by miseryloveselders 7 Replies latest jw friends
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/49821718-80/witnesses-god-bible-utah.html.csp?page=1
"That particular outreach began in earnest after the 2002 Winter Olympics and now has taken off. Today, Witnesses have 34 Spanish-speaking congregations in Utah (compared with 38 English-speaking ones)."
That makes sense, its been stated on here often enough that if there really is any real growth its coming from recent immigrant populations or in non-westernized foreign lands.
That's true around here. The only growth they are seeing locally is immigrants.
That's true around here. The only growth they are seeing locally is immigrants.
I heard a funny and interesting comment last week from a JW who works at the same place I do. He was talking about how much of the growth lately has just been from "low income and uneducated" immigrants and how they are costing the Society more than they are contributing. He then said "One day China may have to bail us out if things keep going the way they are!"
I think this is why they are pushing foreign languages so hard now. My mother is taking a Hindi "class" at the Hall, and I know they're offering a lot of others as well. In addition, a lot of young couples have recently be reassigned (against their will) to Spanish, Portuguese, and French congregations in our area. I think the days of it being a predominantly English-speaking religion are numbered.
Here in Northern California the JW growth also comes from the immigrant population. You look at the signage of the KHs around here and they are in both English and Spanish. In fact some KHs have more Spanish meetings than English. One also has to wonder how many of these new JWs are in this county legally.
Montano has been in only one of the mini-plays, staffed entirely by area members. In 1992, he acted in a story about a young Witness who helped a fellow Christian decide whether to serve God or soccer.
I hope readers catch the implication that it is impossible to do both. All your time belongs to the organization: this is not the epitome of a well-balanced life.
it always struck me as a total waste of time when they go out of their way to learn some obscure language just because there may be a lot of this particular migrant group in their territory, I knew a sister who learned Bengali because she had started a study with a Bengali man, at most she she had a couple of studies and none was ever baptized and they were probably one of the very few of Bengali's that came to the UK who was Christian, I knew another person who started to learn one of the Sri Lankan languages, again for what? it was unlikely that they would become missionaries in those nations, I'm sure that The WTS have no status in the Muslim Bangladesh and there cant be much of a presence in Sri Lanka.
At the last CO's meeting with my hubbie's BOE, the CO admitted that there would be no increase in the US if not for the spanish speakers. Many brothers in this area transferred to the spanish congregations because they could not advance in the english ones and there was such a need for qualified brothers. Some single ones even went because it was easier to find a wife, a trophy wife. Eight years later their spanish is not as good as mine and they have to translate all their parts into spanish and read them.
