Milwaukee, Jehovah’s Witnesses Return To Door-To-Door Ministry After 30-Month Pandemic Pause

Joe Torres of Milwaukee is worked up to take part within the door-to-door ministry for the primary time.

Jehovah’s Witnesses will resume their trademark door-to-door ministry starting Sept. 1 when a two-and-half-year suspension of the work is formally lifted, simply in time to start a worldwide marketing campaign that includes a brand new interactive Bible research program.

The choice to renew their door-to-door ministry marks the entire restoration of all pre-pandemic in-person actions for the 1.3 million Jehovah’s Witnesses within the 13,000 congregations in america. Homes of worship (known as Kingdom Halls) have been reopened April 1, witnessing in public locations resumed Might 31 and in-person conventions are as soon as once more being deliberate for 2023.

“I missed face-to-face contact with folks, seeing their expressions,” mentioned Julie Yow of Milwaukee. “Having the ability to detect how they’re feeling by seeing them helps us get an concept of learn how to assist them.”

The suspension of the general public ministry was a proactive response by the group to maintain communities and congregants protected. The transfer was additionally unprecedented. Jehovah’s Witnesses had been preaching from home to deal with with out interruption for greater than 100 years by way of an financial melancholy, two world wars and international unrest. However COVID-19 demanded a distinct response.

“We consider that the early determination to close down all in-person actions for greater than two years has saved many lives,” mentioned Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We’re now prepared and wanting to reconnect with our neighbors as soon as once more – individual to individual, head to head. It’s not the one manner that we preach, however it has traditionally been the simplest method to ship our message of consolation and hope.”

The transfer coincides with a worldwide marketing campaign to distribute a brand new interactive Bible research program obtainable in a whole lot of languages for gratis. This system comes within the type of a guide, on-line publication or as an embedded characteristic inside the group’s free cell utility, JW Library. Launched in late 2020, the interactive research platform combines textual content, video, illustrations and digital worksheets to assist learners of all ages.

“This new research program is designed to match the training wants of the Twenty first-century pupil,” Hendriks mentioned. “We’re excited to start sharing it with our neighbors as we return to creating private visits.”

The pandemic compelled Jehovah’s Witnesses to rapidly pivot to digital conferences and conventions, whereas conducting their ministry solely by way of letters, cellphone calls and digital Bible research. This has led to progress in assembly attendance and the variety of congregants, with greater than 400,000 newly baptized witnesses becoming a member of the ranks of 120,000 congregations globally in simply the primary two years of the pandemic.

A type of baptized through the pandemic is Joe Torres of Milwaukee. Torres, who retired after 25 years with the Milwaukee Police Division, had this to say about becoming a member of the door-to-door ministry for the primary time: “I’ve knocked on doorways earlier than, being a police officer, in search of witnesses to crimes. Now, I’ll be [knocking on doors] as a witness for Jehovah.”

Torres skilled firsthand how crime went from unhealthy to worse and mentioned, “issues aren’t getting any higher, irrespective of how onerous we strive.” As soon as he realized the hope from the Bible relating to our future, he mentioned: “I can’t look forward to the day when anyone is in search of solutions like I used to be. I might be there and train them.”

For extra details about Jehovah’s Witnesses, their historical past, beliefs and actions, go to their official web site, jw.org, with content material obtainable in additional than 1,000 languages.