Posts by slimboyfat

117

2017 Yearbook released

by bohm in

jw
friends

i saw this on reddit:.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/5mlgsm/2017_yearbook_of_jehovahs_witnesses/.

overall the numbers are better than last year (1.8% growth compared to 1.5% last year -- as i predicted ;-) ) with an increase in all major figures including 1300 more congregations (i assume this is not physical kingdom halls?).

slimboyfat

I notice two of the countries contributing the most to JW growth, Brazil and Angola, are Portuguese speaking. I wonder if there is a shortage of online and print material exposing JW history and practices in Portuguese? If so I wonder if this might be a gap to fill. If JW growth in those two countries halted there'd be little or no growth left overall.

Shepherdless I should qualify my rather excited comments about decline earlier. I doubt we'll actually get an absolute decline as soon as next year. Like you I think it's realistic within 5 years or so. Although with all the cutbacks and redundancies it might happen quicker. It's uncharted territory at the moment. The real question is what happens when decline sets in. It might have a bandwagon effect and the numbers might tumble quicker than we imagine. David Voas wrote about this possibility a decade ago. (Have you read his article?) Having said all that, I still stand by my contention that JWs are faring better than Mormons and most other churches when it comes to growth. In an age of secularisation JWs have been defying gravity for decades. But when gravity catches up with JWs, I wonder how precipitous the fall will be.

32

Britain in the doldrums!

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

the 2014 - 2015 jw statistics showed a peak publisher decline of 884 with the average publisher tally showing a gain of 183. .

the 2017 yearbook is now available via jw.org and the statistics for britain show a 2016 peak publisher increase of 630 and an average publisher increase of a paltry 26!.

nothing to shout about on the part of the followers of caiaphas in the britain branch.

slimboyfat

Did the population of "Britain" really fall by over 3 million between 2001 and 2003?

I have often wondered about the accuracy of JW country population estimates. That doesn't seem right at all. Therefore the ratios are also suspect.

36

An interesting reasoning for the existence of God (from JW public talk)

by anointed1 in

i was on an official tour last week to another part of my country.

on my way to the hotel, i noticed sign-board of jw kingdom hall.

i thought i would attend sunday meeting as i knew no one would recognize me.. seeing “a new-comer” in the audience, public speaker adapted his material making it especially appealing to me.

slimboyfat

I had a dream last night Sam Harris gave a talk at the local Kingdom Hall. It wasn't about religion it was about relaxing with plants. He ran over time and the chairman tried to cut him short. But I told the chairman to let him finish and bizarrely he listened to me. When the meeting was finished I tried to find Sam Harris to speak to him but I couldn't find him until someone pointed out that he had painted his face red and was difficult to recognise. That was an understatement he looked like the Podigy. Friendly enough but he didn't have a good explanation what he was doing in a Kingdom Hall. That's when I woke up and read the 2017 Yearbook.

117

2017 Yearbook released

by bohm in

jw
friends

i saw this on reddit:.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/5mlgsm/2017_yearbook_of_jehovahs_witnesses/.

overall the numbers are better than last year (1.8% growth compared to 1.5% last year -- as i predicted ;-) ) with an increase in all major figures including 1300 more congregations (i assume this is not physical kingdom halls?).

slimboyfat

That's very interesting dropoffyourkeylee. JWs also made early progress in Southern Africa when they were among the first to distribute books and other printed material in the region early in the 20th century. They became known by some people as "the people of the books". It's interesting that they continue to use technological advances to get a competitive edge in less developed regions.

117

2017 Yearbook released

by bohm in

jw
friends

i saw this on reddit:.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/5mlgsm/2017_yearbook_of_jehovahs_witnesses/.

overall the numbers are better than last year (1.8% growth compared to 1.5% last year -- as i predicted ;-) ) with an increase in all major figures including 1300 more congregations (i assume this is not physical kingdom halls?).

slimboyfat

Also striking was a comment that churches in Congo (Kinshasa) accused JWs of producing their literature from the spirit world because they said the letters www mean the number 666 in Revelation. This is the country where JWs claimed 22% growth over the last year. Maybe they are producing members, not just literature, out of thin air.

117

2017 Yearbook released

by bohm in

jw
friends

i saw this on reddit:.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/5mlgsm/2017_yearbook_of_jehovahs_witnesses/.

overall the numbers are better than last year (1.8% growth compared to 1.5% last year -- as i predicted ;-) ) with an increase in all major figures including 1300 more congregations (i assume this is not physical kingdom halls?).

slimboyfat

I have just finished reading the Yearbook. It actually didn't take very long because of the large print and fewer pages than there used to be.

My conclusion, reading between the lines, is this is a religion that is beginning serious decline.

For example they showcase the great efforts they are making to preach to refugees in Germany. They have started hundreds of foreign language groups and special preaching campaigns in Arabic ("authorised" by the Governing Body no less). Yet when you look at the figures there has been no increase in publishers in Germany, and the number of congregations has declined by over 1%. If that's the best they can do in these circumstances, I think it portends real decline to come.

Countries that once had impressive growth (like Georgia which is featured) now have little to no growth at all.

The messaging of the Yearbook is highly confused as well. They quote many who were laid off from bethel service saying how happy they are to be in the "field". One of the more revealing comments insisted: "we don't regret joining bethel service". Well if you've got to say that, it tends to indicate what people are thinking. Another bizarrely jarring comment from a 9 year old Witness says she looks forward to growing up and being a missionary or bethel service. Why are they encouraging such aspirations while winding down their operations?

Plus there is the list of "branch dedications" in various small counties, only prompting the reader to wonder how long before they are closed down and the buildings sold.

One story I found slightly believable was about a CEO who praised JWs for having a very sophisticated, appealing website. I agree their website is impressive. It's well laid out, the pictures and design are excellent, and the number of languages available is amazing. Just a shame most of the content is so superficial.

But then there is a really cringeworthy comment from a sister who says watching the Governing Body on JW broadcasting is like listening directly to Jehovah. How can they print that with a straight face? These people have truly jumped the shark.

I think JWs are in serious decline from here on in. There are strong indications in this Yearbook. For most of their history the Yearbook has presented a picture of relentless onwards and upwards progress of JWs. This Yearbook is full of mixed messages, underwhelming stories of activity, and various implicit indications of deep decline.

39

Is the year 2020 the new prediction for Armageddon?

by Disassociated Lady 2 in

i have had a conversation this evening with a jw friend i have known since childhood.

he is of the opinion that armageddon will have come and gone within the next 5 years.

are the jws now pinpointing 2020 as the supposed year?

slimboyfat

Armageddon in 2020? Yes I can see it clearly now.

14

What is Gilead's current curriculum?

by careful in

some years back alltimejeff reported on what gilead's curriculum was like from a guy who had gone thru it.

it was detailed and enlightening for those of us in the dark.

(hey, atj, are you still checking in here?).

slimboyfat

Good question, don't know the answer.

The latest 2017 Yearbook has hardly any mention of Gilead or missionaries. The Yearbooks used to be full of it.

What year was Gilead downgraded?

2010 is the earliest Yearbook in PDF I can find on the site. There was much more about Gilead and missionaries back then.

2010 Yearbook

Gilead - 13

Missionary - 34

Missionaries - 72

2017 Yearbook

Gilead - 1

Missionary - 1

Missionaries - 2

In fact the single 2017 use of "Gilead" is for a "Gilead extension programme" in Germany. And one of the instances of "missionaries" is in the regular financial statement. So in 2017 Gilead and missionaries are practically extinct.

32

Britain in the doldrums!

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

the 2014 - 2015 jw statistics showed a peak publisher decline of 884 with the average publisher tally showing a gain of 183. .

the 2017 yearbook is now available via jw.org and the statistics for britain show a 2016 peak publisher increase of 630 and an average publisher increase of a paltry 26!.

nothing to shout about on the part of the followers of caiaphas in the britain branch.

slimboyfat

darkspilver that looks more comprehensive. How did you get that information?

32

Britain in the doldrums!

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

the 2014 - 2015 jw statistics showed a peak publisher decline of 884 with the average publisher tally showing a gain of 183. .

the 2017 yearbook is now available via jw.org and the statistics for britain show a 2016 peak publisher increase of 630 and an average publisher increase of a paltry 26!.

nothing to shout about on the part of the followers of caiaphas in the britain branch.

slimboyfat

Nicholaus doing that search for Polish only produces congregations in the South East of England. It doesn't count the congregations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and so on.

So there probably a lot more foreign language congregations in the UK than your figures.

The search on the website is clumsy for finding total numbers for whole countries.