Going door to door to recruit members doesn't work (page 3)

A Paduan

But there's a concordance with scripture

.......hypocrites! for you traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

The Dragon

Does a man actually giving away money need to advertise?

Do people with the answers that lead to eternal life need to go out and sell it to people?

That is all I am saying.

Not to mention that there is no concrete proof in the NT that Jesus preached door to door. When Jesus told his apostles to speak to others he only commanded them to talk to Jews, not Gentiles. His commandment was broken decades after his death.

penny2

About 15 years ago I attended a 'special meeting' - it was held in a stadium and there must have been about 5,000 JWs in attendance. A speaker from Bethel described how the door to door method of preaching had become ineffective and 'new' methods of witnessing were to be tried (in shopping centres, at the beach, etc).

For a while after that, everytime you went shopping, you'd see JWs sitting on benches trying to start up 'casual' conversations with unsuspecting shoppers who sat down next to them.

Mary

I listen to Charles Stanley In Touch Ministries in the morning.

JH asked: Would that be on 99.5 FM

Yep! I signed up for their monthly magazine too. Gosh, there was no box for me to check off asking if I wanted a free home bible study!

evetteto said: hey mary, I love Charles Stanley, he is an awesome teacher!!!

He really is. What I enjoy about listening to him is that his message clearly says that God wants us to make the most out of our lives, to be productive, to learn, to get an education. Although I've known the WTS isn't 'the Truth' for some time now, it was still a shock for me to hear a preacher actually encouraging me to be productive. I don't think I fully realized how negative and destructive the Organization was to my mental and emotional health, until I started listening to Charles Stanley. I also enjoy listening to Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson after that.

IsaacJS2

I agree that the door to door work is mostly about keeping Witnesses busy and invested in the Society. Personally, I see it as part of a business model. When I started going to meetings, many Witnesses were still impressed with how the appearance of the literature had improved to make them more appealing. Now, I understand that it has gone the other way to cut costs. Instead of nicely bound books with gold lettering, they are producing more soft bound books that are cheaper to make. I understand they have also cut back on the number of Awake! magazines they produce. The Watchtower magazine is the real leader anyway, so why not? To me, this is a trend. The Society knows that the Witnesses are their real bread and butter. Every time a new book comes out, the Witnesses have to have it. There will be a meeting on it sooner or later anyway, which forces them to get one. They used to announce this at the conventions (don't know if they still do) which made them like big Tupperware parties to me. You know, invite all your friends over for a friendly get together, but it's really to draw them in to check out your new wares? That's partly why new literature is such a highlight of conventions. And then, if there's a "new light" and the old books change, you better update those as well. Don't forget to donate again! All those Witnesses will keep donating for this literature--including the literature they place without getting a donation from the householder--so making it more cheaply is just a way to increase profit margins. If outsiders were really buying it up, the quality of the literature would continue to improve. That's what I think at any rate... The Society's psychological/financial tactics continue to interest me. IsaacJ

VanillaMocha73

Well, the next to last meeting I ever went to, they were saying that they were so broke they could not even make their KH payment. So I guess the donations aren't so good. My ex who was in charge of the $$ never donated anything. How many of you ever put money in the box? When I had a paycheck, I would faithfully put in my 10% and the elders actually commented on it like I had two heads or something. Course, not having an education, my 10% was mighty small....

Abishai

Although the main goal of the house-to-house work is to recruit new members (find lost sheep), it also accomplishes much more. Witnesses distribute literature that warns people of the upcoming destruction of this system of things. Whether or not they pay attention to those warnings is up to them, but the Witnesses did their work. It also helps identify those that are following Christs command to preach the good news. Witnesses are well known for their door-to-door activity. Some might mock them or think of them as weird, but it doesn't erase the fact that they are known for their preaching work.

I do concur that many hours are dedicated, but can it really be considered a waste of time?

When someone goes missing, a human chain is sometimes formed to search nearby fields or forests. Many hundreds of people dedicate time and effort to search for the missing one. When the person is found (dead or alive), it is only one or two that finds that person, but was it a waste of time for the other hundred that were involved in the search?

This is how Witnesses look at their work. It takes time, effort and countless hours to find the few remaining sheep-like ones among the world.

ButtLight

When someone goes missing, a human chain is sometimes formed to search nearby fields or forests. Many hundreds of people dedicate time and effort to search for the missing one.

Yeah, uh huh, just like they do when they make their ~~shepherding~~ sheepherding calls right? I havent had one yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NewYork44M

Forcing the rank and file to go in service and then turn in a field service report is a very coercive way to control the group. It is all about controlling the R&F and very little about getting new recruits.

What would happen of the r&f no longer turned in time? The amount of fieldservice time would dramatically decrease. However, the ones that continued are probably the only ones who are productive.

Going door to door to recruit members doesn't work