The Watchtower Attendance Crisis

by metatron 55 Replies latest jw friends

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  DanTheMan

  The last cong I attended was supposed to be about 100 publishers, but at the TMS & service meeting, there'd usually only be about 30-40 people, the people who had been JW's for years and years. It wasn't much better on Sundays.

  There was one sister who commented more than anybody, she parroted the party line to the T. She was in her 40's and had been in a bad car accident as a young adult. The accident left her with impaired motor and speech skills. It was painful to listen to her 5 minute rambling comments where she would berate herself in her halting, slurred speech about not doing more and how she would pray and pray that she could do more in field service, etc.

  This was one of many things that made me stop and think, what a f*%@ed up religion I'm involved with, that this crippled lady felt so much guilt because she didn't feel like she was doing enough.
• 

  garybuss
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  dothemath

  There's been a dramatic decrease in this area...........cities with 4 congregations going to 3..........an assembly hall that used to have 7 cong.......now down to 4 (none of them share a hall anymore).

  There's been whole circuits dissolved, let alone congregations.

  I think it's going to get worse as time goes on..........I feel sorry for the elders left to keep up the schedule when they're the only ones left...........(last one out can turn the lights off)
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  got my forty homey?

  My Father us to hate it when the elders in my congregation did this. He felt that if some wanted to sit in the back by themselves let them. I really think it sucks that elders in the Congo would get a perverted pleasure in forcing some to sit where they wanted the "flock" to sit like the nazi's in a concentration camp. If it were me i would walk right out the door.

  Come to think of it, I did walk out the door!
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  dustyb

  yeh, i've kinda noticed numbers going down, especially in the youth numbers because of the internet, or the family isn't all JW and the non-JW family just flood the JW kiddies with real caring and such...and information. and the internet =D oh ya, i'm also in the bible belt, so numbers haven't dropped DRASTICALLY, just a bit.
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  Pork Chop

  Right now I'm familiar with Halls in three very different areas and I can't say that I'm seeing this phenomenon in any of them. Indeed, the urban congregations are building new halls because they've got four or five congregations meeting in the old ones and it's getting too difficult to schedule. Rural and small towns are a little different but quite a few of them have two congregations meeting in the same Hall. I know of two congregations that have significantly decreased attendance and one that is very stagnant, but I know of about forty that are going in the other direction. This may be a geographical deal but the three areas are separated by several hundred miles.

  With regard to the Hispanic congregations, I can say that they tend to be considerably more authoritarian than Anglo congregations. Very paternalistic society seems to carry over into the congregations. Lots of rule making, lots of back room visits, lots of critical comments and condemnation for things the publications say are matters of conscience. I've even noticed quite public criticism of Hispanic publishers who become US citizens because of the oath.
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  Joker10

  In all the congregations I'm familiar with, the attendance is always higher than the number of publishers. Think about it. Husbands, children, extended family, bible studies, one-timers.
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  Gopher

  attendance is always higher than the number of publishers.

  This may be true on Sundays, for the public talk and WT Study.

  In the 3 congregations where I attended as an adult, this was NOT true for the weeknight meetings (Ministry School, Service Meeting and Book Study). There's always a number of non-attenders, except for the week of the Circuit Overseer's visit.
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  larc

  Pork Chop, how do you know so many congregations, i.e., 40. Are you a circuit overseer, of a social scientist doing unauthorized research?
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  avengers

  This is why Circuit Overseers ( and the GB) are worried.

  Question:

  How can you tell they are worried? Have you talked to them? I'd like to know

  Just curious. Thanks.

  Andy