by slimboyfat 153 Replies latest watchtower bible
The organization itself makes a very big deal out of any indications of growth no matter how seemingly trivial.
Not only that, they make a big deal out of any indications of decline. For instance, at the DC they discussed changes in the past 5 years: less magazines, smaller magazines, less meetings. What do these indicate? A progressive organization!
Hah!
By that logic, if they dwindle down to just the 8 guys in Brooklyn (unlikely as that may be), they'd interpret it as the ultimate affirmation that they're God's BFFs.
cedars - "Reasons for the downsizing will always be speculative, but the fact that publisher growth is mostly found in poorer countries without low internet connection is, in my opinion, a big clue."
May the inexorable tide of the Information Age never ebb.
Both are given in the detailed chart. Not a grand difference, but some. For example, in the 2013 Yearbook (2012's figures) you had: 7,782,346 PEAK publishers (which is the number they use for the summary). However, the AVERAGE was: 7,538,994 - a difference of 243,352
It's a difference of over 3%!!. Certainly very significant. However if they provide both values in a chart, they can't be accused of dishonesty there
By the way, the "peak publishers" ALWAYS comes from August, and it is ALWAYS due to reports from previous months all coming in all at once. It bears no relation whatsoever to the number of "Active" JWs for that month.
For example, if Suzy Publisher forgot to turn in her reports for April and June, by the time September 1 rolls around the secretary will hound her for all such missing reports.
If she then turns in reports for April and June and August, she counts as "3 publishers" in the August report.
THAT's how you get "peak publishers" - a number utterly divorced from anything remotely resembling what actually took place for a particular month.
sir82 - "...'peak publishers' - a number utterly divorced from anything remotely resembling what actually took place for a particular month."
Jeez, the way you describe it, it sounds like it's utterly divorced from f**king reality.
Well sir, that was revealing. Edited to add: No wonder.
Also, FT pubs are working like crazy to get their "time in" (one of my FAVORITE JW sayings), before the service year ends.
Toad ya. The numbers are BS.
Don't tell the (remaining) members of my family who are still-in that officially they are not supposed to report part hours; mind you, knowing them the way I do (and still loving them), if you told them, they effortlessly round up all the part hours to full hours. But as it stands, I'm told the elders never question the report slips - ever - but they may raise an eyebrow at an absent report slip or two, but only if you don't make up for it in August. Slim pickings, huh?
What do I see?
Bigger and bigger numbers.......that mean less and less. Thinner magazines. Fewer meetings. No more Written Review and less reading/study. More hours spent to get one person to baptism. 3 day Assemblies instead of week long Conventions. No more food service because Witnesses won't freely contribute for it. One thin Awake per month instead of two. No more subscriptions. Branch Offices shut down all over the globe. Can't find enough elders in contrast to the beginning of the Elder arrangement.
So, you want to say, "JW's are still increasing" - and you have the reported numbers.
But that increase comes with a price. More Witnesses = More superficial Witnesses.
Let the GB celebrate their increase. An increase of passive-aggressive, dependent, superficial, wallet-closing, meeting-skipping, porn-viewing, obedient-when watched publishers.
Have fun with that, Bethel.
metatron
I keep thinking -
How is it that the numbers keep growing in the US, and the west in general, if supposedly at least half of all JWs raised in da twoof here leave it at some point, and also given that JWs generally aren't big baby makers? Spanish language congregations account for some of it, for sure, but those alone couldn't possibly be enough to offset the low retention rate.
Then it occurred to me. This is just speculation and guesswork, but it would seem to me that the age distribution among JWs probably isn't the same as the general population, due to the late-60s/early 70s influx. So what you have in the USA is a mass of baby-boomer aged JWs, and their kids (the ones who stuck with it anyway) and grandkids, so you have three generations of Jaydubs attending kingdoom hells in the USA, plus the 80s converts and their kids (a sort of echo effect), that are all there mostly because of the mentioned late 60s/early 70s spike.
I would speculate that if you were to compare the age distribution of the population of the USA as a whole vs. that of JWs, you would find that boomer-aged JWs make up a significantly higher percentage of JWs as a whole than the same group in respect to the general population. At the same time I would also speculate that there are relatively fewer JWs in their 70s and 80s than those in the same age range in the gen pop, because the ones in this age range would (mostly) have come in prior to the spike.
So i say, JWism in the white west dies with the boomers, the ones who enthusiastically embraced JWism in the heady days of the early 70s, and held on for decades after, and who keep holding on, who are now in their 60s and silently wondering just WHEN THE HELL ARMAGEDDON IS GONNA GET HERE??
