When I became a Pioneer the yearly hour requirement was 1,200 hours to be spent in door-to-door activity, an average of 100 hours per month. This was in addition to attending meetings and a personal study programme of Society literature. No allowance was made for holidays. Unless the Pioneer is supported by their parents or a husband, they must work part time to support themselves.
A vacation pioneer, now known as temporary pioneer, is one who agrees to spend a proportionate amount time in this activity for just one month at a time during their holidays. Regular Pioneers are now only required to put in 70 hours of field ministry and vacation Pioneers, now known as Auxiliary Pioneers, just 50 hours. These alterations, coupled with reduced meetings, certainly make life as a Jehovah's Witness less demanding.
Pioneering is all about showing off and letting the congregation know how much you are doing, or claiming to be doing. There is nothing to stop a publisher doing Pioneer hours but how would that raise their status?
