They aren't about growth anymore, once you have a big enough base its just about soaking them for enough $$$$ to keep things going.
FS is a joke. A social occassion to knock on doors for a half hour then head to coffee or breakfast. Round out the morning with a few drive around return visits and go home. After a morning of that, JWs think they are modern day versions of the Apostle Paul.
It is about retention, its the easiest target. With 66% of born ins leaving, the WTS sees that if they can improve that to at least 50% they will be OK financially. Then suddenly add some Nu Lite that you JWs should start having kids and they could be off and running.
The problem is young people hate being a JW, and with good reason. Its like living with Scrooge 24/7/365 to be a kid stuck in the WTS. All they have is shunning, thats why they are trying to get the kids dunked at 10 instead of 16-18 these days. Inflict endless pain on a teen wanting to leave when they become a young adult and they might just toe the line.
Real nice religion they have there.