Voltaire, there's plenty of hope.
There is no real growth from the people in the territory here in the USA. The growth is from
immigrants, JW children, and allowing the elderly to post 15 minutes per month as publishers
in order to bulk up their total numbers.
The immigrants will get tired of it. In the countries they come from, they will tire of it. It will
eventually happen.
The vast majority of the children will not stay in the JW's. It's just a shame that they are
baptizing them younger these days. There was a wave of childbirths after the 1995 change
in "this generation." That wave is getting baptized now. That ends soon.
The 15-minute publishers will pass away and nobody will replace them. They are true-blue JW's
for the most part, and the next batch are not as loyal to WTS rules and meetings as they are.
3% really only represents falling further behind. The world population is expanding faster than
that. Plus, the money isn't really coming in like it used to. I don't believe the WTS is in financial
trouble yet, but they will keep cutting back as the money dwindles. That will severely hinder any
growth. People going door-to-door with just flyers- that won't attract too many.
World disasters might cause more to join the JW's. In the end, those that flee to the WTS will
complain once they get there. Cheer up. There's lots of hope.