FEBRUARY, 1958

FOR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

“As for me, in my integrity I shall walk.”—Psalm 26: 11.

VOL I NO. 2

DO HEALING WORK WITH "THE WATCHTOWER"

• ¹ We are blessed with the great privilege of being healers, not physical healers but spiritual healers. Jesus placed this kind of healing as of first importance when he commanded his apostles: “Preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’ Cure sick people, raise up dead persons, make lepers clean, expel demons.” (Matt. 10:7, 8) Spiritual healing through preaching of the Kingdom came first in his command because it brings eternal life. It is the most important work of healing.

• ² We do not need special powers to heal the spiritually sick. All we need is Scriptural truth. The Watchtower has that truth. By means of it we can enthusiastically hold forth healing to the nations, especially during the three remaining months of the Watchtower campaign.—Rev. 22: 2.

• ³ Now that the first month of the campaign has passed, how are you doing? Examine the results of your efforts. If your congregation followed the suggestion made in last month’s Kingdom Ministry, you will be able to look at a chart and watch the progress of the congregation. Where does it stand at the present time? Did you help it get there?

• ⁴ It is evident that the more time you devote to field work the greater will be your possibilities of obtaining your quota of subscriptions. Remember, it is two subscriptions for congregation publishers, twenty for pioneers and thirty for specials. But something more than increased activity is required. There must also be good preparation and a good delivery of youi^- sermon. If the sermon is poorly prepared and weakly delivered, you will be less able to heal (lie sick. It is just as the apostle Paul said: “In the same waj^r also, unless you through the tongue utter speech easily understood, how will it be known what is being spoken?” (1 Cor. 14:9) Another thing that will help in getting subscriptions is familiarity With the magazine. Know where there are interesting talking points that can be drawn to the attention of the householder. Without doubt The Watchtower is a superb instrument for healing, but it is up to us as healers to use it expertly.

• ⁵ Zealous publishers will not fail to call back on subscription promises. Neither will they neglect to call upon the expired subscriptions sent to the congregation by the Society. These are excellent potential subscribers.

BE READY

• ¹ “Be ready for every good work,” counsels the apostle. (Titus 3:1) And what a good work we want to be ready for in April! April’s special work starts even before April 3, the date for the Memorial of our Lord’s death. There is much work to be done, inviting good-will persons to be present at the Lord’s evening meal. Then we shall want to invite them also to attend the public meeting on April 6 to hear a special talk.

• ² Throughout the world, on April 6, persons of good will will have the

| OFFER FOR FEBRUARY

I “Watchtower” subscription for one

| year and three booklets on a

{         contribution of $1.

| THEME FOR FEBRUARY : (Holding Forth Healing to the Nations. ¹ j .-u _ u                ^ ^: _T² ’ . -,_r'

opportunity to hear the special talk “A New Song for All Men of Good Will.” All congregations will make definite arrangements to hold a public meeting on that date. Each congregation will have a copy of this special talk. Arrange for a well-qualified speaker to deliver this talk, doing so with understanding and enthusiasm. Order handbills four to six weeks in advance.

• ⁶ If a householder does not accept the offer of a subscription for The Watchtower and its gift of three booklets for one dollar, offer him two magazines for ten cents. Perhaps when you make a back-call he will subscribe.

^TBy joyfully holding forth spiritual healing to the nations we bring them hope and life. We are doing a work that was classed by Jesus as being of utmost importance. Let us use The Watchtower as effectively as we can, that it might aid in doing good works of spiritual healing.

FOB APRIL!

• ³ We rejoice that the special talk is the subject of the study article in the special April 15 Watchtower. After the April 6 public talk, the special issue will be given wide distribution during the whole month. The Society will endeavor to get a supply of these magazines to each congregation before April 6. After the talk both brothers and good-will persons in attendance may be informed they can obtain five-copies for 15c; ten for 30c and twenty for 60c.

• ⁴ Since April is a special month, we have a special magazine quota. Foi^- congregation publishers it is one magazine a day, pioneers, six a day, and special pioneers, nine a day. That would be, for the month, 30, 180 and 270 respectively. This quota should be easily attainable, since both The Watchtower of April 15 and Awake! of April 22 will be special issues.

• ⁵ All congregations should order their supply of special magazines by March 1. Last year many congregations did not order enough special magazines and their supply ran out prematurely. So let congregation servants make reasonably certain that the supply of special issues ordered will be adequate.

Are you “buying out the opportune time for yourselves”?

/ IJoux Service Meetings

FIRST MEETING IN FEBRUARY

Theme: Holding Forth Healing to the Nations.

5 min: Welcome, text, comments.

10 min: Talk on “Holding Forth Healing to the Nations.” (See “Watchtower,” September 15, 1957, p. 557, and February 1, 1958, p. 72)

13 min: Question-and-answer coverage of the main article “Do HealingWork with ‘The Watchtower.’ ” Chairman to include comments on the progress of the campaign.

20 min: “Presenting the Good News” —talk and demonstration by the school servant.

12 min: Arrange locally. (Include comments on “204,010 Preach in December.”)

SECOND MEETING IN FEBRUARY

5 min: Welcome, text, comments.

10 min: Talk on “The ‘Yearbook’ and Calendar.” Include the New World News report. Show how interesting it is to use “Yearbook” to get more information on country reported on.

10 min: Cover “Make Sure of All Things”, on Love, pages 252 and 253, from “Those Having Love Hate Unrighteousness” to the end of section. To be handled by question-and-answer method.

12 min: Report from “Watchtower” study servant.

13 min: Talk on “Better Meeting Attendance.”

10 min: Arrange locally. (Include comments on text [Eph. 5: 16] at bottom of page one.)

THIRD MEETING IN FEBRUARY

5 min: Welcome, text, comments.

10 min: “Yearbook” experiences on “Back-Calls and Back-Call Sermons.”

That Christians in apostolic times appreciated the need of making back-calls is seen from Acts 15: 36. And that Christians in apocalyptic times also appreciate the need of calling back is apparent from our new 1958 “Yearbook.”

Thus a sister in Taiwan found how fruitful the calling back on the slightest intimation of interest can be. (264) And that back-calls on magazine placements also get results is seen from the reports of Uruguay (276) and Portugal. (240) Of course, if we would get results we must persevere, as two publishers in Sierra Leone learned. (247) And stressing the value of the back-call sermon are the reports from the United States (70), Costa Rica (137) and New Zealand. (220) Yes, with good reason are we urged to make back-calls; for the seed to mature we must not only plant but also water it.

25 min: Develop and demonstrate back-call sermon. A competent brother should be used as chairman.

CHAIRMAN (3 min.) Short talk pointing out need for preparation. A person could not serve a meal without first gathering necessary ingredients and then putting them together in a tasty manner. Same with a back-call sermon. Preparation necessary in order to give a tasty spiritual meal to householder. Back-call sermon no more difficult than three- to eight-minute sermons that publishers now give so well.

PREPARING SERMON (11 min.) Chairman uses blackboard upon which he has written this outline:

Theme: Freedom from World Woes 1. Woes caused by Satan—Rev. 12: 12 2. Mark of last days —2 Tim. 3: 1-5 3, World’s wicked invisible ruler to be bound           —Rev. 20: 1-3

• 4. Earth’s rule by Christ brings freedom from woes        —Isa. 9: 7

• 5. Kingdom removes woe of death with its sorrows      —Rev, 21: 4

• 6. Accurate knowledge and life of integrity necessary to get freedom from present woes —Rev. 21: 6, 7

Chairman draws attention to theme and how this should be stressed throughout sermon. He points out need for an appropriate introduction, suggesting one or two. He then discusses the various points in the body of the sermon and how to get from one point to the next. Show how to tie conclusion into a paragraph of the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom” and thus get a study started.

DEMONSTRATION (9 min.) A competent publisher makes a back-call on a subscriber for “The Watchtower” and uses the model sermon. He reminds householder of what was said at previous visit. He draws attention to some recent development in world events that adds to world’s woes and tactfully asks permission to step in for a moment to explain how freedom from such woes is possible. He could then introduce his sermon by saying something like this: “I’m sure you would like to see a world free from woe, and no doubt you would like to know why the present world has so much woe. Well, it’s explained right here in the Bible. Notice what Revelation 12: 12 says.” Then proceed with the sermon. Following the conclusion draw the householder’s attention to first paragraph of the’ booklet and go right into a sample Bible study.

CHAIRMAN (2 min.) Conclude by stressing again importance of preparation and of giving a tasty spiritual meal at a back-call.

10 min: Talk on “Be Ready for April’” by magazine-territory servant.

10 min: Arrange locally. (Include comments on “Will You Be There?”)

FOURTH MEETING IN FEBRUARY

5 min: Welcome, text, comments.

10 min: Talk on “Can You Be a pioneer?” Need for full-time workers makes consideration necessary by each publisher. Best way to serve God and help fellow man. It brings blessings and happiness to self and others and, most of all, praise and honor to Jehovah. Either where territory is isolated or in local congregation, whether as regular or vacation pioneer, need is great. Our dedication of all makes pioneering imperative for those Scrip-turally able. Can you afford not to be a pioneer when so many need to be rescued from “calamitous occupations”?

To be a pioneer we must adjust affairs, put Jehovah’s will first, as others have done. In Jesus’ day Peter, though a fisherman, gave up fishing to pioneer. Some then, as today, gave up professions or used them part time to carry on full-time service. Many have arranged to pioneer: Housewives while children in school, farmers and seasonal workers when work is slack, children when vacationing, etc. Do your circumstances differ? Do you have problems to work out? See what others have done.

20 min: Interview on “The Blessings of Pioneering.” Chairman calls on preselected pioneers, representative ones, such as a housewife, brother with family responsibilities, regular pioneer and school child to come to platform. The ones called to platform are asked what prompted them to pioneer. Practical questions are then asked these to show how they overcame their problems so they might pioneer. Let these be factual answers but stress such things as adjusting work schedule, family co-operation, taking advantage of seasonal opportunities, etc.

Next they are asked if they were able to meet pioneer requirements and how they did it. Then questions on the blessings they received from pioneering should be asked them. Here experiences may be given that highlight their appreciation of the privilege of pioneering. If no local experiences are available, then “Yearbook” experiences may be used. (If there are none who are or have been pioneers in the congregation, then information from articles on “Pursuing My Purpose in Life” from “The Watchtower” may be given and audience may be called on to relate experiences on pioneering they have found in “Yearbook.”)

15 min: Talk on “Be a Pioneer!” Stress the importance of being a regular pioneer and, if such is not possible, then be a vacation pioneer, using it as a steppingstone to regular pioneer service. Many can pioneer sometime during every year. How so? See Society’s letter of January 1, 1954, on vacation pioneer arrangement. Excellent time is during circuit servant’s visit. Let these two weeks a year be filled with activity and gain the most from the visit. To help your congregation reach its 20 percent in April, be a Memorial season pioneer and help many new, weak and irregular publishers to be active. One congregation, by stressing vacation pioneering, had thirty-one out in one month.

Young brothers should consider pioneering as life career. Don’t waste life in vain things, use strength for good: and “remember, now, your grand Creator in the days of your youngmanhood.” (Eccl. 12: 1) Stress paragraphs 13-15, “Watchtower,” November 15. 1957, showing how most boys and girls of this generation will be struck down by Armageddon before they reach old age, because they did not remember Creator. So no career more promising or more filled with opportunities for the future as fulltime service.

Also, retired brothers can keep busy as pioneers. Be of real service to Jehovah and organization. Taste joys of service by regular pioneering, and if this is not possible, share in vacation pioneering during summer, seasonal vacations or whenever opportunities arise. Be a vacation pioneer as often as possible and work toward regular pioneer service.

10 min: Arrange locally. (Include comments on the text [Matt. 6: 21] at bottom of page 4.)

CONGREGATION

Congregation Servant Visits with “Watchtower” Study Servant ¹ To the young overseer Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote: “Become an example to the faithful ones in speaking, in conduct, in love, in faith, in chasteness. While I ain coming, continue applying yourself to public reading, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Tim. 4:12, 13) This very well summarizes what is expected of the Watchtower study servant, the proistdmenos, the “one who stands before, takes the lead and conducts.” To help him to carry out his duties and responsibilities to the congregation more ably, the congregation servant will be meeting with the Watchtower study servant, during the month of February.

² Far from just being a conductor to propound questions and receive comments from the audience, the Watchtower study servant has the responsibility of seeing that the congregation gets the greatest benefit from the spiritual food provided through the Watchtower magazine. He must thoroughly prepare the material himself and then see that the questions are properly answered at the study. He should help all to share in the study by commenting,

The "Yearbook

• ¹ Do we appreciate the Yearbook and the calendar as much as we should? Surely the calendar should have a prominent place on the walls of our dwellings and the Yearbook should be handy for daily use.

• ² Reading all the interesting reports in the Yearbook should be a must for every dedicated Christian able to read English. And to help us to appreciate it more it will be used in our service meetings, both for the text of the day and for interesting experiences, and also at our Sunday morning service center contacts. Alert publisters will use the experiences to stimulate the interest of their back-calls and Bible studies.

Correction for “Watchtower” Studies

In the January 15, 1958, issue of The Watchtower the dates for study were incorrectly indicated as February 9, 16 and 23. The study schedule should read : February 23: Overseers in Apocalyptic Times, 1fl-25. Page 41; March 2: Overseers in Apocalyptic Times, V26-35, and Overseers in the Right Hand of Christ, 1F1-11. Page 48; and March 9: Overseers in the Right Hand of Christ, U12-39. Page 54,

ORGANIZATION

and, like all servants, he has a primary responsibility of training publishers in the field service. The Watchtower study servant should keep in mind that he is responsible to a great degree for the publishers’ spiritual growth, which occupies a very important part in their lives.

• ³ Sometime early in the month, after each has reviewed Qualified to Be Ministers, Kingdom Ministry and Preaching Together in Unity on the duties of the Watchtower servant, the congregation servant will meet with the Watchtoiver study servant and the following outline will furnish a guide for their discussion: (1) Appropriate welcome and introductory remarks for study, (2) how to help more to comment, (3) how conductor can comment from time to time to highlight new truths and bring out good points for use in the field, il) how to make study more lively and friendly, and keep within allotted time, (5) selecting and assigning capable readers sufficiently in advance, (6) concluding remarks and announcements, (7) what conductor can do to build up meeting attendance, (8) conductor’s field activity and support of service center activity, and (9) any local problems.

and Calendar

• ³ The Yearbook is to help us continue in our service, to help us maintain integrity and to forward international praise. Both Yearbook and calendar emphasize the international aspect of our expansion.

• ⁴ And what a beautiful, new and interesting calendar we have! Each of its four pages not only gives the calendar days for three of the months and features the yeartext, but more than that, each features some prominent aspect of our pure worship of Jehovah : the home Bible study, house-to-house preaching, meeting in assemblies and incidental witnessing. And with each goes an appropriate text.

• ⁵ Truly our new Yearbook and calendar are choice gifts to be highly appreciated 1

DECEMBER SERVICE REPORT

Av.     Av.    Av. Av.

Hrs.    B-C Bi. St Mags.

148.6 56.2 8.5 140.2 94.9 33.2 5.6 110.6 87.9 23.5 3.4 80.1 10.1   3.2   .6   13.3

Public Meetings Held: 15,908

UNITED STATES QUOTA FOR 1958 206,538 Publishers

BETTER MEETING ATTENDANCE

• ¹ Better meeting attendance? Yes, better in two ways, in quantity—by being there regularly; and in quality —being there on time and contributing to make the meeting profitable.

• ² Why should we attend meetings? Because we all have the same vows to pay to Jehovah and need to help one another. We need to build up our sense of togetherness, of belongingness and of mutual dependence and need. None of us want to say to the others, “I have no need of you.” By attending meetings we become more aware of our being no part of the world, Satan’s world, and of our belonging to the New World society. —1 Cor. 12: 21; John 15:19.

• ³ We should attend meetings because “two are better than one” and “a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn in two.” Because, as Jesus said: “Where there are two or three met together in my name, there I am in their midst.” And how can we “hold fast the public declaration of our hope” and “incite to love and right works” and have “an interchange of encouragement among” us if we stay at home?—Eccl. 4:9, 12; Matt. 18:20; Heb. 10:23-25; Rom. 1:11, 12.

• ⁴ And why should we be punctual? Out of respect for Jehovah’s provision ; out of respect to our brothers conducting the meetings; so as to be able to welcome strangers and build up togetherness by conversation before the meeting, and so as not to miss out on any of the spiritual food provided.

• ⁵ And let us work to improve our meetings by advance preparation and then by taking part as opportunity affords; making our comments brief and lucid so that others will both understand and have time to make their comments.

• ⁶ Servants have the obligation to set the lead in meeting attendance, as in everything else. They are not doing this if, during meetings, they work at their servants’ duties or care for other matters. All servants not conducting a meeting part should be seated with the rest of the congregation and set a good example by commenting as opportunity affords.

• ⁷ Study conductors can help in building up better meeting attendance by encouraging and helping all associated with their group to attend Kingdom Hall meetings as well as the book study. So let all of us work together for better meeting attendance, better in quantity and better in quality.

  

  THE GOOD NEWS

  
  

Essential Qualities of Sermons Part 6: Adaptability

• ¹ Christians should develop the “art of teaching,” said Paul. (2 Tim. 4:2) How essential this is to be successful in the ministry! Regardless of the circumstances some publishers always seem to be able to meet the situation and handle it properly. Why? Because they not only have knowledge but use it aright. Their sermons are flexible; they know how to modify them to meet new conditions. How can one cultivate this desirable quality?

• ² First, have a Kingdom theme; this will allow your sermon to be adaptable to the circumstances. Use of a Kingdom theme minimizes controversial issues.

• ³ However, we do not want to be oblivious to the householder’s reaction, nor should we be rude. As the householder interjects remarks or questions into the conversation, you can absorb them into your sermon, giving answers and further clarifying points.

• ⁴ Your sermons should be flexible enough to allow you to take up abjections or handle other points and yet still stick to the main theme of your discussion. For example, a householder may interrupt, “But Satan is only the abstract quality of evil.” You could say, “That is a common belief, but I feel that we both

Will You Be There?

Where will you be July 27 to August 3, 1958? “If Jehovah wills,” Jehovah’s witnesses will be meeting in, not one, but two huge stadiums, Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds, simultaneously I Why two? Because there is no one stadium in New York city big enough to hold them all. The combined seating capacity of the two stadiums is approximately 120,000 persons, and more seats can be installed. There will be a comfortable place to sit, see and hear for all. Be sure to come and enjoy all eight days of the grand assembly.

Your Christian brothers from faraway lands, isles of the sea and isolated places expect to see you. Be there to meet and greet them. accept Christ as an authority, don’t we?” Then point out the facts from Matthew 4:1-11, how ownership of the world would be associated with personality, etc. Thus having adapted yourself to the situation and tactfully having answered the objection by appealing to a common belief in the same authority, you could proceed to give your sermon. So adaptability is controlled flexibility.

• ⁵ Another aspect of adaptability is having a sermon flexible enough to be given briefly in three minutes or, more enlarged, in eight minutes. Also it means adjusting your approach and sermon to the faith prevalent in the territory. For example, you could hardly talk to a Jewish householder in the same manner as you would to a Catholic. Hence adaptability often spells the difference between success and failure in giving a sermon. Here, then, is something to aid us—adaptability. Let us use it that we may “become all things to people of all kinds,” that we might by all means save some.—1 Cor. 9: 22.

OFFER FOR MARCH “Watchtower” subscription for one year and three booklets on a contribution of $1.

THEME FOR MARCH Guarding Our Christian Trust.

—2 Tim. 1:14.

• ¹ Well done, Kingdom ministers! You have been rewarded with an 8.7-percent increase! While it is not quite what we had hoped for, still it is a very splendid report. Our 10-percent increase for December was to be 206,538. The report shows that we had 204,010 publishers in the field. Considering the winter weather and an unusual amount of sickness, we feel that this is a fine report.

• ² Magazine placements were excellent I In January the quotas were raised to 12 for publishers, 100 for pioneers and 150 for special pioneers. The report showed that congregation publishers averaged 13.3; pioneers 110.6 and special pioneers 140.2.

• ³ Another fine point in December’s report was the Bible study activity.

NEW WORLD NEWS

♦ Spain reaches new peak of 324 in November, an increase of 22 percent over last year, also new peaks in hours, magazines, Bible studies. The circuit servant is deported and some brothers arrested, but another brother takes over circuit work.

♦ Brothers in the Dominican Republic stand firm, continue serving Jehovah. Latest report shows 37 still in prison throughout the country.

♦ Haiti reports a 30-percent increase, with 422 publishers.

♦ Brazil’s new peak of 12,105 in November is 16-percent increase and first time over 12,000. 380 attend first circuit assembly in interior Amazon. Only transportation is by boat, and field service is done by canoe. Four who were baptized there paddled a canoe for two days and nights to get there. 2,414 attend film showing in Manaus, Amazonas.

♦ Milton Henschel begins tour January 1 of Venezuela, Colombia and Central America as representative of the president’s office.

^Brother Adams returns from Caribbean trip after serving Jamaica’s greatest assembly, where 4,682 attended and 139 were baptized. 278 attended assembly in Guadeloupe. 2,560 attended a district assembly in Trinidad.

♦ Circuit assembly broken up by Argentine federal police in outskirts of Buenos Aires. Four arrested. Brothers make official protests, undaunted and in good spirits.

♦ December report just received from Canada: “Happy to reach thirty-two thousand four hundred and forty-five, a 13.7-percent increase, an all-time peak.’’

A grand increase has resulted. In September there were 140,618 home Bible studies being conducted, and in December the number had jumped to 162,546. We are actually conducting 35,335 more studies than a year ago! December’s figures are- the highest ever for Bible studies!

• ⁴ Now keep a close watch over the studies started and help them grow to maturity. Expand in this field of the ministry. Help as many of the sheep as you possibly can to learn the truth and live. With this in mind, press forward now with even greater determination to April’s joys and prospects, “knowing that your labor is not in vain in connection with the Lord.”—1 Cor. 15: 58.

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” Where is your heart?

Published monthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Ine., 11? Adams St., Brooklyn 1, N.Y. Entered as second-class matter at Brooklyn, N.Y. Printed in U.S.A.

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