question for those who either aux pioneered pioneered

by enoughisenough 21 Replies latest jw experiences

  • StephaneLaliberte
    StephaneLaliberte

    When I was younger, around 13 to 18, I would often pioneer in the month of August as I would work and enjoy the summer in July. And yet, my congregations didn't often go in field service in August. Most of the pioneers would pull there hours for the year by the end of July and take it easy in August. As a result, I was often going out alone, door to door, preaching. I enjoyed it. I honestly had some engaging conversation and in some cases held company to some lonesome people willing to chill and talk.

    I really believed that I was bringing something positive to my community and I guess that in some ways, I did. What's the harm in people thinking about their spiritual outlook on life? That's what often came out of me knocking on people's doors. Had I been successful in my attempt at bringing people into the "truth", perhaps I'd have a different outlook on it now. But those times I went out alone, I felt that people were speaking their minds and I was having real conversations, not just plain preaching. It was a two way street. I learned about other people's perspective on life and shared mine. I also believe that these honest conversations played a serious role in me eventually leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses.

    That being said, I did invest way too much time in that stuff. I remember some days, I actually did 12 hours! Street witnessing in the morning (6am to 8:30am). Door to door between 9 and 12. break. Door to door from 1pm to 5pm. Field service in the evening at 6:30pm (finished late with a bible study). Man... I was a zealot.

  • TonusOH
    TonusOH

    I think that's interesting, Stephane. So often, the preaching work felt automated. We had a script, we made a sales pitch to the person who opened the door, and we hoped to leave a pamphlet, a magazine or perhaps even a book. I don't think many of us thought of having an engaging conversation at the door. Granted, for me this was in tall apartment buildings in the projects. But we rarely tried to engage in simple conversation with people on the street, for example. I guess that is what happens when we're taught to stay separate from anyone who wasn't one of us.

    Would it have been better to spend an hour speaking to two or three people, or quickly hopping from door-to-door to leave some magazines? From a perspective of making the community better, the first option seems like the right one. But from a reporting perspective, a 'good' witness would leave magazines and books and maybe generate a return visit or two. So the rapid-fire assembly line approach was what we did. God wanted mercy, not sacrifices. I think Jehovah would have preferred that we reach people one at a time, instead of wondering how our service report would look at the end of each month.

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