The real story: Is your congregation stagnant, dwindling or thriving?

by truthseeker 23 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Frank75

  I told my wife that either I can't count, the attendants can't count, or somebody is lying.

  When I was the attendant in charge of this back in the 90's, I soon realized the numbers was all the CO was interested in. I then started to fudge the count. I never was so brash as to go plus 20, maybe as much as 4-6 to get above the circuit average was my goal.

  It did the trick until someone figured out what I was doing and I was moved over to Subscriptions. LOL

  It was fun while it lasted, but in true JW dysfunction no one ever said a thing to me. I guess it just bugged them to hear the CO praising the faithful for a change.

  The other pricks were nasty at the counting. They would not count sleeping or inattentive youngsters (actually in the guidelines) and one asshole counted as soon as the meeting started and then waited until the Service Meeting announcements to count knowing full well that people were still in the washroom.

  Over all, I think what has been stated is accurate. The dubs are in sad decline (no matter what their annual report says, they are provable habitual Liars) People still in are mostly lost as they search for the ideal congregation. That is why you can drive by a Hall shared by a number of congo's on a Sunday and see 20 cars at 10:00, 25 cars at 1:00 and then a capacity parking lot at 7:00!

  The Internet and sites like this (when the mods aren't out of control) are changing that to a degree.

  Frank75
• 

  DaCheech

  my congreg. attendance is 80%.

  if it was not for the bethellites they sent, we would have a drop of 15% or so.

  even the bethellite couples are absent 20% of the time (they must be working OT in bethel........... in which is funny since we are not allowed to work OT and miss the meetings).

  2 less ministerial servants than there were last year. some other elders miss a couple of months of the year (spend those with children in other states).

  young ones don't care about privileges (except for the token 2 arse kissers)
• 

  besty

  Our former cong - London Penge sharing KH with Beckenham - had 110 pubs when I joined to 10 years ago and 110 pubs when we were DF'd earlier this year.
  
  Move along - nothing to see here.
  
  (Plenty in and out as you'd expect with a London cong. but ultimately to no effect in a decade - knock those doors harder you dimwits)
• 

  ssrriotsquad

  The congregation that I am in is ever-changing, as people usually come and go very regulary. So there was no means or standards to judge by (other than the ratio of meeting attendance with publishers which usually stays the same 95% for most meetings). You had your stayers (usually the old folk), but alot of families come and go. Some came from the outside, and others went to the outside. One year we would have 100+ and another year was 80+ and the following year vice-versa.

  However, a friend (which I happened to bump into a DC a year ago after not seeing him for about 10 years) had reported that the congregation that he is in, they were originally 70+ for a rural town with 5 elders and 5 MS's went in a short space of time down to 35 publishers and 3 elders and 1 MS, and then went down to 20+ publishers with only 1 elder and 1 MS. They ended up having to use elders/MS's from nearby rural congregations (about 45mins drive in any direction) to help with their meeting parts. I don't know if they are still doing it though.

  This was due to one family that I happen to know of (and he knew of them too as we had run-ins with them at CA's in our youth) moved into his congregation and absolutely ripped the heart out of it. I never been to his congregation, but my friend said it was one of the best congregations around (and he has been to quite a few), very relaxed and they had heaps of fun - even more relaxed then the one that we grew up in. They moved in, it just went straight to hell. People just couldn't put up with them and their antics and just moved out to nearby congregations while most of them still work in the area. The only increase they had were from DF's ones being re-instated. It ended up that the CO had to recommmended that this elder stand down for the benefit of the congregation. Which he did and then they started getting the other congregations to help them out. (But as long he and his family stays there, that congregation will never get back up on its feet).

  The ironic thing is, the congregation that this family left, virtually doubled in one week. My second-cousin lived in a neighboring congregation that used the same hall and they had the biggest BBQ party ever between all the congs that shared that hall. (I think the entire circuit did too). The other congregations that used the same hall attendance fell by the same amount of congregation that rose. Mainly because there were many of those that lived in that congregations area but went to the others meetings.