00:00:01 One hundred years ago, when our brothers and sisters were invited
00:00:04 to the 1922 Cedar Point, Ohio, convention,
00:00:08 they were very excited.
00:00:11 Why?
00:00:13 You see, just three years earlier,
00:00:15 they had been energized by a newly organized approach
00:00:19 to preach the good news of the Kingdom.
00:00:22 The Bible Students’ convention in 1919 launched a door-to-door campaign
00:00:27 to obtain subscriptions to the newly released Golden Age magazine.
00:00:32 Later that year, a Service Director was appointed
00:00:35 for each group of Bible Students.
00:00:38 Now they had clear direction
00:00:40 in following Jesus’ command to preach.
00:00:44 That convention was considered by many who were there
00:00:47 to be “the greatest ever held” up to that time.
00:00:50 So imagine their anticipation
00:00:53 when the announcement was made of another convention in 1922!
00:00:58 What would it bring?
00:01:00 Would there be other exciting announcements?
00:01:03 Everywhere around the grounds,
00:01:04 you’d see the big capital letters
00:01:06 ADV, ADV, ADV.
00:01:09 Everybody thought, ‘What is ADV?’
00:01:11 Many were guessing this and guessing that.
00:01:14 Behold, the King reigns!
00:01:18 You are his publicity agents.
00:01:23 Therefore advertise,
00:01:26 advertise,
00:01:28 advertise, the King and his Kingdom.
00:01:37 Well there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience.
00:01:40 Everybody was crying.
00:01:42 Everybody was waving their handkerchiefs
00:01:44 and talking to whoever was sitting by whether they knew them or not.
00:01:48 Now more than just Bible students,
00:01:51 they were becoming an organization of preachers.
00:01:55 What would the call to ‘advertise the King and his Kingdom’ lead to?
00:02:00 What unique and innovative methods would Jehovah’s people use?
00:02:05 The next 100 years would tell the story.
00:02:11 In 1922, J.F. Rutherford began using
00:02:15 the new technology of radio broadcasting
00:02:18 to reach a global audience with the Kingdom message.
00:02:21 At its peak in 1933,
00:02:23 radio broadcasts originating
00:02:25 from our own WBBR studios in New York
00:02:29 were carried by 408 radio stations on six continents.
00:02:34 But because of clergy interference,
00:02:37 the commercial radio industry gradually denied access to the airwaves.
00:02:44 Did opposition stop Jehovah’s people
00:02:46 from advertising the Kingdom good news?
00:02:49 What additional preaching methods were used?
00:02:53 A unified, consistent message about the Kingdom was achieved
00:02:57 through the use of testimony cards in several languages.
00:03:02 A publisher would simply hand the card to the householder
00:03:05 and ask him to read the brief Bible message.
00:03:08 Another exciting application of technology
00:03:11 was the use of the portable phonograph
00:03:14 for house-to-house preaching.
00:03:16 To expand this initiative,
00:03:18 in 1937 at the Columbus, Ohio, convention,
00:03:21 the special pioneer work was introduced.
00:03:25 Special pioneers were encouraged to use the phonograph,
00:03:28 not only when invited into a house,
00:03:31 but at every house.
00:03:34 During the 1939 service year,
00:03:37 300 special pioneers set up the phonographs
00:03:40 over half a million times,
00:03:42 playing the prerecorded,
00:03:44 four-and-half-minute talks by Brother Rutherford
00:03:47 to over one million listeners!
00:03:49 Other Kingdom publishers thus became “phonograph-minded,”
00:03:53 and eventually, over 47,000 portable phonographs
00:03:57 with records covering 92 topics
00:04:00 trumpeted the Kingdom message.
00:04:02 Determined to preach from the housetops,
00:04:05 zealous Kingdom publishers amplified their ministry
00:04:09 with transcription machines that broadcast
00:04:12 Brother Rutherford’s full-length, prerecorded lectures.
00:04:16 A transcription machine was a phonograph
00:04:18 equipped with powered loudspeakers.
00:04:22 This made possible sound cars and sound boats.
00:04:26 The Kingdom message was clearly heard on rivers, on streets,
00:04:31 in parks and squares, in rented halls,
00:04:34 theaters, and other public spaces.
00:04:38 Equipped with tracts, booklets, magazines, and books,
00:04:42 thousands of volunteers participated
00:04:45 in special preaching and literature distribution campaigns.
00:04:49 These special campaigns made it possible
00:04:52 to cover large areas with the Kingdom message quickly,
00:04:55 even in the face of opposition.
00:04:58 Street work,
00:05:00 information marches, and bicycle parades
00:05:03 boldly brought the Kingdom message directly before the eyes of the public.
00:05:07 Marches ranged in size
00:05:09 from just a few publishers to about 1,000 publishers.
00:05:13 Streams of Kingdom publishers
00:05:15 made their way through the business districts of large cities.
00:05:20 They wore placards bearing a slogan, carried signs,
00:05:24 or distributed handbills
00:05:26 with the title of the featured talk at a public meeting.
00:05:31 While radio broadcasts and information marches
00:05:33 were an efficient way of reaching mass audiences,
00:05:36 was it the most effective way?
00:05:39 Our primary method of preaching,
00:05:41 the personal door-to-door ministry,
00:05:44 has proved over time to be the most effective method
00:05:48 of advertising the Kingdom.
00:05:51 But was preaching all that was needed?
00:05:54 It became apparent that teaching others
00:05:57 ‘to observe all the things Jesus commanded’
00:05:59 would require training.
00:06:02 Kingdom evangelizers needed to be trained
00:06:04 to use the Bible effectively and to study it with interested ones.
00:06:08 So at the “Call to Action” Assembly in 1943,
00:06:12 a new congregation meeting was announced and demonstrated.
00:06:16 It was called the Course in Theocratic Ministry,
00:06:20 and it accompanied the weekly Service Meeting.
00:06:24 Soon, textbooks were released
00:06:26 to help our brothers cultivate their teaching skills.
00:06:29 The books Theocratic Aid published in 1945
00:06:33 provided clear guidance for improved public speaking,
00:06:36 effective door-to-door witnessing,
00:06:38 making meaningful return visits,
00:06:40 and conducting progressive Bible studies,
00:06:43 while Equipped for Every Good Work released in 1946
00:06:48 laid a solid foundation of Bible truth
00:06:50 through an in-depth book-by-book examination of God’s Word.
00:06:56 Preachers were learning to become teachers.
00:07:00 Such high-quality training
00:07:02 equipped more to join the ranks of Kingdom proclaimers.
00:07:06 And for those who were already active,
00:07:09 training allowed them to expand their participation.
00:07:12 The ranks of Kingdom publishers swelled.
00:07:15 Around the same time,
00:07:18 the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead
00:07:20 began training Kingdom proclaimers
00:07:22 to take up missionary work in lands
00:07:25 where there were few, if any, Kingdom publishers.
00:07:28 In the years since, thousands of trained missionaries
00:07:32 have ‘advertised the King and his Kingdom’ to the ends of the earth.
00:07:36 Additionally, the teaching tools provided by the faithful slave
00:07:40 have steadily adapted to changing needs.
00:07:44 Study publications such as “Let God Be True,”
00:07:48 The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life,
00:07:50 and now,
00:07:52 Enjoy Life Forever! —An Interactive Bible Course
00:07:55 have proved to be extremely effective teaching tools.
00:08:01 Huge international conventions with record-breaking attendances
00:08:05 have generated global headlines
00:08:07 advertising Jehovah’s organization.
00:08:11 Films, DVDs, and JW Broadcasting videos
00:08:16 have helped prospective subjects of the Kingdom
00:08:18 visualize the realities of that Kingdom.
00:08:22 Our Special Metropolitan Witnessing and Public Witnessing carts
00:08:26 continue to draw attention to the Kingdom.
00:08:29 JW.ORG has played a vital role in reaching millions
00:08:34 with the Kingdom proclamation in over 1,000 languages.
00:08:38 How true are the words of Melvin Sargent,
00:08:41 one of many faithful brothers who experienced much of this history!
00:08:46 Those of us inside the Lord’s organization
00:08:49 have tried, in every way possible,
00:08:53 to turn [the world’s] attention to the message of life.
00:08:57 We have used slogans, full-page advertisements,
00:09:01 radio, sound cars,
00:09:04 portable phonographs, gigantic conventions,
00:09:08 parades of information-walkers carrying signs,
00:09:12 and a growing army of house-to-house ministers.
00:09:17 This brief report on the past 100 years of Kingdom preaching
00:09:21 merely scratches the surface
00:09:23 of what’s contained in the new special exhibit
00:09:27 at the world headquarters museum in Warwick, New York.
00:09:31 It’s entitled
00:09:32 ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE
00:09:36 —100 YEARS OF ADVERTISING THE KINGDOM.
00:09:40 When visits become possible, please come
00:09:42 and see this informative and motivating display.
00:09:47 How thrilling it is that, alongside our brothers and sisters
00:09:51 of the past 100 years,
00:09:53 we have shared together in fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy
00:09:56 that “this good news of the Kingdom
00:09:58 will be preached in all the inhabited earth”!
00:10:02 May this new special exhibit energize you
00:10:05 to continue using every means possible
00:10:09 to “advertise, advertise, advertise,
00:10:12 the King and his Kingdom”!
