by whatiloveaboutwater 70 Replies latest jw friends
From someone on the inside still, I can assure there is no real change except one--911. It would be interesting to see the baptism stats broken down monthly. I'm sure Sept 2001 will be high and it has gone back to the old patterns now. I just went to a circuit assembly and there was no appreciable change, back to less than 1 percent of the attendees and all but 1 under 18 years of age.
I'm sure many thought the end had started and hurried to get on the "ark."
Blondie
What you misunderstand WaterLove is that this is a decrease when compared to worldwide population growth. In JW terms, God will have to destroy more people as a percentage of world population than he did last year.
Also after years of decrease, an increase now is no real increase, is it? Just a reduction of the overall decrease.
can't argue with that, ballistic. but if we are comparing with recent years, then it is an improvement (normative view of course). i suspect that the rate of growth in world population is not much above 2.8% (the increase in JWs) though. have you got any idea about that figure, i would be interested to know.
As I have said before, those who try to "blame" the increase on 9/11 are ingnoring inconvenient fact that JWs did better almost everywhere last year, not just in America or in the so-called coalition against terror countires. For instance, Russia increased 6% this year, compared with only 4% last year. I am also not convinced that the people in Italy, Spain, France, Norway, and Portugal were so affected by the terrible events in New York so that the persistent decreases in JWs would sudenly turn into increases.
It cannot simply be inactive ones returning either, because baptisms are up, and bible studies are up almost 8%.
Let's just accept the fact, JWs, once again, are on the increase.
Like I said, I live in the US and I have not seen the increase in this area.
What has been said is that there is tremendous increase in the Spanish-speaking and other foreign-speaking congregations in the US. They tell us that to shame the English-speaking congregations into doing more.
I can think of at least 15 congregations in this area where no one other than children of JWs has been baptized in 10 years.
The meeting attendance is down; they hound us from the platform in practically every talk about meeting attendance. And now at the circuit assembly, meeting attendance is tied in with being a worthy one.
Blondie
Even if some countries seem not to have been affected by 9/11, JWs in those countries most certainly were. Almost immediately the Society began using the incident as a call for action. Some of the most striking photos and drawings in the magazines, including the front covers, were obviously designed to say, "Brothers, there isn't much time left. We all need to do everything we can to warn people about Armageddon!" Fear is a great motivator.
Frank
http://blue.census.gov/ipc/prod/wp98/ib98-4.pdf
http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2001/english/ch01.html
The U.S. population is growing by 3 million people a year equal to adding the population of Iowa, Panama, Liberia or Armenia. World population is growing by 75 to 80 million people a year, equal to that of Egypt or Vietnam. Every four years the world adds the equivalent of another United States, growing by 150 people a minute or 9,000 people per hour. Immigration and fertility are expected to drive U.S. population to over 400 million by 2050. Pakistan will fill the 4th slot, overtaking Indonesia and Nigeria. Brazil is expected to fall to seventh place by 2050.
I'll wait to see the all official published figures. Increases are based on peak values as are the totals. I'd like to see the average figures. There were spikes after 911 and the change in the 15 minute rule. Spikes can be used for spin but averages tell the truth.
Thirdson
Sorry, I meant to add that in 1969, world population was growing at 2.4% a year, today the rate is 1.3%. But any increase in the witnesses which is lower than 1.3% this year is a decrease in real terms.
You would obviously expect them to have a 1.3% increase just through reproduction alone without counting the 4000 hours (or whatever this year's figure is) that it takes to convert one person.
Edited by - ballistic on 16 November 2002 9:6:38
Why would anyone think that the WT. is being honest? Does their history indicate that they wouldn't ever fudge figures? I have been a JW over 40 yrs. now, and I see ZERO anything. Believe me, I hear it everywhere! A brother from a different cong. told me yesterday that their regular meeting attendance is in the 40's and they have 70 publishers.....Sorry, but I don't believe these figures.
