No more REPORTING field service!!!!!!!!! (page 6)

Journeyman

"Regardless of how this will be spun in J.W land, the reason can only be a coverup of poor statistics, instead of having to show a poor yearly report, they can now say we no longer collect the data."

This is a good point. It's a standard tactic of governments and other corporations around the world, too. Deliberately stop collecting data on subjects you find 'awkward' or you want to ignore, then if anyone challenges you, you can just claim "we don't know and can't comment on that as we don't have the data".

It's a trick, for example, that the UK government have started using now that they have reduced the amount of data they collect about ethnicity in the UK population census, so that there is plausible deniability over concerns about mass immigration. Up until a number of years ago, the census used to collect very specific information on how people identified themselves (racial/ethnic background, etc) and the resulting nationwide stats were available to see and download from the GOV.UK website. But now, they've reduced the amount of info they collect about ethnic background, to obfuscate the scale of immigration in British towns and cities.

It seems the org is doing something similar to avoid having to confront the degree of visible decline in the house-to-house work and other forms of ministry. If you don't have the numbers in the first place, then there's no hard evidence of a problem for you to have to explain to critics!

Listener

How easy it's now going to be to increase their numbers.

Have your Bible study attend the occasional meeting, ask them if they've been speaking to others about it or anything spiritual and they are instantly an active publisher.

JW children won't need to be going door knocking, likely all they will need is the nod of an Elder who hears about their informal witnessing and they too can be actively reporting.

It will be interesting to see what the guidelines are but we saw how they changed what they now consider to be a Bible study. I think they can count a return visit who they spend more than 15 minutes at the door with and that person doesn't even know that they are a Bible study.

DATA-DOG

Maybe the Dubs are too sick from all of the mandatory jabs to go D2D???

DD

ScenicViewer

I think there is about to be a major increase in the Jehovah's Witness organization.

You don't have to go door to door, or take part in the cart work - all you have to do now is check a box that says you took part in some part of the ministry, a simple passing remark to someone would qualify you to check that box.

Hours will go down but they aren't counted anymore anyway, however the number of publishers will sky rocket!

It's so easy to be a publisher now.

Of course the Organization will advertise that increase and say 'Look how Jehovah is blessing his spirit directed organization on earth today.'

joey jojo

I agree that it may be a tactic that somehow protects the org legally. Are they going to end formal witnessing arrangements so that they can claim that no child is ever alone with an adult? Would they go that far? That has been one of their big defences in trying to duck CSA cases against them.

The only outcome I can see is that most dubs will use at a way to drastically decrease the amount of witnessing they do. It feels like the exact opposite of 'speeding up the work'.

LV101

Great points - as Scenic Viewer says you don't have to do this/that the other. No one makes positive statements about the religion but quite the opposite. It's one embarrassing tax-free entity that expects its adherents to not only serve full time at the expense of neglecting family, career, or pursuing a balanced, normal, life plus die per their non-educated/non-medical interpretations re/life-saving medical. Maybe they've softened up on this but the world knows and will never forget. Who would actually be a member (unless forced re/family) after a click on the internet. People must be fleeing or dying off, few recruits and they're desperate. Totalitarians/authoritarians do not relinquish power unless forced and money must be tight.

Much continuing success to the attorneys representing the victims of pedophilia/abuse cases -- the true heroes along with Barbara Anderson and any/all helping her.

Listener

I still think that there is a possibility that they are going to require JWs to actively approach people in their public cart witnessing, this makes sense as to why the younger brother was afraid to show the JW logo when a policeman walked past him in this months Broadcast.

The organization is distancing themselves from any legal ramifications this may cause between individual JWs and the Watchtower.

Walter

I see no strategy.

I see no sense in the change.

1.) The change has nothing to do with legally protecting the org. Otherwise, they would stop pioneers from reporting as well.

2.) Since restarting of public preaching activities after COVID-19, the biggest challenge for congregations has been to bring publishers to do door to door witnessing again. That's what CO's meetings with elders and MSs have been about all over the world in the last six months. And it were the detailed reports that identified that massive challenge for the org: Who has not been actively out for service in territory, but simply continued to craft some witness cards at home as done during pandemics? The lot of publishers who have been monthly reporting some hours without anymore reporting any placements/any return visits at all. So to stop detailed reporting foils PIMI elders' efforts to encourage those publishers to restart door to door witnessing.

3.) Even among elders and ministerial servants, there are quite a lot who have not yet restarted door to door service to the same extent they had done before COVID-19. So I personally was expecting that some elders and ministerial servants would have been deleted within next one or two years due to their lack of seal in field service. To stop detailed reporting makes it unnecessary or even impossible to delete such elders. But, of course, on a long run, this can't be a positive development for JWs' preaching activities.

4.) When org paused pioneers' hours goal during COVID-19 pandemic, many pioneers reduced their amount of time spent for preaching activities dramatically. This was a clear proof that lot of preaching work before had not been done due to unconditional love to Jehovah and to people in territory, but due to some social pressure in connection with hour goals and reporting. So the org knows well that to stop. detailed reporting will reduce hours spent in field service.

5.) First reactions in congregations to yesterday's announcement seem to be mixed. A lot of publishers appreciate this. But others start asking: why does the org create now an additional barrier between publishers and pioneers? Are publishers' hours worthless as only pioneers' hours have to be reported? Stopping detailed reporting would have been a chance to eliminate status-orientated way of thinking ("he is pioneer" vs. "he is just a publisher"). This opportunity has been missed; even worse, the gap between pioneers and rest of congregation will increase.

no-zombie

While some people may think that this change is part some kind of master plan, I'd like to remind everyone that the GB have always made decisions reactivity and never proactively. Either have they demonstrated a collective wisdom that has amazed us. A great example of this was their multiple explanations of the 'overlapping generations' prophesies, which was stunning for all the wrong reasons. Rather I see this new reporting policy, as an attempt of GB Gen 3.0 (or what ever is the newest generation) to make their mark in steering the Society, to reverse the death dive trends, so clearly seen by all.

However, just as the move into the digital space, did not connect with younger people to build publisher numbers, you can be sure that while a few more people might start tick the field service box ... many, many will take the opportunity to stop witnessing all together.

Finally, it must be remembered, that no matter what the GB does, the quality of the Brotherhood will not change by this move ... and as the quantity of effective witnessing hours continues to decrease, so must the real number of new publishers.

Gorb

What if you are elder wife / sister 'judgement'?.??

G.

No more REPORTING field service!!!!!!!!!

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