INFORMANT

SEPTEMBER, 1955        “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed,         BROOKLYN N Y

_________ trusting in Jehovah."—Psalm 112: 7, AS.                                 ’ *

MAINTAINING SANCTITY FOR THEOCRATIC WARFARE

Keep Training Program Organized

• ¹ War is declared! Everyone who has taken his stand on Jehovah’s side must tight. Yes, tight against wicked spirit forces that try to corrupt the minds of Christian warriors. Victory is assured to those who remain in Jehovah’s camp, set apart for sacred service with minds devoted to holiness.—Deut. 23:14, A W.

• ² Thousands languishing in Satan’s mental prison camps are yet to be set free by the truth. The truth must be taken to them to help them escape, and renewed in our minds to keep us from being taken captive ourselves. How necessary then to use wisely at least two hours of our time every Sunday morning in the house-to-house work, finding enslaved ones and then to follow that with an hour or more making back-calls or conducting home Bible studies, to build up interested ones in the truth ! The literature offer will continue to be any book and booklet for 50 cents.

  New Service Year Prospects

  
  

Things to Have in Mind at Start of Year

• ¹ As we begin the new 1956 service year it is profitable to get a clear perspective of our goals for the year. Our over-all objective is to increase house-to-house witnessing, do it more effectively by using Bible sermons, call back to start home Bible studies and have a greater share in magazine service. This means each individual publisher will have to give more attention to becoming more effective in the ministry and congregations will have to intensify the program for aiding new and irregular publishers to improve. The data set out below will help us see where improvement has been made in 1955 as well as detect where improvement is needed.

• ² An analysis taken during April and May by the Society shows that 79 per cent of the total publishers share in house-to-house preaching. This is good, but a further analysis

• ³ Servants should take stock of the training program to make sure it is being fully carried out by all. Theocratic companions, with assemblies over, will strive to engage in the service together as much as possible, putting the good things learned at the assemblies into operation.

Increase Bible Studies

• ⁴ Making back-calls and conducting home Bible studies are a must for every one of Jehovah’s warriors. Engaging in these features of service just “now and then” will not make our ministry successful. As the November, 1954, Informant told us, a spot oheck of one area showed only 22 per cent of the brothers made back-calls regularly, and 8 per cent of the publishers conducted studies regularly. A recent cross-section analysis reveals that some progress has been made. The percentage of the brothers now making back-calls each month is 28.3, and 13.5 per cent conduct studies regularly. But are shows that 66 per cent make back-calls : 28 per cent regularly, 38 per cent irregularly; that 34 per cent conduct home Bible studies: 13 per cent regularly, 21 per cent irregularly. Most of the back-calls and home Bible studies are conducted by a few publishers, in comparison with the total. Surely there is a great need for more publishers to feed the sheep through these avenues of service!

• ³ Of the total publishers, 64 per cent participate in the service regularly. This means that 36 per cent do not publish every month, but allow various things to interfere with their service. Each one should be regular and dependable in supporting field service arrangements. Congregations should have definite arrangements to assist irregular publishers.

Magazine Service

• ⁴ Magazine distribution continues to increase. In 1954 the congregation not these figures entirely too low when we take into account the assistance that could be rendered mentally enslaved people through these avenues of service?

• ⁶ Be alert to increase your activity in this work and help others to take part in it. Be sure you are one who regularly conducts at least one home Bible study each month.

• ⁶ We must be conscious, too, of our magazine activity. Building our new factory is proof of expansion in the magazine field. However, much greater expansion will be realized when each one of us is magazine-conscious and places his quota of magazines each month. Take full advantage of Magazine Day and every other opportunity to keep the magazines before the people.

• ⁷ Jehovah’s clean worship will triumph in this warfare against Satan’s demonic forces. There is no question of that! The question is, Shall we survive to enjoy the victory? The answer depends on our actions to maintain sanctity now in order to have Jehovah’s blessing upon our theocratic warfare.

publishers averaged 6.5 magazines a publisher each month. So far this service year each congregation publisher has averaged 7.4 magazines. Pioneers are averaging 54.7 toward their 90-a-month goal and special pioneers 63.1 toward their 110 each month. The analysis shows only 56 per cent share in magazine distribution. Thus only a little over half of all congregation publishers share in magazine activity. Improvement should certainly be made (1) by each publisher’s working to reach and exceed the goal of placing nine magazines each month and (2) by publishers not now sharing in magazine distribution making arrangements to do so regularly. Where necessary, assistance should be given to those not sharing in magazine distribution.

• ⁵ This analysis provides the basis for all of us to see what has been done and where improvement is needed. As we determine to become more effective and regular in our service to Jehovah we look ahead to more and (Continued, on page 2, coZ. 1)

Around the World

■with Jehovah’s Witnesses

Make Return Calls

Back-calls are a provision Jehovah God has made for his servants to assist godly ones toward deliverance. After placing literature with householders, publishers should be diligent to make return calls and help good-will people “get the sense” of the Kingdom message.—Matt. 13: 19, NW.

A fervent Catholic lady obtained a copy of “Let God Be True”. On reading in it that statues and objects of this kind are nothing but vain idols, she became very cross. She went to her confessor and confessed her sin of having read a book not approved by her religion. What happened? The alert publisher who made the placement made return calls and today the formerly Catholic lady is a regular publisher. (Algeria, p. 150)

Appreciating the need of making return calls a brother, who met witn an accident before he could make a back-call, arranged for another brother to make the call. As a result the good-will person now regularly attends meetings. Was the woman ever contacted before? Yes, but she had waited six years for another call. (Bermuda, p. 75) Do you make your calls promptly?

New publishers early realize the need of making return calls, for it was by being called on themselves that they were assisted toward deliverance. Thus a new publisher in unassigned territory writes: “I should be grateful to you if you could give us the names and addresses of the persons who took publications from you.” (France, p. 148)

When good-will persons move and their new address is known, it should be forwarded to the next congregation. Often it results in experiences like those found on page 201.

Service Year Prospects (Cont’d) better ministerial service. By the end of December each congregation should have reached a 10 per cent increase in publishers over the average of 1955. Then in April we shall be working for the 20 per cent peak of publishers.

• ⁶ The New World society is everexpanding and we want to advance with it. There is every reason to believe that the 1956 service year, which holds out many prospects for praisers of Jehovah, will prove to be a grand year of increase as Jehovah showers his unlimited blessing upon the faithful ministry of his people.

Watchtower and Awake! Bound Volumes

Orders may now be placed for the 1955 bound volumes of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. All orders should be in the Society’s office by November 1, 1955. It will be appreciated if publishers order volumes through the congregation so all orders for a congregation can be combined. The cost for each volume is $2. Remittance must accompany the order. If your address changes before the order is filled and you have sent in your order direct, then please be sure to send in your changeofaddress for mailing the volumes ordered.

Capturing Interest with Your Introductions

¹ The Kingdom message is startling! It is heart-cheering, thrilling, urgent, a matter of life or death! We know that. But in our door-to-door ministry how can we say it, quickly, tersely, In those all-important first few sentences, so we can break through that seemingly impenetrable barrier of prejudice and cold disinterest and have the householder listen further?

• ² With a stereotyped introduction that is very businesslike, cold and impersonal, not quite getting down to the real reason for the visit or how the message applies to the householder, only the exceptionally polite ones will listen, and then they may not ‘hear.’ But what householder would not be startled for a second and listen further if you should begin by saying, for example: “Good morning. I am looking for people who are Interested in living forever”? Or what householder would not be pleased if you said: “I have a message for you that is so important that I am delivering it to you personally” ?

• ³ But once you have made a personal appeal to the householder, you must follow through and not disappoint him. Continue to remind the householder throughout that you are there to talk to him and that what you are saying applies to him. This can be done by the continual use of

  New Circuit Assembly Program Starts

  
  

Plan to Attend All Three Days

• ¹ No publisher will want to miss the new circuit assembly program that starts in September. Three days of theocratic counsel containing a variety of wholesome instruction have been planned and arranged. It will be most practical and helpful. All publishers are encouraged to be in attendance from Friday evening through Sunday evening to hear and benefit fully from theentireprogram. Following the baptismal service on Saturday afternoon all congregation servants will want to attend the meeting that has been arranged for them with the district and circuit servants.

• ² In addition to all publishers’ attending, encouragement and assistance should be given to newly interested persons to attend. In not a few cases good-will persons have come to appreciate greatly their privileges and such phrases and sentences as appear in italics in the two sample introductions below.

• ⁴ “Good morning. My companion and I are calling on you as a public service this morning. The greatest public problem today is the matter of protection and security. But you have probably said to yourself, ‘What can I do about it?’ While it is true that neither you nor I can bring world security ourselves, yet we can do something for ourselves and our families, if we know what it is and how. And that is why tee are calling on you this morning." [Then go into a sermon on the subject of protection and security.]

• ⁵ “Mr.---and I are making some

calls on you and your neighbors today to strengthen faith. Many people are losing faith because of the bad conditions they see. Perhaps you feel a little bewildered and discouraged yourself when you see these things. And this condition has caused even the United States president to stress the need of keeping strong faith. Faith is needed. Yet faith is not just belief.” [Then go to Hebrews 11:1 for a definition and on into a prepared sermon.]

• ⁶ Do not keep the householder guessing, but strike at the heart of the matter at the very beginning and speak to him personally. In that way you will capture his interest and hold it to the end of your sermon.

responsibilities by attending these assemblies, as was pointed out in the July Informant article “Around the World with Jehovah’s Witnesses.” On being notified of your next assembly by the Society, make sure all interested persons in your territory know about it and are given what assistance they might require to attend.

• ³ Also, let all publishers come to the assembly city prepared to share in field service. Some publishers have been a bit negligent in this respect, resulting in assembly cities not receiving the intended thorough witness. One reason for circuit assemblies’ being held at different cities throughout the circuit is for the witness given. If all publishers support the Saturday morning house-to-house and store-to-store magazine work as well as the Saturday afternoon house-to-house and street witnessing (Continued on page 3, col. 2)

  YOUR SERVICE MEETING

  
  

Analyzing Last Year’s Service [For this demonstration an enlarged record card of a model publisher should be drawn up, showing the publisher to average approximately 20 hours each month, at least 10 back-calls and one home Bible study and nine magazines and showing that each month of the year the offer (review past issues of the “Informant” for monthly campaign offers) was placed or quotas were exceeded. Each publisher should have his Publisher’s Record card in hand during theocratic court proceedings.]

SCENE I (6 min.) [Theocratic courtroom] Attorney presents charges against individual activity of publishers in congregation. He argues that evidence in Publisher’s Record cards reveals haphazard planning, lack of personal organization, static arrangements for service. Scrutiny of records shows not all are participating whole-souled in advancing true worship. Attorney points to congregation chart and remarks that combined congregation field service results may look good and healthy. However, check of individual minister’s activity presents truer picture of what is actually being done. Christian love and responsibility prompt bringing this matter before theocratic court. Purpose is to examine heart and mind, according to Psalm 26: 1-3.

Judge remarks that these are serious charges. Asks attorney if he has sufficient evidence to establish proof that publishers are guilty of this negligence. Attorney presents facts, such as: number irregular in service, low-hour publishers, no placements, irregular in back-call and home Bible study service, etc., based on breakdown and analysis of Publisher’s Record cards. Includes attendance at congregation meetings, to compare with potential attendance. Next, requests court to hear chief witness Model Card, so each one in court can examine his own activity.

SCENE II (12 min.) Model Card called to stand and questioned by attorney. Model Card’s past year’s service activity goes through a complete breakdown, column by column. Attorney cross-examines Model Card, endeavoring to establish firmly in court’s mind reasons for his fine ministerial record. Model Card’s answers include among other things: 1. Spends two hours in house-to-house work each Sunday, with additional hour or more in back-call or home Bible study activity. 2. Supports Magazine Day and works with service center group before study. 3. Conscious of spiritual needs, regular in attending meetings. 4. Organizes personal affairs and plans activity in order to go out as regularly as possible Attorney thanks Model Card and rests case for court’s consideration and action.

SCENE Hl (5 min.) Judge deliberates on points brought forth by attorney. Addresses courtroom: Fine progress made by some during past service year. To make advancement manifest even more, all to continue using three-to eight-minute and ten- to fifteenminute sermons, and to improve on these for greater effectiveness in aiding sheep. Reciprocal arrangement, training program should be kept progressive. Example in field must not be set by just one, ten or fifty, but by all associated. Court finds all in need of further improvement. All urged to greater service activity, in compliance with Romans 10: 9, 10 and 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8, NW. Concludes with exhortation for all to maintain sanctity for theocratic warfare.

[This demonstration may be followed by a mature brother’s giving a service talk on “Is Your Best Good Enough?” (“The Watchtower,” January 15,1955)]

Prestudy Service

Chairman (3 min.) Talk on many benefits of working from service center location not only on week ends, during the day and on back-call night but also an hour or so before the congregation book study. Evenings are still long and people are generally quite receptive at this time. Publishers should encourage and help one another to utilize this time profitably to preach the good news as suggested in the following demonstration.

SCENE I (6 min.) Two publishers are seated at a table. Brother Companion is saying that he appreciates the help he has just been given in planning a sermon to use in house-to-house work Sunday. Brother Helpful says that he is glad they can work together on their presentations and adds: “Will you be with us for house-to-house magazine work before the congregation book study this week?” Brother Companion is rather negative about it, so Brother Helpful tries to overcome his objections. Included among his objections might be: “I have to rush so when I get home and then I would be too tired to enjoy the study.” Answer that ours is a day for activity and much good can be done by this evening work. Actually the field service will be a refreshing change after the day’s work and will make the publisher alert for the study. “Aren’t people likely to be eating?” Some may be, but the presentation is so brief that none will object. It is a good time to present spiritual food and generally people are most receptive and easy to talk to.                       '

While the two are talking Sister Helpful comes in, saying that Mrs. Good Will, with whom she studies, may go along to the book study this week, so she plans to be in magazine work with the group for just half an hour and then pick up Mrs. Good Will on the way to the study. Brother Helpful responds with approval. Brother Companion can see that he has missed out on many blessings, so he plans to go with the group from now on to enjoy prestudy service.

SCENE II (5 min.) What are your experiences? This part of the meeting will be open to the congregation to raise their hands and from their seats enthusiastically offer short experiences they have had in evening work, either from house to house or in back-call activity, showing that most people are usually more relaxed and receptive and that this is definitely a good time for service.

Chairman (2 min.) “Will you be with us?” Briefly summarize the main points and encourage all to share in the prestudy service regularly.

Circuit Assembly Program

(Cont’d) activity, and then the Sunday morning house-to-house service with the current offer, a good witness will be given at each assembly city.

• ⁴ So, brothers, as soon as you receive notice of your next circuit assembly plan to be in attendance all three days, encourage and assist others to attend and share fully in field service activity in the circuit assembly city.

Publications Now Available

Booklets

After Armageddon—God’s New World   —Arabic

Basis for Belief in a New World —French, Hol-landish, Italian Christendom or Christianity—Which One Is “the Light of the World”?     —Ibo, Twi, Yoruba

“This Good News of the Kingdom”   —Armenian,

Cebu-Visayan, Chinese, Clbemba, Cinyanja, Ci-shona, German, Hollandish, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog, Twi

World Conquest Soon—by God’s Kingdom

—Hollandish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

Books

“New Heavens and a New Earth” —German, Italian “This Means Everlasting Life”        -—Swedish

What Has Religion Done for Mankind? —French, Norwegian

English Convention Releases

New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (Vol. II) (bi 5) (Rates same as bi 4 and bl 7)

Qualified to Be Ministers (qm) (Rates same as “Equipped for Every Good Work”)

WAat Do the Scriptures Say About “Survival After Death”? (dh) (Rates twice 64-page booklets)

World Conquest Soon—by God’s Kingdom (gk) You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New

World                                     (sr)

Italian “Awake!”

The “Awake!” is now available in Italian. It is published twice a month. The subscription rate is $1 a year.

1956 Service Year Supplies

Enclosed with this Informant for congregations are Monthly Report cards and a Congregation Progressive Report sheet. The following supplies will be sent direct to pioneers: Monthly Report cards and Daily Record sheets; special pioneers: Monthly Report and Allowance Request forms and Daily Record sheets. Order all other supplies in the regular manner.

Locating New Subscribers

Approximately 5,000 magazines a month are returned by the post office stamped: not found; unclaimed; no such street or number. The Society sends to the congregation a card requesting that the correct address be found. The city servant or congregation servant should see that this is given immediate attention. A prompt call on the person should be made to find out what the difficulty is and what address should be used. Upon ascertaining the correct address return the card immediately to the Society so that magazines can be sent to the subscriber. Publishers have worked hard to obtain these subscriptions and every effort should be made to see that the subscribers get the magazines that carry the vital message of life.

UNITED STATES QUOTA FOR 1955 169,366 Publishers

Monthly Field Service Report

July Report

Av.  Av.

Pubs. Hrs. B-C Bi. St.

Sp’l Pios. 273  105.1  38.7

Pioneers 4,792   78.7  24.0

Vac. Pios. 709   88.5  14.4

Cong. Pubs. 158,681    8.7   2.4

Total Pubs. 164,455

Public Meetings Held: 7,883

Holding Fast the Public

Awake! Campaign to Start

• ¹ Again it is our joyful privilege to prepare for the annual Awake! campaign. What a wonderful way to acquaint people with the bright outlook of our hope by contrasting this dark old world with the sunny new world by means of Awake!

• ² In 1954 we obtained 138,021 new subscriptions for Awake! The year before, 1953, saw an increase of 25,072 subscriptions over 1952, which was 41,964 over 1951. Year by year the number of subscriptions has been increasing. And what are the prospects for this year? With all publishers spending at least two hours in house-to-house preaching and another hour making back-calls on all five Sundays of October in addition to midweek service, truly this year should see an all-time peak in new subscriptions. At every opportunity and by every means present the most “Awake!” magazine on earth, along with three booklets, for $1.

• ³ Now is the time to prepare to engage in this most interesting campaign. Congregations wishing additional copies of Awake! issues of October 8 and 22 for use in the cam

CONGREGATION

Pioneer Requirements

• ¹ As we approach the great crisis of vindication the theocratic requirements for each individual in the New World society come into clearer focus. This can be easily discerned if we compare the theocratic activities of today with those of Jehovah’s witnesses in 1918.

• ² The same progress that we see in operation in the organization as a whole must be in evidence in each branch of the organization. The “pilgrim” speaker is replaced by district and circuit servants, who are not only speakers but pioneers. The colporteur of the past has developed into the present organization-minded special and general pioneers, and the tractdistributing publisher is replaced by house-to-house ministers, all theocratic companions who co-operate with one another in becoming more proficient ministers so that they may reflect the ever-increasing light of Jehovah’s new world. Thus the path of the righteous leads more and more to the perfect day.—Prov. 4:18.

• ³ The Society is obligated to see to it that those who function in this advancing New World society keep up with the light. We cannot live and

Declaration of Our Hope

paign are requested to fill out and submit the enclosed Magazine Distributors’ Order Blank as soon as possible. Let us make the coming Awake! campaign the best yet!

• ⁴ Get set to start many new home Bible studies by including “This Good News of the Kingdom” in your set of three booklets. And encourage new persons to engage in all features of service as one and all “hold fast the public declaration of our hope” and incite others to love and right works. —Heb. 10: 23, .VW.

Congregation Chart

September starts the 1956 service year and the new quota should be placed on the congregation chart. When the August report has been posted, ascertain the average number of publishers each month for the past year and add 10 per cent to this to determine the new quota. Remember, our goal is to reach this 10 per cent average increase by the end of December and then strive for a 20 per cent peak by the end of April. We did well this service year. By Jehovah’s undeserved kindness, let us do even better during the 1956 service year.

ORGANIZATION

function in the past. This is particularly true of pioneer publishers, whom we are here considering. Each one must meet the theocratic standards of this enlightened pathway.

• ⁴ Today a publisher is required to be dedicated and baptized for at least six months before he is considered for the regular pioneer service. During that six-month period he must have been active in the field service, engaging in all its branches: house-to-house, back-call and home Bible study work. He must be proficient in giving three- to eight-minute sermons at the doors and ten- to fifteen-minute presentations at back-calls. He must average 12 hours, 9 back-calls and at least one home Bible study a month. If he does not qualify in all of these points he is not a mature minister and is not qualified for the full-time ministry representing the New World society and should not be recommended for that branch of the work by the congregation committee.

• ⁵ Publishers who do not co-operate wholly and enthusiastically with the congregation in caring for the Kingdom interests are not qualified for the pioneer service. Publishers who do not see clearly that neutrality in

You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World to Be Studied

It is suggested that the new publication You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World be studied at all congregation book studies starting October 1. All publishers and persons of good will will want to attend every study in order not to miss a single portion of this most absorbing publication.

“Make Sure of All Things?

2d Week:

Faith (pages 119 to 122)

Back-call: Good-will persons deeply impressed by Scriptural explanation of faith. (John 3: 16, NW) Alert publisher makes use of “Make Sure of All Things” for full and complete discussion of faith.

4th Week:

Freedom (pages 122 to 126)

Congregation discussion under chairman. The brother may prepare questions that require a Scriptural answer. Brothers called upon will read the scripture that applies and comment on its application.

this world’s affairs is necessary will not be eligible for pioneer service until such time as they prove they have a clear understanding of a minister’s position. Those who use tobacco are not qualified. Those who are not sound in mind should not be recommended for the pioneer work, because any display of oddity or eccentricities that would detract from the grand preaching work would disqualify one from being a pioneer.

• ⁶ A pioneer must be moderate in his habits, orderly, mild-tempered and apt to teach. He must display loving-kindness in helping interested persons to come to a full knowledge of Jehovah’s purposes and unite in the true worship with him. He must be physically able to devote a minimum of 100 hours a month or 1,200 hours a year to the pioneer ministry, qualified to keep an accurate record and report faithfully at the end of each month to the Society. He must love the pioneer work and recognize it as a divine commission and his service therein as rendered to Jehovah.

• ⁷ It will therefore be seen that the pioneer service is a job worthy of real men and women who have theocratic stamina and a love for Jehovah, who will not be afraid of evil tidings, men and women whose hearts are fixed, trusting in Jehovah. There are thousands that will qualify; why not join them and enjoy this great privilege of service?

* Add to Your Regular House-to-House Preaching Back-Call and Bible Study Service >

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