I am just saying what I see. I’ve known the same congregation since the early 1990s. The attendance is down from the peak of the 1990s, for sure, but up a little since before the pandemic. Other congregations nearby seem to be doing fine, plus a few congregations abroad that I know slightly. The Scottish convention had around 8000 in attendance, similar to attendances for the past 30 years or so, not up, but not down either.
I don’t see any evidence of Kingdom Halls “emptying”. But the main reason I find the statement ironic is because churches truly are “emptying” at an astonishing rate. In Scotland alone there are hundreds more churches set for closure in the coming years and many church congregations are down to a handful of old people. One Methodist church I visited had 8 people in attendance, all over 70. A Unitarian church I attended had 13 people, all over 70 except 2 in their 40s. The Christian Science church was down to a handful of old people and closed a few months ago. A Baptist church that once had around 100 on a Sunday was down to 25 when I visited last year. Churches of Scotland are closing all over the country. I attended the Church of Scotland that has the second highest membership remaining in the whole country. They had 80 people in attendance, 90% over 60 years old, and only one child. This is hugely down on attendance before the pandemic when they had around 150 on a Sunday, including some families.
My own firsthand experience is that, in the Kingdom Halls and assemblies/conventions I have seen, the attendances are holding up well, whereas the churches are emptying rapidly.
