Convention attendance

joe134cd

Just heard from a PIMI cousin who recently attended a convention, and remarked about the low attendance. Peak was about 500. I remember that circuit, in years past, had attendances of 1000+. It's been over a decade now since I last attended a JW convention.

nowwhat?

You mean assembly!

Phizzy

" You mean assembly! " Yea, it's funny how many of the old J.W special words have changed, always it seems they change to make things sound more acceptable.

Maybe in the case of "Assembly" a widely circulated joke spurred them on to change it, here is the Joke , now out of date of course : " A guy drives past a building that has the sign on it " Jehovah's Witnesses Assembly Hall" and he thinks to himself " So that is where they build those Robots !"

With one of the latest to change it as usual was done for Legal reasons, the change from "Disfellowshipped" ( a crap word anyway) to "Removed", to try to fool the Courts that their practices in this regard have changed, they have not.

On the matter of attendance , I would dearly love to know what the current ones in my area are, Kent, U.K, as I think it is great that the numbers go down ! I am sure they have in my area, but I attended my last "District Assembly" as it was then called, in 2006, and my last K.H Meeting in early 2008, so have no way to find out.

dropoffyourkeylee

In these parts they gerrymander the circuits so that the one-day convention has a similar attendance as they used to. The local congregation has been moved to different circuits twice that I recall in the last three years.

Journeyman

IIRC, the one and two-day events are "Assemblies" (held within one circuit) and the longer 3-day (used to be even longer) ones, usually in the summer here in the UK, are "Conventions" (held with multiple circuits). It's been that way for at least a couple of decades.

Back in 2006, it was definitely officially a "Convention" not an "Assembly". (Just Google 2006 District Convention and you'll see.)

Maybe locally bros informally called it an 'assembly', especially if it was held at a JW assembly hall rather than a football stadium or conference centre?

The main change was from "District Convention" to "Regional Convention", largely because they got rid of 'districts' (including 'sacking' the former District Overseers).

Beth Sarim

Circa 2009-2010 District Convention became the Regional Convention. About that time. When the District Overseer arrangement became obsolete.

Journeyman is correct.

Beth Sarim

If they sack the circuit overseers arrangement,,, I wonder how long it will be before the circuit a$$emblies are ""renamed"". Down the road I'm wondering??

Journeyman

I can't imagine the Org would dump Circuit Overseers - they need some sort of arrangement to monitor the actions of local elders and congregations and try to keep them in line with the mothership.

But then again, GB2.0 (or is it even GB2.5 by now?) are making a lot of surprising changes lately, so who knows?

As for the original topic, I'm sure total attendance numbers are falling overall across much of North America and Europe. Some regions might still see a more steady attendance than others, and patterns are hard to identify for certain yet, when many congregations and even whole circuits are being rearranged, but there are too many anecdotal stories of empty seats to be coincidental, or just an anomaly.

blondie

I have thought about circuit overseers being eliminated. At one point, local elders were trained to be substitute circuit overseers, because the CO schedule was so packed with 1) visiting each congregation 2x a year 2) convention overseeing 3) having their own time off 4) conducting the pioneer school... Organized to do Jehovah's Will (elders manual in the past) Chapter 20, p. 111

"Those who are appointed as circuit overseers by the Governing Body receive training and gain experience

first by serving as substitute circuit overseers. Such men love the ministry and love their brothers. They are zealous pioneers, diligent students of the Bible, and effective speakers and teachers. They are outstanding in manifesting the fruitage of the spirit, and they demonstrate balance, reasonableness, and discernment. If a brother is married, his pioneer wife is exemplary in her conduct and dealings with others. She is an effective preacher. She also understands her role as a submissive Christian wife, not speaking for her husband or dominating conversations. Circuit overseers and their wives have a rigorous schedule, so those reaching out for this service must be in good health. Pioneers do not apply for the circuit work. Rather, they make their desire to be in the circuit work known to their circuit overseer, who will provide them with suggestions."

Beth Sarim

They need circuit overseers.

To whip the eldubs & keep the $heeples on their toes. Keep em inline,, on edge.

JourneyMan is correct !!

Convention attendance

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