by sir82 62 Replies latest jw friends
I agree on some of the points made here. This data shows that there is a problem motivating the R&F. Further, as someone who started a Hindi group in NYC and aided in forming the congregation subsequently formed, I know how important immigrants are to their efforts in the West.
Isaac
I know my mother, who has pioneered for years, and was in Ecuador pioneering for the last 5, has quit and moved back to South Carolina. Don't know why, though, as she has not spoken to me in years.
Would be interested in more info on the "peak publisher" statistics.
Just a reminder, though. Peak publisher info is very misleading. It's akin to using the Memorial attendance as an indicator of actual week by week meeting attendance. Peak numbers like that are raised by some publishers being counted twice due to not turning in their time the month before, and the effort to get "everyone" out that month.
So brother inactive goes out that month for 2 hours, and sister irregular makes sure she's out a few hours as well, then they go back to doing little or nothing. Multiply that by a few hundred thousand, and you get the "peak" numbers, which are meaningless.
S4
No one has mentioned the fact that U.S. publishers have grown this year by more than3.5%.
Probable explanations:
1) Immigration - legal and otherwise. A nearby Spanish congregation has had numerous families move in directly from Mexico, Peru, Colombia, etc. Already Witnesses, they increase the US numbers. And the numbers in their home countries, 3rd world countries where the growth is still robust, still post net gains.
2) Foreign language groups are having success in preaching. Any immigrant to the US will be just about bowled over by a gringo trying to speak his language, offering magazines in his language, and talking about the Bible (which is still greatly respected by the pooerst inhabitants in Latin America, the ones most likely to emigrate anyway). And when they come to the Kingdom Hall, they are "love bombed" and offered instant integration into their new communities.
Fully 25% or more of the US Witnesses are in Spanish-language congregation, you can probably add a few 10's of thousands more in all the other languages.
I.e., much of that 3.5% gain is from immigration, not evangelizing. And the ones that are brought in "from the field" are the poorest of the poor, who send 75% of their income back to their families in [wherever].
The English-speaking congregations are really suffering. In my congregation, Sunday attendance is around 65-70% of publishers, and that includes numerous visitors each week visiting family, etc. Other meetings are even worse.
I'm sure the Society is concerned (despite the superficial good news of an increase), as the growth is almost exclusively from the poorest elements of society, ones that cause a drain on the Society's resources (literature primarily) without increasing the cash flow.
Joker, they had a 3.5% increase? Sorry, you have no proof of that. It would be more correct
to say, "they reported a 3.5% increase in people claiming to be publishers on paper".
There is so much pretense and 'fake-atude' going on in this organization, it's nearly impossible
to tell what's really going on. If you can have a Bethel elder handing out nude pictures of himself
to young boys, while carrying the Society's latest publications for incidental witnessing( Jesus Cano)
then tell me how much lesser and widespread phoney-ness prevails in this religion?
metatron
I've had the misfortune of ending up in apartments near major JW hangouts in the NYC-metro area. Yet, I find myself actually feeling sorry for the old people who I see sitting on random chairs outside of laundromats and propping themselves up on streetcorners. They tend to cluster in groups of 4-5 on corners in the morning just staring off into space or, on a good day, chatting with each other. They look tired, shabby, and bored. I have yet to see any English-speaking JW in my neighborhood (my apt. is 1 1/2 blocks from a multilingual KH in Jersey City) ever approach a passerby. Occasionally, a Spanish-speaking JW will call out to me "Joven...." in a demanding and authoritative voice, but that's it. I know that we were required to be much more proactive and engaging in our preaching back in the 1980s and 1990s. More importantly, though, everyone I see looks like a senior citizen. Chances are, they are estranged from their children who left the organization and they have diverted so much time from their professional lives that they'll have few resources to live out what should be their golden years. What a depressing lot to choose!
Sorry Guys, hit return!!!!!
Been out of this s*"t for six months now.
Just realized that their August Report is tantamount to a Company Profit & Loss report! The mugs that support this org and are missled by their bible rantings yet are nothing more that a disposable asset. Yes! Its inconvenient when publishers leave, but they dont really care! We're just numbers!
Free thinkers whom they have to silence and quickly!
Shell
XXXXXXX
I was in NYC last year, and looked for the JWs. I only saw two sisters doing street work with Spanish lit. They stand and hold up the mags. That's it!
S4
