Witnesses Knocking on Doors Again
provided by Joshua Caleb Johnson
Syracuse Jehovah’s Witnesses Return to Door-to-Door Ministry After 30-Month Pandemic Pause
Jehovah’s Witnesses will resume their trademark door-to-door ministry beginning September 1 when a two-and-half-year suspension of the work is officially lifted, just in time to begin a global campaign featuring a new interactive Bible study program.
The decision to resume their door-to-door ministry marks the complete restoration of all pre-pandemic in-person activities for the 1.3 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 13,000 congregations in the United States. Houses of worship (called Kingdom Halls) were reopened April 1, witnessing in public places resumed May 31 and in-person conventions are once again being planned for 2023.
“I’m very excited,” said Joshua Avery, of Syracuse, New York. He and his wife will be heading into their community together in the coming weeks. The Averys stayed busy writing letters and making phone calls over the past 30 months, but for them, nothing compares to their house-to-house ministry. “I missed the opportunity to become real friends with our neighbors,” Avery said. “It’s so much more effective meeting face to face to develop relationships in the community.”
The suspension of the public ministry was a proactive response by the organization to keep communities and congregants safe. The move was also unprecedented. Jehovah’s Witnesses had been preaching from house to house without interruption for more than 100 years through an economic depression, two world wars and global unrest. But COVID-19 demanded a different response.
“We believe that the early decision to shut down all in-person activities for more than two years has saved many lives,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We’re now ready and eager to reconnect with our neighbors once again – person to person, face to face. It’s not the only way that we preach, but it has historically been the most effective way to deliver our message of comfort and hope.”
The move coincides with a global campaign to distribute a new interactive Bible study program available in hundreds of languages at no cost. The program comes in the form of a book, online publication or as an embedded feature within the organization’s free mobile application, JW Library. Released in late 2020, the interactive study platform combines text, video, illustrations and digital worksheets to help learners of all ages.
“This study program is designed to match the learning needs of the 21st-century student,” said Hendriks. “We’re excited to begin sharing it with our neighbors as we return to making personal visits.”
The pandemic forced Jehovah’s Witnesses to quickly pivot to virtual meetings and conventions, while conducting their ministry exclusively through letters, phone calls and virtual Bible studies. This has led to growth in meeting attendance and the number of congregants, with more than 400,000 newly baptized Witnesses joining the ranks of 120,000 congregations globally in just the first two years of the pandemic.
For more information about Jehovah’s Witnesses, their history, beliefs and activities, visit their official website, jw.org, with content available in more than 1,000 languages.
About the photo – Joshua (center) and Erin Avery (right), of Syracuse, N.Y., engage in a door-to-door ministry of delivering a message of hope and comfort. – PHOTO COURTESY OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
Jehovah’s Witnesses come from hundreds of ethnic and language backgrounds, yet we are united by common goals. Foremost, we want to honor Jehovah, the God of the Bible and we do our best to imitate Jesus Christ, God’s son. For that matter, we are proud to be called Christians. Each of us regularly spends time helping people learn about the Bible and God’s Kingdom. Because we witness, or talk, about Jehovah God and his Kingdom, we are known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. To read the Bible online or learn more about us and our beliefs please visit jw.org.
Public Information
900 Red Mills Road, Wallkill, NY, 12589
(718) 560-5600 | pid.us@jw.org
Press Contact: Daniel Sideris | dasideris@jw.org