Is this JW Investment for the future?

wozza

I first had contact with JW's in the early 70's so I have seen many changes in that time like many people here.

In recent years we have seen the talk of many new kingdom and assembly halls to be built with urgency ,then suddenly it was put on hold ,then the halls were legally taken over by the society and congregations now renting ,if you will, back the halls they paid for and built with their own hands .I am talking generally as it would be different in some parts of the world.

People have been consolidated into neighboring halls as a lot of halls have been sold bringing in massive amounts of money for the WTS. Over time policy ,scripture interpretation etc have changed ,people move about new ones get born in ,new people become JW,s and all this churning keeps people distracted.

Eventually,over time surely the halls will fill up again with there being less of them around .I wonder whether this is part of WTS strategy for the future fiscal plan ,that they can once again build the hysteria of the 80,s for quick built kingdom halls again ,and so then completing a cycle for future sell offs again ensuring future money and investment?

For ones born in or newer ones who were'nt around in the 80's it would all seem so fresh and exciting for the WTS to sell it to them!

What do you think?

john.prestor

That's an interesting thought. I don't think they can get the excitement of the late 20th century back Internationally or nationally, it's too late in the game at this point, what's there to be genuinely excited about? Armageddon ain't coming around the corner anytime soon and people kinda know it by now, at least, enough of them do.

That being said, if you got a nearly empty hall and you add in two or three more congregations it does change the emotional experience, there's more of a community, more temporary excitement, and frankly I imagine it'll come across like the organization is doing better than it is when Witnesses come flooding into the Kingdom Hall twice a week instead of looking at a driedup lake every service. I can see that sustaining membership, but not growing membership. What do other posters think?

wozza

John - That's true the excitement was big in the 80,s ,with 1986 year of peace and the millenium finishing it was hard to see past 2000 etc

But I can see the WTS as though just treading water for now ,hungrily waiting for some extraordinary natural disaster or war event close to home, to get the writers busy using the same old scare tactics format to motivate to build for their next cycle of money grabbing .

Finkelstein

The WTS has turned itself from a religious publishing house to a real estate investment company. .

Kingdom Halls (WTS training centers) that have had their property titles turned over to the WTS are now owned by the WTS.

They know the value of those properties.

zeb

Selling a kh back to its builder/owners is a slick move. Its another situation where people who have been kept out of education and denied the ability of critical thinking will accept anything they are told and this impoverished situation also means that this generation (!) has far less money than any before it so the number crunchers at Bethel are becoming ever more radical in their money taking practices.

The local hall has been recently refurbished and I wait the day when its income to the wts is deemed to low (older members living off pensions, youngest families lowest incomes) and it too will be sold off and money 'exported' to NY.

john.prestor

I think you're right Wozza that any event that sounds Armageddon-esque (wars, natural disasters) definitely riles up the faithful, and maybe fills them with a little bit of 'zeal' which keeps um coming back and donating and preaching, but I still see that sustaining membership or slowly the decline, not growing membership; far as I can tell Russia didn't do much for them and they milked that for all its worth. For them to grow again I really think the Governing Body needs to predict a specific date for Armageddon, like 2040, Flodin hinted at that a couple years ago in a morning worship video on jw.org, or 2034, the 1990 Watchtower hinted at that. But they learned from 1975 not to do that, and with the age of the Governing Body Cook and Sanderson withstanding, they don't wanna rock the boat. They can live out the rest of their lives in comfort and moderate luxury as is, even as growth tapers off and donations dwindle. Most are what, 70-80 years old?

pepperheart

If jws from kingdom hall 1 move into kingdom hall 2 it will be nice for the jws at hall one to have extra support but as for any new people coming around if they were on kingdom halls 1 patch then they will have to go further if they want to go number 2.I think the watchtower kmow this but they need the money and it is far easier to close loads of little kingdom halls down.What choice do the local people or elders have NONE

The Fall Guy

The genie is out of the bottle - thanks to the internet & social media!

(Daniel 12:4) "Many will rove about*, and the true knowledge will become abundant." :) Love it!

*Or “examine it [that is, the book] thoroughly.

No potential recruit of JW's can now claim ignorance if they get baptised into this evil cult.

Is this JW Investment for the future?

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