We only have one Spanish congregation here, while the population of the whole area has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. My relatives attend 3 different English congregations at 3 different KH's. There is one Spanish cong. at each KH and that hasn't changed in the last 8-15 years, despite the population growth.
SERVICE REPORT 2005 : WATCHTOWER FEB 1ST 2006
by BluesBrother 307 Replies latest watchtower bible
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sir82
As I understand it, about four years ago policy changed to allow brothers who were known to be illegal aliens serve in those capacities.
I don't want to give away too much info about myself, but I have close ties with a few Spanish congregations here. The above is not true. I recall a Congregation Book Study I attended not so long ago, there were 4 baptized brothers in attendance, including one who had been an elder and was an ex-Bethelite in his country of origin, but a (legal) sister was reading the paragraphs. The illegals were not even allowed the "privilege" of reading paragraphs - much less serve as an MS or elder. The illegal aliens are allowed only to give talks 2-4 in the School and comment at meetings - no other "privileges" allowed.
One change did come about maybe 2 years ago - illegal aliens are now allowed to work on Quick-Build KH projects.
One of the most delicate taks that Spanish-language elders have is, when someone moves into a congregation directly from a foreign country, they have to as tactfully as possible ask about their legal status, so they know what "privileges" can be doled out.
And I agree, there are enormous pressures on the few Spanish brothers who are "qualified" to serve. There are a lot of issues that slip thru the cracks, and many of the elders I know are at or near burnout.
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AuldSoul
Thank you for the clarification, sir82. I apparently remembered incorrectly. Perhaps the brother I was thinking of obtained at least quasi-legal status without my knowledge, or his case may have been an exception. I apologize for influencing anyone to think incorrectly about this.
Respectfully,
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steve2
In 2003 the number of countries with negative or zero growth was 7. In 2004 the number of countries with negative or zero growth was 22. In 2005 the number of countries with negative or zero growth was 70!
"Brothers and Sisters, these are truly encouraging results that prove Jehovah is blessing our hard work in the ministry. Note the huge growth in the number of decreases throughout the world."
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steve2
The Watchtower has truly painted itself into a corner regarding the figures because for so many decades it has trumpeted growth as proof as an indicator of divine blessings. More to the point, the Watchtower has carped on endlessly about the decrease and decline in other religions as evidence that they are of this world.
I wonder when the Watchtower first stopped that awfully embarrassing habit of pointing out the decline on other religions?
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TheListener
Thanks sir82. I appreciate the current info. on the legal status for requirements.
My experience tells me that the Spanish congregations are already more accepting and less judgemental than their English counterparts. With the burnout of the servant bodies and potential violations going unchecked the congregations must be ripe for a big brother style crackdown. Then we'd see significant number drops.
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sir82
Listener,
I'm trying to figure out if Spanish congregations really are "more accepting & less judgmental". I think it is one of those "yes and no" answers.
Based on my experience, it seems that if something is culturally important and accepted, then the Spanish congregations have less of a problem with it. For example, they oftentimes have huge parties, with loud music and dancing that would never in a million years be accepted in most English-speaking congos.
But there is also a lot more of a "if the Watchtower says it in print, it is virtually the same as the gospel" mentality for other things. If the Watchtower says blood fraction A is acceptable, but blood fraction B is not, well, by God, then it is gospel truth that anyone who accepts fraction B is a godless heathen who deserves to have his eyeballs plucked out a Armageddon. No questions asked, no doubts, it's in print so you better believe it.
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David2002
Observador,
Non-baptized publishers have always been counted, as far as I know. I remember asking an elder, back in the early 1980's, if the publishers referred to only baptized members. He said the figure included all publishers, baptized or not, that were reporting their formal preaching activity. And even the so-called new "15-minute" report rule may not be so new. Brothers were always told to report any informal preaching, no matter how little, which they did during the month. So I disagree with your views. Since the WT Society only reports those that are actively preaching, they are in effect, under reporting the actual figures when compared to how other religious groups count their members. But that's not being dishonest. It is just the main criteria they use in counting members, even though the average meeting attendance figures almost always at least double the number of publishers.
- David
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David2002
I agree that Spanish congregations are growing faster than English congregations in the US. That has even been mentioned in some of the public talks and assemblies. But the growth of the Spanish congregations is due not just to immigrants but:
1. Many brothers from the English speaking congregations have migrated to the Spanish congregation.
2. It is easier to speak to the Bible with Hispanics, especially Hispanic Evangelicals. They use the Valera Version of the Bible, which uses Jehovah thousands of times in the OT. So they want to learn more about him. Once they are convinced the Trinity is false, and get an understanding of the NT original words for hell (Hades vs. Gehenna, they begin to believe that God is with the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, and thus begin attending Christian meetings.
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David2002
Jedi Master,
Wasn't there over 1,000,000 million publishers reported in the month of August? Also, some of the "0" figures were actual growth figures in absolute numbers. However, as I mentioned before, since the growth figure did not reach 1%, it is reported as "0" in the Watchtower statistics.
- David