Witnesses on the move
published: Saturday | July 17, 2004
/Images/JED05A20040717.JPG)
A view of the entrance to the Marliemount headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. -Ricardo Makyn photo
Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter
IF YOU are inside your home on a Sunday afternoon and there's knocking at your gate and the persons standing outside are neither friends nor relatives, there is a strong probability that you are being paid a visit by Jehovah's Witnesses.
For many, that knocking is an opportunity to deny the unexpected visitors access to one's home. Few, it seems, extend the hospitality of their residences to these strangers. When allowed in, these strangers will in a friendly way share their understanding of the Bible and offer freely Awake and The Watchtower the flagship publications of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.
HOUSE-TO-HOUSE
Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) are not into tent crusades and television preaching. House-to-house visitation is their prime means of doing evangelism. Why? Because this form of personal evangelism was what was practised and endorsed by Jesus, says Carl Strachan, an elder at the Richmond Kingdom Hall
of Jehovah's Witnesses, Manchester.
"It is not the glamourous way, but it is the time-honoured way," he said. Jesus, he continued, sent out his disciples in small groups, usually in twos, to visit and share the Good News. It is largely through this mode of evangelism that has secured the growth in the population of Jehovah's Witnesses in Jamaica.
CONGREGATIONS
The first congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses was planted in Jamaica in 1897 in Camberwell, St. Mary. At the first Jehovah's Witness Convention, held here in 1899, there were about 300 persons in attendance. Today, there are 11,000 active Jehovah's Witnesses in Jamaica. This translates into about one JW per 235 persons.
There are 197 congregations of Jehovah Witnesses in Jamaica. This does not mean that there are 197 church buildings where the JWs worship. It is standard JW practice for one or more congregations to use the same building for its activities. For example the Kingdom Hall building on Molynes Road in Kingston is home to five congregations
Marverley, Duhaney Park, Washington Boulevard, Arlene Gardens, Molynes Road.
The growth of the movement, has caused its members to come up with a plan to build more sanctuaries and possibly, to refurbish existing ones.
Since 2002, working through its Marliemount head offices in St. Catherine, the JWs have embarked on the Kingdom Hall Construction Assistance Programme. Up to April 2003, they have built nine new
sanctuaries.
Though their numbers are increasing, there are no deliberate church planting strategies. Congregations are established in locales on the basis of need a lot of which relates to distance one is required to get to a Kingdom Hall, said Howard Pearce, an elder at the Elletson Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses in Kingston.
The Jehovah's Witnesses faith is a layman's movement, and is anti-hierarchical and anti-clerical. They believe strongly in the plurality of eldership. In that regard no one person has governing authority over a congregation. Each congregation is governed by male elders all of whom enjoy equal rank and authority.
CORE BELIEFS
For certain, many of the core beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses do not resemble any tenet of orthodox Christianity. JWs
do not accept the deity of
Christ in the way Christians do.
They believe Jesus to be
the Son of God and that his resurrection was only in the spirit realm. They do not believe the Holy Spirit is a person but an "active force". They do, however, accept that Jesus was born of a virgin.
Accordingly, many church folk regard Jehovah's Witnesses with suspicion. In many local Bible Schools and seminaries, the history and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses are taught as part of a course in Cults.
A feature of Jehovah's Witness leadership is the strong attention they give to teaching. Though Jesus fed the hungry and raised the dead, he was not known primarily as a healer or resurrecter, Mr. Pearce said. "Instead, he was largely known for his teaching," he remarked.
JWs are distinguished by their corporate withdrawal from social engagement. In this regard, JWs do not get involved in building health clinics or hospitals or primary or high schools. Their response is that they do give some help to the needy, but they will not get involved in building schools and hospitals because they are determined to stick to the core things which is teaching and preaching the Good News of Jehovah.
TEACHING MINISTRY
Mr. Pearce explained that JWs are committed to the teaching ministry to teach people how to live. "When
people know how to live, it reduces their social problems and improves family life the spin-off of less crime and
violence."
The training of JWs take place largely at two of its regular weekly meetings its Theocratic Ministry School and its Service Meeting. These meetings, Mr. Pearce said, provide practical counsel from the Scriptures on how to present the Good News. A main feature of the training is role-playing, followed by critique. JWs are also taught how to handle 'objections' from those in the wider public who would challenge their message
presentations. In the JW community, no one is coerced to go on the streets to deliver Awake and The Watchtower. Such is done of one's own volition, Mr. Pearce said.
NO SEGMENTING
These services are done with the whole congregation. There is no segmenting of children from the adults. There is also no Sunday School-type activity among the JWs. The argument again, is that they are seeking to emulate Jesus, who it seems from Scripture, taught everybody at the same time without segmenting the adults from the children, Mr. Strachan explained.
One can't just walk off the streets and become a JW, says Mr. Strachan. A person seeking to follow the way of Jehovah, he said, is taken through structured training and is taught what God requires of people. JW leaders will then watch for faith and maturity in the lifestyle of that person. Thereafter, the person might indicate a desire to dedicate his/her life in the service of God. Baptism by immersion is then administered and that person, as it were, becomes a full-fledged JW, Mr. Strachan explained.
Send feedback to [email protected]
Well done Country girl.I have already contacted the author of the 'puff piece'.
