Trend of Fewer Baptisms Continues: Latest JW Conventions in New Zealand (page 4)

steve2

I wounder how many got baptized versis how many leaft the organization??

Hi karter. Good question. I've seen a thread in which the poster summed up all the total baptisms in the last 10 to 15 years, made subtractions for adeath rate (I forget the percentage) and calculated that worldwide hundreds of thousands of baptized ones are not accounted for in the current publisher numbers. In other words, if the newly baptized ones were actually remaining active in the organization, we'd see greater growth rates in publishers than the numbers currently reported.

Getting baptized is no guarantee of staying active in the organization. It's a great public display though.

I know what you mean about the big noise they made in previous decades aout all the new kingdom halls being built. Haven't heard of any new ones being built in years. In fact, I recently saw the Shannon Kingdom Hall on the property market. My inside sources tell me the dwindling members of the Shannon congregation have merged with the Foxton congregation.

Qcmbr

Was reading a discussion over on an ex-mo / fading mo board where reference was made to an admission made by an LDS official that the members are leaving in large numbers and it has got the higher church leaders very worried. Someone also made the astute observation that the people leaving now comprise of a higher number of committed members. A high recruiting group will attract and shed flaky people all the time but it's viability rests on its core members and it's the core that Mormonism is losing. Baptisms have reached maintenance levels in most of the West and growth of 1% is only in numbers not in attending members( I.e. there is a 1% growth but all of that is in inactive members so if we have 100 active members and 100 inactive then there are 2 baptised and 2 go inactive so now we have 100 active and 102 inactive but a membership increase of 1%). The other point they made is that resignations are up. Only active members tend to resign since inactives have moved in with their lives and are less likely to bother with paperwork.

Aussie Oz

An international convention in New Zealand and not even all of NZ JWs travelled to it?

'satallite' conventions for those who thought the trip was too far?

Remember when an international convention was ONE in the whole country and everybody would treck from Perth to Sydney for it?

Oz

dozy

I'm of the view that the WTBTS will scrap one of the baptism talks ( maybe the one from the "special day". ) It really can't make sense to hire swimming pools or make arrangements when there are few or no candidates.

I remember one assembly where we hired the local 25 metre swimming pool and there was only one candidate. She was a middle aged woman , to put it kindly , not completely the full shilling.

The whole episode was embarrassing as the local authority insisted on having 2 lifeguards who looked on bemused & amused at the whole elaborate ceremony for one baptism of a strange woman who you got the impression didn't really know what she was doing and clearly hadn't been a swimming pool for about 30 years. There were maybe 20 people there , 3 brothers in their white t-shirts in the pool , the usual baptism "overseer" in his suit etc. It just seemed really weird.

Here if no-one is being baptised ( which has happened a few times ) the brother giving the talk finds out beforehand & kind of reassembles the talk to remind everyone of their " dedication to Jehovah ".

Gayle

Maybe in the time will come to go back to the 'horse trough baptisms.'

obarac

Anyone have some info about Special conventions in Brasil and Costa Rica?

steve2

Was reading a discussion over on an ex-mo / fading mo board where reference was made to an admission made by an LDS official that the members are leaving in large numbers and it has got the higher church leaders very worried.

Yes, the JWs are not alone in the West in terms of barely replacing departing members and growing member apathy. As time passes, there will be more evidence that these mid to late 19th century American "sects"(of which I include the Seventh-Day Adventists)are on the wane. Their heyday of large growth in the West is over, although like all good engines, they'll splutter on noisily for a few more decades then become as anachronistic as the Anabaptists, Mennonites and Christadelphians and other once publically proud religions.

skin

Here are the attendances for Sunday afternoon at the NZ conventions.

Auckland: 3749

Hamilton: 8840

Wellington: 3711

Christchurch: 4738

steve2

Thanks skin. I understand that, of that number, about 3,000 were international visitors.

maisha

at the circut ass when nobody is dunked,, the excuse is that they are waiting for the DA... Lol

Trend of Fewer Baptisms Continues: Latest JW Conventions in New Zealand

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