• Appointments 1-3

• Deletions 4-5

• Congregation Changes 6-7

• Changes to Pioneer Information 8

• S-202 Letters 9

• Field Service Reports (S-4) 10

• Hour Credit 11-13

• Special Consideration 14-15

• Review of Pioneers’ Field Service Activity 16-18

• Infirm Regular Pioneers 19-20

1. When a publisher submits an Application for Regular Pioneer Service (S-205), the Congregation Service Committee should obtain comments from the appropriate group overseer and then meet promptly to consider the applicant’s qualifications, keeping in mind the following guidelines. The service committee should use good judgment in determining when it would be wise to confer with the other elders.​—Prov. 15:22.

1. (1) The information provided by the applicant should be complete and correct.

2. (2) The applicant must be baptized for at least a full six months.

3. (3) The applicant must be an exemplary Christian. An individual who is exemplary is someone whose conduct and worship are considered worthy of imitation. His meeting attendance, share in the ministry, family life, choices of entertainment, dress and grooming, and so forth are good examples for others.

4. (4) The applicant must have organized his personal affairs so that he can reach the annual requirement of 840 hours.

5. (5) Those who discontinue pioneer service must be off the pioneer list a full six months before starting again.

6. (6) The applicant must not have been reproved or reinstated within the past year, and all restrictions must have been lifted.

7. (7) The applicant should indicate the date he wishes to begin pioneering. No retroactive appointments should be made unless there are significant extenuating circumstances, such as in the rare instance that an application was lost or unduly delayed by the elders.

2. Once the service committee has decided whether to appoint the applicant or not, the body of elders should be updated on how the matter was handled. This should be done before any announcement of appointment is made to the congregation. If it is decided that the applicant is not qualified to serve as a regular pioneer, two members of the service committee should kindly explain the reasons to him. If the service committee decides to appoint him as a regular pioneer, each member of the committee should sign the application. The application should be kept in the congregation file. Applications should not be sent to the branch office unless specific instructions are given to do so.

3. The secretary should enter information from the approved application into the appropriate section of jw.org. After the information has been submitted, the new pioneer’s name will be listed under the section “Appointed Pioneers Not Yet Registered.” The secretary should check the site every few days until the pioneer’s name is listed under the section “Regular Pioneers.” Thereafter, the regular pioneer welcome letter (S-236), found under the “Documents” tab in the “Forms” section, should be printed out and provided to the pioneer to inform him of the appointment. An announcement should be made to the congregation at the next midweek meeting that the publisher has been appointed as a regular pioneer. Please do not announce to the congregation the appointment of the regular pioneer until his name is listed under the section “Regular Pioneers,” thus indicating that the appointment has been registered by the branch office.

4. Before deleting an individual as a regular pioneer, the Congregation Service Committee should obtain comments from the appropriate group overseer. They should also consider whether the pioneer may qualify for special consideration. (See 9:14-15.) The service committee should use good judgment in determining when it would be wise to confer with the other elders. (See 2:1.) In all cases, before any announcement is made to the congregation, the body of elders should be updated on how the matter was handled and two members of the service committee should inform the individual of the decision. If a pioneer no longer qualifies or must discontinue for personal reasons, an announcement should be made to the congregation. The announcement of deletion should read as follows: “Brother (Sister) [name of person] is no longer serving as a regular pioneer.” Inform the branch office of the deletion using jw.org. If the discontinuation is because of health, family responsibilities, secular work, and so forth, choose the option “Personal reasons.” If the discontinuation is because of a poor example that did not involve judicial action, choose the option “No longer qualifies.” For discontinuation because of other reasons, choose the appropriate option.

5. If the pioneer was reproved by a judicial committee, he is automatically disqualified and his deletion should be reported immediately on jw.org.

6. If a pioneer transfers to another congregation, the secretary of his former congregation should indicate his deletion on jw.org and should show the reason as transferring to another congregation. Type the name of the new congregation or area in the space provided. Include the country if the pioneer is transferring to a congregation outside the branch territory.

7. Upon receipt of the letter of introduction from the previous congregation, the Congregation Service Committee of the new congregation should confirm that the individual desires to continue pioneering. If so, and if there is no exceptional reason to do otherwise, the service committee of the new congregation should reappoint the pioneer. The secretary of the new congregation should enter the appropriate information on jw.org as follows, and the appointment should be announced at the next midweek meeting.

1. (1) If transferring from a congregation in the same branch territory: Click on the appropriate link and enter the pioneer’s name and former congregation. Then click “Search.”

2. (2) If transferring from a congregation in another branch territory: Enter the pioneer’s information as if he were a newly appointed pioneer. Be sure to complete the section for full-time service history.

8. Changes to a pioneer’s name, birth date, baptism date, marital status, or spouse’s name may be made on jw.org. If any other information about the pioneer needs to change, please contact the Service Department.

9. Congregations not able to use jw.org may send approved Applications for Regular Pioneer Service (S-205) to the Service Department so that the appointments may be registered. In this circumstance, please do not announce to the congregation the appointment of the regular pioneer until you receive an S-202 letter indicating that the appointment has been registered. Congregations not able to use jw.org may also use the S-202 letter to inform the Service Department of a change in a pioneer’s personal information or to inform another congregation that a pioneer is transferring to their congregation.

10. Field Service Reports for regular pioneers should be handled in the same way that publisher reports are handled. Late reports should be added to the total activity for regular pioneers on the following month’s report to the branch office.

11. Regular pioneers may be invited to share in certain theocratic assignments as part of their sacred service. Those overseeing such assignments may grant permission for the pioneers to receive hour credit to help them meet their monthly goal. The spirituality, availability, and willing spirit of pioneers may allow them to support Kingdom interests in a special way. Such approved assignments include serving as commuter Bethelites, remote volunteers, or Bethel consultants; assisting with Kingdom Hall construction when such is done at the request of the branch office or its representatives overseeing the project; assisting with pre- and post-assembly or convention work; and so forth. Assembly Hall overseers may, in limited cases, grant hour credit to pioneers for work performed at Assembly Halls.

12. When a pioneer’s assistance is authorized, he will keep a record of all the hours spent working on the assignment during the month. He will report this activity to the congregation in the “Comments” section of his Field Service Report (S-4). It should be explained clearly to the pioneer that when he submits his report he should not combine the hours spent working on an approved assignment with the hours spent in field service and that some time should be spent in the ministry each month.

13. The hours spent working on an approved assignment should not be included with the field service report submitted to the branch office. The figure recorded in the “Hours” column of the Congregation’s Publisher Record (S-21) should reflect only the actual hours spent by the pioneer in field service. All the hours spent working on an approved assignment should be noted in the “Remarks” column along with a notation of how much of that time can be considered hour credit. Those properly authorized are given credit to the extent that the total number of hours actually spent in field service plus time credit for approved assignments does not exceed the monthly goal of 70 hours. No credit will be carried over to any other month.

14. In some situations, pioneers spend more hours in a month on theocratic projects than they can receive hour credit for. Later in the service year, they may need to take a vacation, spend time in secular work, or care for some other pressing issue that precludes their reaching the 70-hour goal for one or more months. They may thus fall short of the 840 hours for the service year. The Congregation Service Committee should take into consideration all that such pioneers are doing in behalf of Kingdom interests and grant special consideration to them. A pioneer would not lose his privileges if he has worked extensively on theocratic projects. The elders, being aware of the pioneer’s work to support Kingdom interests, will offer warm commendation. A notation can be made on the Congregation’s Publisher Record (S-21) to indicate that special consideration has been granted.

15. Special consideration should also be granted to pioneers who fall short of the annual hour requirement if they serve in construction oversight, as Assembly Hall overseers, on Hospital Liaison Committees, on Patient Visitation Groups, on Disaster Relief Committees, or on Convention Committees. All such assignments are forms of sacred service.

16. Each year around March 1, the secretary and the service overseer should review the field service activity and hour credit of all regular pioneers. If a pioneer is consistently not meeting the monthly hour goal, factoring in any hour credit, the service overseer and group overseer should meet with the pioneer to discuss his circumstances and endeavor to offer assistance. Is it because of health problems, increased family responsibilities, poor scheduling, or secular work? Are other activities consuming his time and energy? Is the problem temporary or ongoing? Does he have a realistic schedule that will allow him to reach the monthly hour goal for the rest of the service year?

17. At the end of the service year, the Congregation Service Committee should meet to review the activity of any regular pioneers who did not reach the annual hour requirement and determine if they should be allowed to continue pioneering. (If a regular pioneer reaches at least 800 hours for the year​—hours spent in field service in combination with any hour credit—​he may continue to serve as a pioneer.) In addition to the factors noted in the preceding paragraph, the following factors should be taken into consideration before a decision is made. How long has the individual been serving as a full-time minister? What is the age of the pioneer? Might it be better for him to discontinue regular pioneer service until his circumstances change? Discontinuing pioneer service for a time may relieve him of the stress of trying to meet the hour requirement while coping with difficult or adverse circumstances. Be balanced and use good judgment when making such decisions. Consider what course of action will be in the best interests of the individual and, at the same time, will uphold the high standards of regular pioneer service.

18. If the service committee delays in handling matters, further problems may develop. A pioneer may begin to minimize the need to meet the hour requirement. Or he may feel stress, wondering when the elders will recommend his removal. A pioneer may try unrealistically to increase the hours he spends in field service in an attempt to reach the hour requirement, thinking that is the only course to be taken. These situations may cause the pioneer to develop a poor attitude or even health problems. Therefore, the long-term interests of the pioneer are best served when matters are handled promptly.​—Gal. 6:10.

19. In rare circumstances, a brother or sister may be approved to remain as a pioneer without having a minimum hour requirement. This provision is only for exemplary, longtime pioneers who have a heartfelt desire to serve always as regular pioneers and who feel they would be taking a backward step if they had to discontinue but who are unable to meet the hour requirement because of infirmity. The elders may consider designating such a pioneer as an infirm regular pioneer if he (1) is over 50 years old and (2) has pioneered for at least 15 cumulative years. This decision should be made by the elders only after consulting with the circuit overseer regarding the situation. This arrangement is not a provision to allow an individual to care for sick relatives, do added secular work, and so forth. Those who first enter the pioneer service when they are 60 or 70 years old do not come under this arrangement simply because of their age. There is no need to give consideration to allowing an older pioneer who develops health problems to serve as an infirm regular pioneer if he is willing to transfer to the publisher ranks.

20. When the body of elders decides that a pioneer may serve as an infirm regular pioneer, a notation should be made on the Congregation’s Publisher Record (S-21). It is not necessary to notify the branch office of this decision. Two members of the Congregation Service Committee should meet with the pioneer to inform him of this loving provision made in his behalf. Encourage the pioneer to continue exerting himself in his ministry to the extent that his circumstances allow. (Luke 13:24; Col. 3:23, 24) Assure the infirm pioneer that he has the full support of the elders in the congregation and that Jehovah is aware of the sacrifices that he has made during his many years of service.​—Heb. 6:10, 11.