

  Tor
• 

  freddo

  Heard a good one from last Sunday.

  A contact I have in my circuit who knows it's (JW'ism) a load of nonsense but goes to keep the peace from time to time said he went to his hall and the public speaker said:

  "Normally I address this next part of the outline especially to the teenagers and children, but as there aren't any here I'll speak to the young at heart instead."

  
  

  I asked what the attendance was like and he said about 50 out of 95 publishers.
• 

  WTWizard

  Maybe it should be zero. Once upon a time, it was enough to release new littera-trash. This had a story. Yes, it was lies. Yes, it was based on damnation, and was fear based. But, it was something that had substance. Now, all they get is lame videos and weak doctrines that the weakest cat lick can throw back in their faces.

  Once upon a time, the Kingdumb maladies had some substance. Yes, they were based on lies. Yes, they gave damnation to anyone that listened to them and believed anything of them. Yes, they were lousy. But now they are even worse.

  At some point, they had waste of paper distribution campaigns. Those NR releases would build up excitement--though I wish those NR35 abominations would have ended up in the rubbish or shredded as gerbil bedding. But, they kept pushing those campaigns. First, it was the crapmorial. Then, they added the Grand Boasting Sessions to the list. Even having 3 or 4 a year failed to generate any excitement.

  The latest stunt is the Israel mission. They had one of those abominations in 2015, and everyone and their dog was supposed to be excited. Then they tried another of these abominations for 2017--which I heard little about, hopefully because it was a complete flop. This is supposed to be the ultimate card--spending two weeks at the source of the whole damnation book. Once that loses its punch, they are screwed.

  In the meantime, people are wasting much to attend. They are supposed to quit their jobs and take crap part time jobs, and throw away any "excess" funds. This assures they will not have funds for anything--their cars break down, they get sick from all those poisonburgers, Grand Boasting Sessions (and Israel missions, if they are stupid enough to go one of those abominations) take funds. Then they are supposed to donate all their funds to the Worldwide Damnation Fund. This simply is not sustainable--debt soon ensues.

  I certainly do not recommend wasting your resources (and time) on this crap. You get negative value (not even any entertainment value or any substance--unlike the 1970s and 1980s, you don't even get that). Why spend time and money on something that gives negative value? And I cannot think of anything that gives more negative value than going on those hyper-stupid missions and wasting time giving to the Worldwide Damnation Fund.
  
• 

  Gorbatchov

  Same in Holland, too. Grey hairs, empty halls. Only born in growth.

  No more conventions in stadiums, now concentrated in own facility's.

  G.
• 

  stuckinarut2

  There was a thread or two only 3 years back that spoke of the program of rapid hall construction.

  Remember the plans that looked like the building could easily be sold off and turned into anything from a fast food joint to a supermarket?

  What ever happened to all that "urgent" work?
• 

  Stealth

  I'm sure the GB will then lighten the load on publishers by telling them to reduce their contribution by 50% now that two congregations share the same hall.
• 

  Pete Zahut

  Having to travel greater distances to another Kingdom Hall instead of attending one in their own area, could possibly be the tipping point for some who are barely hanging in there as it is.
  
• 

  Half banana

  I think this can be seen in the context of English churches which are now down to about 4.75% of the population attending on a regular basis and about 7% in Scotland. Very few bums on a sea of seats. This is the new world order!