In an earlier post here http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/114651/1.ashx I noted the Society's "special campaign" for September, an "Awake" magazine dedicated to the topic of evolution vs. creation. There is a "special campaign" to highlight that magazine all month.
Got a call from our PO last night. There is going to be yet another "special campaign" in September -- a new "Kingdom News" tract. The title is something like "False Religion's End is Near". I'll hopefully get more details at the meeting tonight. Of course, as with the previously mentioned "special campaign", this is all "highly confidential" (dang, I keep forgetting if that applies to discussion boards...)
Anyway, "Kingdom News" campaigns typically last about 4 weeks. Every publisher gets 50 or 100 tracts, and little effort is made to engage householders in conversation. Just give a brief presentation, then move on to the next door. The goal is, theoretically, that every person in the territory gets a "witness". Practically, in most cases, that is not accomplished.
So, with the "District Convention" tract campaign, and the "Evolution Awake" campaign, that makes 3 "special campaigns" within a period of just a few months. In the past, you'd get a "special campaign" maybe once every 2 or 3 years.
Thoughts & observations:
-- This could be viewed as an act of near-desperation by the Society - while raw numbers of publishers are still inching upwards, that is due almost exclusively to foreign-language publishers, primarily Spanish. English-speaking publishers, still the bulk of the numbers in this country (and the source of the vast majority of contributions), are declining precipitously. AND the average amount of hours they are publishing is decreasing also. With all these "special campaigns", there seems to be a huge push to get people moving in the ministry again.
-- I wonder if this is an attempt to get the ex-Bethelites to "jump in" with their new congregations? Perhaps many of the "layoffs" will occur in August, and the ex-Bethelites will be arriving in their new congregations in September? If so, what better way to make it seem more exciting than to keep everyone occupied in busy-work.
-- What a fun message to preach! "Here is a tract explaining why all your cherished beliefs are wrong, wrong, WRONG, and furthermore, how Jesus Christ, rather than acting as a kind shepherd, is going to hurl an 8000 pound hailstone at your church (oh, and an 800 pound hailstone at your head, unless you join us)...Have a nice day!"