My Kingdom Hall is near extinction!! (page 5)

karnage

The congregation that my family and I are zoned to attend (if we went to the Kingdom Hall) are supposed to be building a Kingdom Hall right within walking distance of my house. They have purchased the land and the building on it. The building is an old run down place. The witnesses use it for a place to meet for field service. They have to use it for some type of religious meeting place for tax reasons.

They have yet to build a Kingdom Hall on the property and they've purchased it about 3 years ago. I guess that the growth is happening like they thought that it would. Now they are holding onto the property and the run down house on it for whatever reason.

LanDi

I notice that at my local kingdom hall, it's almost empty. I asked one of the elders where everyone was and he told me they were on holiday. Well, I've been a couple of times throughout the year and its always been just as empty. Theocratic warfare perhaps? HOLIDAY?

Its the 1975 situation all again, when many people left because their expectations weren't seen, ie the end of this system within the 1914 generation and the end of this century, which they did proclaim (although thats been omitted) Oh those of little faith. At the end of this system, many will fall away, now is the time people......

At which point do you stop believing, I mean lets face it, we all make mistakes - supporting the Nazi party for example. Yep, can't hold that against em. Although does not the bible say " the devil is a liar and ther father of the lie."? So whats with all this theocratic warfare ???

Babylons waters are drying up, and so it seems are Jehovahs............

undercover

Where I live, it's the opposite...the hall is packed. At least the parking lot is anyway. I get to drive by the old hall from time to time in my travels and when I go by during meeting time (almost everynight and all day Sunday since three congregations share one building) the parking lot is full.

Even on Saturday morning the parking lot will have a lot of cars, meaning that quite a few are in service.

But I don't think that means that the preaching work is effective, I think its because the area where I live has had an influx of new people moving in the last couple of years. Businesses are moving in, existing businesses are doing well and hiring more and more. Along with the others moving in from out of state are JWs.

I went to the memorial last year and it was standing room only (in fact, they were probably in violation of the fire code...wouldn't it be funny if someone turned them in...) but in addition to lots of irregular and inactive ones showing up, I noticed a lot of new people. They just weren't in attendance, they were part of the congregation. You could tell from the conversations that the old-timers were having with them. There were at least two new MSs there...not promoted from teenage mic handlers, but late 20-early30 somethings who obviously had been around the "truth" awhile. They obviously had moved in. One guy, I had the feeling, was ex-Bethelite. He had that air about him.

AK - Jeff

This would be like me financing a brand new car for you, and when you are done paying for it I still hold the title for it. If you did anything I didn't like (and there are documented cases of the Society doing this) I could sell the car from under you and you'd be riding your bike to work, even though you paid for the car.

Under_Believer - this is correct in essence - but not quite.

More like me holding the title to your property - which you had built with volunteer labor - valued from the start at twice the amount of the loan. Then when you finally get it 'paid for' it is doubled again in value. In the meantime I have collected 'usury' and a very large increase in the value [in most neighborhoods at least].

SO, I finance you with $200K - you build a $500K hall - you pay back the $200K and interest over 15 years - the hall is now worth say $850K. I have made $100k in interest, and now own a $850K building. Not bad return on a loan I would say. The tenents are trustworthy and never default, since it is a sin against Jehovah to do so, and gladly hand you the title to the building. Cost $0 - return on no risk investment over 15 years - $950K. Not a bad day at the accountants I would say - especially if it is done several thousand times.

Jeff

undercover

SO, I finance you with $200K - you build a $500K hall - you pay back the $200K and interest over 15 years - the hall is now worth say $850K. I have made $100k in interest, and now own a $850K building.

And that explains, in part, why the WTS had problems in Mexico. Mexico didn't allow religions to "own" property at one time, so the WTS changed the definition of what they were to something else other than a religion...so they could keep ownership of their property. And most JWs think that the Mexican government was persecuting them when it was the WTS who was stubborn and refused to yield property for the sake of furthering the "kingdom" work.

blondie

Where I live, it's the opposite...the hall is packed.

The question is, are these people new to the WTS or just new to that congregation. Around here people play musical congregations. Someone will tell me they have 10 new ones and when I ask where they came from, oh, they switched from another congregation nearby or out of state.

Or the babies are not yet old enough to get into DF trouble or move out from mom and dad's.

Can you say how many adults not raised JWs have been baptized in the last 5 years?

Blondie

Dagney

I live in a very metropolitan city area with many kingdom halls and congos. I would say that overall attendance is down (yeah!!), but they can rally the troups (bummer) when they need to.

I was so hoping more and more would be investigating. questiong, researching...doing SOMETHING! They may well be...but none of my friends have faded; only me.

One can only hope.

OnTheWayOut

In the area of the country I first learned the WTS fantasy, some congregations have grown.
The one I was in is still full, but with less territory. The congregations around
them have grown and split and took the territory to nearby Kingdom Halls and their territory.

SO- they haven't grown in that one spot, but they preach a smaller territory and have fewer
pioneers- so it evens out. The numbers in the whole circuit have grown, but are slowing up
now. They are at peak potential IMO.

Another area I used to congregate in, the Hall used to hold three huge English congregations.
Now, in the same area of the city of Chicago, there are two medium size English congregations-
one was deleted.

DannyHaszard

Date:: 27 Jan 2006
Time:: 07:16:06
Remote User:

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(Mole report left at my guest book on my old hall left in 1992)

Hi Danny! The kingdom hall in Hingham,(Massachusetts) has lost about 50% of their membership over the last 2 years mostly whole families have left the witnesses altogether. Most who remain are inactive some (about 5 families) moved away with no forwarding address. Among those who remain, many are known alchoholics and liars.I heard this is typical with the witnesses. The society has sent pioneers to help Hingham complete the territory, because NO ONE in this congregation even goes out in service.Most of the people just put down a few hours of supposed,informal witnessing to keep the elders off their backs.

Rockland Massachusetts Kingdom Hall Jehovah's Witnesses is the same.They lost about 25%, no new growth in years. Most young ones are leaving. Many inactive. Don't know about the rest. How are you? Often think of you. You are in Maine right? How are the Witnesses up there treating your car, are they still smashing windows or cutting tires? Very christian of them!

jayhawk1

Around the Wichita Kansas area, it appears the Kingdom Hall population is getting older. I don't have any numbers, but I bet the average age must be well above 50 years. I look for a sharp decline in attendence because of the amount of elderly attendees unless something unexpected happens.

My Kingdom Hall is near extinction!!

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