Does anyone know what the publisher totals were for 2015 compared to 2016 for Australia? I can't find them anywhere and was wondering if the Royal Commission Hearing had any effect on the numbers.
Australian Total Publishers for 2016 Compared to 2015?
by awake!watcher 8 Replies latest jw friends
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alanv
Just go to jwfacts.com for a complete report on all the service reports going back many years. The actual average publishers for Australia in 2015 was 66753, and for 2016 was 66689, so a loss of 64. Baptisms were 1235 so even if you allow 1% for deaths, they lost a lot of people last year
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awake!watcher
Thank you! I will check it out.
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jwleaks
Don't forget to remove Terrence O'Brien from the Australian total publisher numbers. The governing body have expelled him to
SiberiaPapua New Guinea. -
darkspilver
As was highlighted by the ARC themselves during the July 2015 hearing - the JWs in Australia are in a long-term downward spiral (with, or without any knock-on effect from the ARC hearings)
"There are currently 817 congregations in Australia with over 68,000 active members. Over the past 25 years, the active membership of the Church in Australia has grown 29% from approximately 53,000 members in 1990. In the same period Australia’s population growth has been 38%."
Adding to the above - in real terms the Australian JWs have seen a consistant long-term 18% DECREASE over the last 20 years:
1996 Service Year: Ratio publishers to population was 1-in-295
2016 Service Year: Ratio publishers to population was 1-in-359
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alanv
Thanks darkspilver, for the added information. The ratio is a good barometer for the long term.
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millie210
jwleaks
Don't forget to remove Terrence O'Brien from the Australian total publisher numbers. The governing body have expelled him toSiberiaPapua New Guinea.Interesting information. How did you find this. It seems very significant to me because it is a silent admission that they are displeased with him.
Why would they be displeased if this is all about nothing, as they are trying to pretend?
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darkspilver
Interesting information. How did you find this.
From the Australian Royal Commission.
It was mentioned at the ARC on Friday 10 March 2017 and is therefore 'on-the-record'.
The official witness list for the hearing listed him as follows:
Terrence O’Brien: Jehovah’s Witness Branch Committee member and current director of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Australia
The official transcript has the following question / answer
MR STEWART: Mr O'Brien, I will start with you. Would you state your full names, your position in the organisation and your address?
MR O'BRIEN: Yes. My name is Terrence John O'Brien. My position with the organisation, as you mentioned, I'm a Director of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia. I am currently not serving as the coordinator of the Branch Committee in Australasia. I have an assignment in Papua New Guinea for 12 months, but I've kept up to date with the information to do with the Royal Commission. That's why I've come back for the hearing. So presently, I reside in the Branch facilities in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.
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alanv
I dont thnk any of the branch elders could do any better than he did. He did his best for his organisation, but his best was not good enough. Others may well have been worse than him.