after spending a month in cold,rainy, snowy conditions, and using up 100's of gallons of fuel in service. jehovah certainly blessed our efforts!!
we must have had zero invitees up from zero the year before!!!
kingdom hall packed from memorial invitees!!!
by nowwhat? 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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breakfast of champions
Our hall was filled, but not standing room only/out the door as it was in years past. Also noticed a lot of worldly relatives attending (perhaps out of pity).
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wannaexit
The memorial in my end was filled with disfellowshipped, inactive and relatives of witness families. It was was same old faces that have been showing up for the last 20 years. I watched very carefully and not ONE person was present because of the invitation mania.
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poppers
Geeze, I didn't get my invitation. I feel so let down - not.
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punkofnice
Do we thing that generally there is a fall in interest in the mock the Christ memorial of late?
The last time I attended 3 years ago there were spare seats although the attendance was larger than the usual poppy show.
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sir82
LOL.
Our congregation was so proud of the 8000 or so invitations distributed.
Number who showed up because of receiving said invitation? 0.
What a horrific waste of time, gasoline, paper, ink, etc.
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Witness My Fury
Repeat that by however many congragations there are and it equals one almighty waste of time and resources. I think it's just busy work to keep the flock feeling useful.
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DesirousOfChange
I'd say it was all the regular irregular attendees -- the submarine witnesses (who surface once a year for Memorial), but there were about 4 or 5 "Bible Studies" in attendance as well (judging by their dress).
These were all poorly dressed, poorly groomed people. I'm not meaning to sound prejudiced, but what it tells me is that there is no one studying or attending the special event who are "educated". By that, meaning that they are financially able and mentally "with it" enough to know how to dress and "mix" in a crowd like this for a special religious event (or a PTA meeting, or sales meeting, or wedding/funeral/etc). The JWs are only attracting disadvantaged, uneducated, social misfits.
They are attracted to the JWs because these people visited them at their home and treated them with respect and better than they are treated by most of society (which likely avoids or shuns them). They feel the love. They've found a group of "nice" people who will accept them in with open arms -- something they are not accustomed to having -- and who are promising them a better life in the future.
So, yes..........it's a wonderful place for these disadvantaged people.
However, the 3 or 4 "Bible Studies" that have attended our Memorial and/or other meetings in the past 5 years are NOT "progressing". Did they research JWs or find jwfacts and get scared off? Shouldn't it be alarming that anyone who has some "smarts" about them, cannot be lured in to the Org anymore? Shouldn't it send up red flags that only the socially disadvantaged or mentally ill are being recruited?
Does anyone else find it to be the same way elsewhere?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Doc
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TheOldHippie
"The JWs are only attracting disadvantaged, uneducated, social misfits."
1. Cor. 1: 26-29:
26 For YOU behold his calling of YOU, brothers, that not many wise in a fleshly way were called, not many powerful, not many of noble birth; 27 but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put the wise men to shame; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put the strong things to shame; 28 and God chose the ignoble things of the world and the things looked down upon, the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are, 29 in order that no flesh might boast in the sight of God.
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nowwhat?
well to be fair and objective, we have this crazy old brother in the hall that no one wants to work with in service, that brought 4 people! of course they were the poorly dressed social misfits that the other posts talked about. he literally picked up these guys and drove them to the hall [maybe at gunpoint all i know] LOL