Are high gas prices affecting Pioneers?
They're affecting the publishers that have to cart them around is more like it.
Well enough that we have had a local needs item on helping the pioneers by "driving them to territory in our vehicles and not expecting a gas donation"
We used to get that counsel back when gas was cheap cheap. Us 'regular publishers' were supposed to be happy to drive pioneers around all day and not expect any gas money in exchange.
To be honest, I didn't mind driving in service...because most JWs can't drive worth a shit and I felt more comfortable knowing that I was in charge of the wheel instead of Brother Reading the Territory Map as We're Running Off the Road.
But there was always one or two pioneers who took the privilege of the riding in service for free to a new level. They would always ask if the driver "could take a short detour" to pick up something for them or if, after service, the driver could carry them to a store "nearby". Usually, "short detour" or "nearby" was way out of the way. But, most publishers were too meek to balk at the request. They were afraid that they would be viewed as not wanting to support the pioneer work, so they caved and drove em around all over the place.