The myth about "working a territory to life - NOT to death."

by Bungi Bill 4 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Bungi Bill

  In the 1980s, when the JW's door-knocking campaign had been revived somewhat, many congregations started covering their territory quite frequently. We were repeatedly assured not to be put off, that congregations "worked their territory to life, not to death;"and that the "greatest increases were coming from territories that were being worked often."

  During those years, I was in an area that was spilling over with JWs. There were half a dozen congregations jammed into this low cost housing area:

  - the publishers attracted, not by the prospects of bringing lots of people "into the Truth", but rather by the low cost housing (the Witnesses being at the bottom of the socio-economic pile!).

  The territory was being covered once every two to three weeks. However, the result was quite different one to what the Society assured everybody it would be.

  Rather than "working the territory to life", people were instead heartily sick of us. So much so, that it seemed on many of the maps the number of "Do Not Calls" almost equalled the number of places that it was safe to call at. In nearly all cases, you were doing well to even make it to a person's door before receiving your marching orders. (The low intelligence of the typical resident of such a housing project did not help, of course - the average person's vocabulary consisted of little more then the "Fornication Under Consent of the King" word!)

  A new Circuit Overseer was appointed in mid-1990, and what he was not going to achieve was not worth achieving, apparently. He went into it with his customary dash and enthusiasm, but quickly hit a brick wall in the typical response from residents of that territory - I well remember his attempts to strike up a conversation with two guys who were servicing a parked up semi-trailer at the roadside, and their very quick rebuff of his overtures.

  So much for "working a territory to life"!

  Or have others here actually experienced a situation in which saturation coverage of a territory did bring positive results?

  Bill.
• 

  metatron

  What the morons in the Service Dept. fail to understand is comparing high turnover territories with static ones. Urban territories will often be a card with an apartment block number on it. You meet different people everytime you go out.

  Then there are suburban and rural territories in which the people met door to door almost never change. More door to door simply annoys them.

  These same morons tried to create Saturday bookstudies to reproduce the success they heard about with attendance and participation. Again, they stupidly ignored the fact that these bookstudies were favored by old timers, who didn't like driving at night and could ramble on with comments about the 'old days'.

  What do you expect from a brain dead cult that endlessly predicts Armageddon, fails for 130 years, and doesn't notice.

  metatron
• 

  Anony Mous

  Door-to-door ministry is the 'trademark' of the WTBTS. They actually say it themselves in all the KM's. Any type of nicely dressed up people walking down the street are considered JW's whether they are or not and that is their 'advertisements' (the '80's and '90's view that bad advertisements are also advertisements).

  We have territories that have a lot of do-not-disturbs, no-peddling, I even saw a forbidden sign with the silhouette of a man and a women with a briefcase and a handbag on one of the doors (found it: http://bestuff.com/stuff/jehovahs-witnesses) and recently we have gotten a restraining order against our congregation from one of the houses so we're banned from the street. Some have been shot at (one pioneer has actual bullet holes in their car) but they all write it off as 'persecution'.
• 

  WTWizard

  This might have worked in the period between about 1984 and 1992. Back in those days, it was almost a fad to become one of Jehovah's Witlesses. You would find some publishers that had 4 or more studies--sometimes at once, attending in various stages of progress. In those days, people were contacted less often.

  Then, the witlesses started working the territory to death. Instead of once every 2-3 years, the witlesses would show up every other week. Now, the same people that were not interested last week are still not interested this week, and will become even more not interested the more the witlesses hound them. Whereas they might have become interested had they had the chance to forget about it for a while.

  And, the Internet is making it worse. Until 1997, Internet was slow (dial-up). You paid by the hour, tied up a phone line, and web pages were text only. Then around 1997, ISP's started providing offers for something like 1,000 hours free for the next 45 days. Broadband--flat rate, always on, faster browsing--started showing up then. At which point, people can research the religion and find the hiding of whopper offenses and harping on piddling things.

  And search engines are helping. I type "Jehovah's Witness" into a search engine, and get suggestions like "Jehovah's Witness Cult". Before I even click onto a page, I can find 15 or 20 suggestions. Usually, they are not in favor of the religion. You go on, and find that they don't even abide by the Bible. They require people to go by bad doctrines, even if they can prove such wrong using their own Bible, until the leaders themselves fix them. And then, when the witlesses show up again, that's when householders get pxxxed. They don't want a religion they just found last week was idolatrous or is ruining lives. And the witlesses will not take no for an answer--they just keep coming back. That's when the guns, pepper spray, and biting dogs along with police threats start coming out.

  Perhaps, had they just let the territories go a while instead of hounding people every other week, they would still be interested. That would have been enough time to forget research, to forget that they were not interested, or to have something happen that they might later be interested. But, instead, they have to keep working them as if every minute they are not out there is a life they are murdering. Hopefully, that continues giving them rotten luck with having more people not being interested.
• 

  Mr. Falcon

  WTWizard is right. More nonsense. Clever little witty saying that create broad sweeping generalizations.

  Some JWs have made the observation that people's hostilities to us is evidence of the Last Days TM . But honestly, if the same crazy nutjobs that go to my hall banged on my door twice a month, 8 months a year because they insist on working the same territory over and over again, I would probably be a little pissy after awhile.

  Maybe their aggrevation and hostility is proof that we are over-working certain territories.

  Just a thought.