At the international Convention last week I caught up with my old Congregation and asked about the young ones...there were 2 answers. 1. They flat out left got a boyfriend etc. And 2. Havent seen them for awhile meaning they faded or went off the grid so as not to be disfellowshipped. The Elder I spoke with was not comfortable at all though I was just showing personal interest. THEY ARE ALL GONE!!! My cong. Was 110 when I left now 54....the Elders are just that ELDERS in there late 60's and the cong. Is full of old woren outdubs still hoping not to die in this system...."I havent seen brother so n so...he died....oh and sister whats it? She died last year..." Oh how my mighty Cong has literally dried up and is on its last "Generation."
"The Waters" of Jehovah are drying up in Australia...65% young ones leave!
by Witness 007 31 Replies latest jw experiences
-
-
Crazyguy
That is the future of most congregations in the world and it makes me happy.
-
DesirousOfChange
"Millions Now Dead..........................Were Promised to Never Die"
The situation that you speak of is the result of people believing false prophets.
Doc
-
skin
Drying up here in NZ too. When I joined as a teenager our congregtion had a lots of young ones, now only about 1 in 3 (or less) of these are still going to meetings.
-
JWdaughter
Sad, but inevitable. My aunts congregation was just assimilated by another. There had been 5 congs. at the hall she met in. There are now 3 with the latest assimilation. Its a poorer area in an area of high property values and at one time, 5 congs were necessary. No more. There are still 2 at the hall that separated when I was about 7 or 8. Same two. Dont know if there was any branching off and re-approachments in the meantime. I get very little info. In our family-used to be lots(dozens) of JWs clear into my generation. So many so that family reunions were getting really awkward there for awhile. There are now 3 including the distant murderous cousin (never charged or dFd for it).
-
LisaRose
That's why they are coming out with all the children's videos, they are seeing that young ones growing up in the organization do not feel connected to the religion. Maybe they feel that parents are not doing a good enough job of training their children, so they are cutting out the middleman and attempting to get them brainwashed before they hit puberty and have a mind of their own.
I dont think it will work, I think many parents are ambivilent about the organization themselves and are not comfortable brow beating their children they way their parents did to them.
-
Mum
Generation Y are a different breed, IMHO. They are inclined to question everything and consider FACTS above "authority," especially arbitrary authority. I admire them a lot! I know that I'm making a sweeping generalization, but I think statistics bear out what I'm saying.
-
geevee
The total of jw's in Australia hasn't really grown much in the last 10 years, there were a bit over 64,000 when we stopped attending, and it would seem to still be that now [?] more leaving through the backdoor than are coming in the front..... ;-) good!
-
steve2
Perhaps we should start a new thread titled "JW PARENTS GIVE BIRTH TO GOATS".
Closer to home in New Zealand, when I see the JWs out door-knocking I glean three main impressions (not counting the frumpish dress-code of many of them, but I digress):
1. There do not seem to be as many shuffling from door-to-door (compared to the 1970s when we fair swarmed in big numbers over the territory by the car loads). I count at most 6 and the last time my home territory was covered, there were 4 witnesses, shuffling door-to-door in twos.
2. Among the groups I have seen out witnessing, I seldom see children and/or younger ones (e.g., adolescents or young adults). They are invariably middle aged or older (again, compared to the 70s and 80s when young ones were conspicuously present doing the door-to-door work).
3. The frequency of covering the territory has reduced. It now takes them longer to complete the territory, a function of fewer Witnesses engaging in the door-to-door work.
I am certain that my observations are not new to the organization's leaders. They may thump the same old tired message to motivate the rank and file to get out and witness, but their success at doing so appears very, very limited.
-
NewYork44M
With the steady outflow of young ones the diehards are even more critical to sustain the illusion of a religion. This is a reason for the 1914 video - to placate the diehards and help them understand that their life of sacrifice is not for nothing (which we all know it was).