by The wanderer 44 Replies latest jw friends
JW's making a comeback?
Well, I know some couples in the "TRUTH", that are specifically avoiding having children....atleast in this, "system".
So how many are in this same train of thought that IT is still..."right around the corner", and are not gonna raise more borgs in the organization, which will effect future numbers?
I suspect a good bit.
1995 was at least a pausing point for me. A point where my outlook changed. Sure, I stayed active 11 more years,
but late 1995 is where I started going OnTheWayOut.
Exactly what happened to me. I stayed on for an extra decade, yet in 1995 I knew inside that the WTS had no idea, and holy spirit contributed nothing. I broke as many rules as I could to to test it, pokies now and again, smoked now and again etc, just to see if the holy spirit would rat me out to the elders. It never did. But still it took me ten years to get the courage to make a stand and leave.
1955 was my "turning point" so to speak! I was dunked in early March just below the 45th parallel. One might say I joined the Polar Bear Club, but then that would have been less profound. Promised for years to gain insight and understanding only when "baptized" my dunking opened my eyes to the reality that I was being put off from having my questions answered. So within three years I was out having chosen to leave home rather than live in a dysfunctional family and faith community. I chose to write my own future rather than have the borg do it for me. carm
1995 didn't really affect me I was full of doubts anyway.
Like many above who posted when the "generation change" came about we seemed to be the only ones to have spotted it, realised its signifigance,in our congregation. I do recall one Elder being very agitated over it, kept asking "is that right? did you get that?"
I think when the Watchtower was studied it went over thehead of many going on about what the word "generation" means etc. Also the zombie like state many are in during a WT study they probably didn't notice. Also I often wonder did any of them even know what the old teaching was.
The first 5 months of the 2006/7 service year suggest a 2% increase over last year in the UK. Not exactly dramatic by historic standards, but it's certainly a lot better than a decline.
Baptisms are also up.
Also, at my Assembly in March, a District Overseer said baptisms for this Service year were already higher than baptisms in all of last Service year,
Were is the 2% increase coming from? They usually say a 1-2% increase is from internal growth, that is from family of JW's, children etc. How many will be of those contacted by JW's at home etc and had studies.
"Baptisms up" and "Higher than last Service year"
Well that wouldn't be difficult. In my old circuit last year at one assembly they had no one baptised. At the other they had 12, the oldest being 16, average age 14, all JW children.
In recent years most times its been single figures, I think they even only had 1 baptised a one assembly, but its been between 1-7 usually. Long way from the 20-30 we used to regularly have for baptism,used to take so long took half our lunch break away.
So numbers being higher than last service year is not very difficult.
I left the JW's in 1993 (still expecting to be destroyed at any moment back then). It wasnt until I got online in 1997, that I learned they changed this doctrine. I was furious when I first found out, and I was hurt, because I realized that all of the anxieties, and all of the mental anguish I had suffered was based on nothing more than lies.
As for the growth, I just dont see how, as most people here in the US are reporting low amounts of baptisms, could it be possible that the amount of unbpatized publishers is growing,yet the baptisms are falling at the same time?
Also Carmel, you are probably the longest standing XJW here, if you left in 1958. You are definitely old school apostate--LOL j/k
I don't really think there's as much of a comeback as one would think. Whenever my mother is telling me about the hall it's always just the ones that were like 10 and 11 when I left that are now getting married and pioneering and whatever. So in the mid-late 90's it was my generation that was building up the numbers, then came the HUGE disfellowshipping and leaving around 2000. I'm sure around 2010 or so you'll see another mass exodus.
1995 was THE big turning point for me! I remember 1975 but I was just a teenager back then so I didn't pay much attention to that but the 1995 generation change was HUGE. I remember it well, I was an elder but already having a few doubts, mainly due to the internet and what I was learning there.
I had told my (now ex) wife a few years before that the society would one day have to change their 1914 generation teaching if Armageddon didn't come soon. She all but accused me of apostacy, (if only she had known). But when that article came out, I didn't gloat. I was simply struck by the fact that the so-called "Faithful and Discreet Slave" was in fact neither faithful nor discreet. It was right there, right at that moment, that I decided to quit, or "fade" as we call it now, so I wouldn't lose contact with my family. I resigned or "stepped down" as an elder in January of 1996 and quit going completely by that summer. About a year or so later, my wife left me for another elder (a whole other story there) and I moved 200 miles away from my home town to live where I am today, so yep, BIG turning point there!
CyrusThePersian
evidence of a comeback
Personally, I just think that the WTS tried so hard to get positive numbers that Flyer distribution has
gotten more inactive publishers out there, and they've pushed to count more elderly publishers with
15 minutes minimum in a month.
Baptisms are probably pushed on literature students who might normally have delayed and children.
They really wanted positive numbers for a couple more years.
If I am right, the positive numbers will lead to worse negative numbers as the children and studies are
used up, and the inactives get tired of the "special" distributions. Time will tell.
What Watchtower was the generation change in? I think that I would like to give it a read...
Chad
JW's making a comeback?
Well, I know some couples in the "TRUTH", that are specifically avoiding having children....atleast in this, "system".
I totally forgot that. 1995 was almost 12 years ago, so many couples realized that they had time to
have children in "this system of things." That makes those children 11 years old and slightly less.
That's prime time for baptizing them nowadays. They used to wait, but these kids will start getting
baptized (if not already) and there could be some positive numbers for the next 2 years.
