Business Territory

by Amazing 14 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Amazing

  Business Territory in the 1960s and 1970s: When I was first associated in the late 1960s, it was common to see JWs roaming the streets of downtown districts, offering the magazines. Sometime in the early 1970s, after I had been a JW for a few years, we worked businesses directly. This was especially true when certain events were newsworthy - such as the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Malawi. I was nervous at first, but I discovered that store owners and managers were actually very nice for the most part, and appreciated the public attention we drew to the Malawi issue. As a result, a number of stores wrote to President Banda of Malawi to protest the mistreatment of Jehovah's Witness by the Malawi Congress Party.

  1980s: I recall when the Pioneer work seemed to take off again in the 1980s - and the JWs were once again working Business territories - but this time it seemed confined to streetwork. We even had parts in the Service Meeting on how to avoid standing like a "Wooden Indian" holding up magazines, and instead, how to approach people walking on the streets. But ... then, for some reason, Pioneers started working business streets between 6:00AM and 8:00AM before many shoppers were around, and it was just employees going to work - often too busy to stop and talk to JWs. I eventually realized that this was done to get in time - as there was less concern for talking to people.

  1990s and beyond: I left the organization in 1992 and was DA'd in 1995. So, I have not seen or heard anything of Business Territory or streetwork. In fact, even in larger cities I have not seen a JW "Wooden Indian" holding up magazines for many years. Has the Business Territory / Streetwork died? If so, why do you think that this is so? - Amazing
• 

  JeffT

  The wooden Indians are very much in evidence here. There are a couple of older black ladies that stand in front of one of the entrances to the bus tunnel holding up copies of the WT and Awake while they gossip. They seem to be there regularly. I've seen others at different places and times.

  It is obviously all about putting time on the reports. They make no effort to actually talk to people.
• 

  Billygoat

  I remember doing street work in Waikiki when I lived in Hawaii. It was always in the early hours of the morning, but there was always lots of traffic then too. The tourists were used to waking up in their local time zone (usually 2 or more hours earlier than Hawaii) and were already up and about at 6 am or so. I remember talking to many people while they were walking along the beach and relaxed. Really the fondest field service memories I have were at the beaches in Hawaii.

  I don't ever remember us doing business work though. I can't see many businesses tolerating that nowadays though.

  Andi
• 

  RunningMan

  The street work has certainly not died in my area, although it has been
  reincarnated. You won't find JW's imitating billboards around here, but
  they are making extra efforts to annoy people in parking lots and at bus
  stops.

  The "approach work" is being pushed pretty hard.
• 

  DIM

  they have parts encouraging street work about once every two months or so at the thursday night sales meeting. Last time I was in NYC I encountered at least a half a dozen "wooden indians" just standing on a street corner.....did they really think anybody would come up to them and beg for a "bible study" or something? pathetic.

  i'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight-short-sighted-narrow minded hypocritics. all i want is the truth just gimme some truth - John Lennon
• 

  metatron

  I still like my Soviet analogy - it fits so well when you look
  at decay presided over by a gerontocracy.

  Soviet era workers used to say "they pretend to pay us and we
  pretend to work". As a result, productivity was horrid because
  labor was often just pretense.

  Similarily, most of the "ministry" isn't a ministry of any kind.
  It's just an unproductive pretense. Businesses have gotten a bit
  more hostile (look at signs in parking lots about soliciting or
  handing out literature), but like the rest of field service,
  it's mostly empty hours going thru the motions.

  metatron
• 

  JT

  Jeff says:
  

  "There are a couple of older black ladies"

  #####

  you cold-bloodied man---

  smile

  hey man --you think that is something- one day i came up out of the subway heading to my congo up in Harlem on 125 and Lenox

  and there were these 2 black sisters in my hall sitting down with a card table and the publicatons spead on one side and they were on the other side eating Popeye's chicken

  it was the funniest thing i had ever seen

  talk about counting time and chillin

  james
• 

  yrs2long

  My cong did laundromats and busstops. I actually began several studies from working a couple of bus stops.
• 

  Undecided

  Hi Amazing,

  Back in the 40s, at the assemblies we were sandwiched between two large signs that advertised the assembly talk for Sunday. We were just kids and stood on the street with the WT. and Awake or Consolation, I forget which it was then. I hated it.

  Ken P.
• 

  CPiolo

  Hello Amazing:

  A couple of years ago I used to take the bus to work early in the morning. My bus stop was in a part of town with lots of small businesses. They weren't open at that hour, but often there was a seemingly odd JW gentleman (odd in manner and dress, I never spoke with him at length --he wore a long black overcoat and a hat similar to that worn by the Amish) offering literature on the sidewalk. He offered me some a couple of times. As well, while waiting at the bus stop, adults driving their children to school would, at times, stop and have the children offer literature.

  CPiolo