When do you think the org reached peak numbers?

by Mickey mouse 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  Mad Sweeney

  A great amount of the growth in foreign language congregations in the USA is due to native English speakers learning the new language and changing over to help satisfy the need for elders/MS/pioneers. Another significant percentage is due to immigration. And then there is also the birth rate among immigrants to the USA. Frankly, there is still some growth from the field but it is negligible. Finally, because of ingrained American prejudice and the fact that the vast majority of elders in congregations of all languages in the USA are English-speaking natives, non-native publishers aren't held to nearly as high a standard as born-in Americans are. It's a lot easier to remain a JW if you're allowed to go through life as a half-assed JW.

  So the Spanish (and other foreign language) growth in the USA is much like everything else in Watchtower world. It is only partly real and the rest is illusory.
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  OnTheWayOut

  I feel that even 15-minute publishers are publishers. To me, membership means "financial contributor" since that's what keeps WTS going. So, of the 7 million members, they can weed out a few children that don't do anything but "place" magazines their parents contribute for and you can weed out many elderly ones who no longer have the funds. That still leaves their "peak" in the neighborhood of now or the last few years.

  I do feel that they will massage the total membership number and it really is not going up anymore. "Overlap" is not going to help them. Too bad this corporate giant will linger on to continue to harm millions of people as it dies its extremely slow death.
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  sir82

  It's a lot easier to remain a JW if you're allowed to go through life as a half-assed JW.

  I agree with that statement as-is. However, culturally, Hispanic JWs are far far FAR more likely to be "obedient to authority". If the "faithful and discreet slave" says "do X", most Hispanic JWs will do "2X".

  There's a bit of an inferiority complex among them as well - at least the ones I know. They have the idea that white Americans, even JWs, are rich, privileged, and prejudiced against them. So, they immerse themsleves into the JW world, where they have what they perceive to be their best chance to "advance" in the eyes of their peers.

  Yes, a lot of the growth comes from recent immigration, but growth is growth.

  We're going to reach the point, in the not-too-distant future, where English-speaking JWs will be the minority of the JW population in the US.

  the vast majority of elders in congregations of all languages in the USA are English-speaking natives,

  I'm not so sure about that. "Vast" majority, certainly not.
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  botchtowersociety

  They have the idea that white Americans, even JWs, are rich, privileged, and prejudiced against them.

  I spent 30+ years in Hispanic congos, and I never sensed this regarding "white" JWs (Hispanics come "white" too you know. In all the colors from white to black). Other than perhaps one or two situations (which were exceptions to the rule), I certainly never felt that way myself, nor saw any evidence of it in the vast majority of the hispanic brothers I knew.
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  Mad Sweeney

  I retract my "vast." My personal experience can't be extrapolated into a generality about the entire country. My bad.
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  sir82

  Maybe it's just the ones I know.

  In the area where I live, most hispanic JWs are recent immigrants. I definitely sense an "us vs. them" undercurrent regarding English-speaking JWs who share their Kingdom Halls.

  It is entirely possible that Hispanic JWs who have lived in the US a long time don't have those feelings.

  However, in my experience, the "long-time in the US" Hispanic congregations also do not enjoy the explosive growth that the congregations made up of more recent immigrants do.

  Anyways it's probably not worth quibbling about. I think the Hispanic JWs will continue to fuel growth in the JW organization for another decade or 2, before the whole thing starts winding slowly down.
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  jwfacts

  Hi Truthlover. The graphs are images, so you need to right click on them and use the copy, or save as options. I would love to see the older information that you have collected.