It looks like the WTS finally put 2 and 2 together on the US Branch’s failing statistics over the past few years, particularly the years 97 - 01. What happened?
In the latter part of 1996 COs instructed elders that congregation bookstudy conductors (soon to be officially called "Congregation Bookstudy Overseers) should not initially ask congregation publishers for their field service time reports. Instead, each congregation should have a small box so that publishers could "shoulder their own responsibility by turning in time of their own accord," by voluntarily putting their report slip into this box. Bookstudy conductors were advised that they should only ask a publisher for his time if the secretary found the time had not been turned in. When conductors did this they usually told the publisher to just turn the time in at the end of the following month, and this usually does not work very well. So, though the practice of having bookstudy conductors directly collect time slips was used in many, many congregations in the USA to help "get all the reports," this was not an officially mandated practice, and with the 1996 CO visits elder bodies were told to stop the practice. The reason, though, that so many congregation had invoked this program was because they got more reports by this direct personal collection of time slips.
Interestingly, one of the reasons given for this 1996 directive to stop this personal collection of time slips was that having publishers turn in their field service reports without compulsion from an elder would support the idea of publishers wanting to turn in field slips rather than having to do so. Well, now this is all about to change.
At the current km school elders are being told that beginning early in 2002 they will make a change to having field service report slips collected by bookstudy overseers. These men are instructed to do whatever it takes to collect these reports by calling publishers or talking to them personally so as to elicit the time slip. I cannot help but wonder what this intimidation move will do to bolster failing service report numbers.
This maximum collection effort does not stop their, either. Starting at the same time (early 2002) elders are to begin having one on one conversations with elderly inactive publishers about turning in just 15 minutes of time, in order to have them counted as publishers. In the km schools elders are even being told to go into nursing homes where elderly inactive publishers are now living, and talk with them about turning in their 15 minutes of time, time that could be the least little thing of displaying a brochure in their room for an oxygen therapist or orderly (they need not even open their months and speak!). Since many of these older ones are invalids, elders are instructed to go pick their time up personally so they will understand the need to do so and the time and, more importantly, the publisher can be counted.
Pretty pathetic. At km school they called this "a loving provision from the faithful slave." As an aside they mentioned that this technique had improve the statistical average of publishers by 1.6% in one pilot branch. This increase was called "a loving provision from Jehovah."
Shriners have a saying: "A man never stood so tall that stooped to help a child."
How does this one sound: "An elder never stood so tall that stooped to squeeze their old and invalid to bolster failing statistics!"
!!!