This information I "gleaned" came from the 2002 report thread.
Growth Rate Analysis,
As a businessman I am familiar how stock analysts
track growth rates for fast growing retail companies
and the % increase of "same store sales" is quite
important. You can only throw up so many locations
before you saturate the market and then start pirating
sales form other existing stores.
Therefore calculating the number of newly baptised
ones in relation to number of publishers generates
an interesting number.
1995 for every 100 pubs there were 7.0 baptised
1996 for every 100 pubs there were 7.0 bapt.
1997 for every 100 pubs there were 6.9 bapt.
1998 for every 100 pubs there were 5.8 bapt.
1999 for every 100 pubs there were 5.7 bapt.
2000 for every 100 pubs there were 5.0 bapt.
2001 for every 100 pubs there were 4.4 bapt.
2002 for every 100 pubs there were 4.0 bapt.
This is pretty obvious from the very good graph
that was posted above. The WT "ratio of pub
effectiveness" has nearly droped in half from
1998. Wonder if popularity of internet and
private investigation plus JW rumor mill was a
factor starting in 1998!!! hehe
Therefore as "older ones" die off, younger ones
become inactive the
"pub effectiveness ratio" should continue downward.
Battman