BREAKING NEWS | Adjustments to Field Service Reporting

[Dages]

24 minutes ago, DancesWithWife said:

Our meeting MWM, was cancelled due to a large power outage in the area. Was there any announcement read at the meeting about the new field service arrangement? 

There shouldn't.

[Tortuga]

27 minutes ago, DancesWithWife said:

Our meeting MWM, was cancelled due to a large power outage in the area. Was there any announcement read at the meeting about the new field service arrangement? 

No. The only information currently available is the Breaking News Announcement that was posted on JW.org.

[DancesWithWife]

14 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

No. The only information currently available is the Breaking News Announcement that was posted on JW.org.

The reason I ask is some don't always visit JW.org regularly and may have not heard. 

[Tortuga]

59 minutes ago, DancesWithWife said:

The reason I ask is some don't always visit JW.org regularly and may have not heard. 

It was also posted on the JWLIBRARY app. The GB use it for important announcements so please encourage everyone to check the app regularly.

 

The announcement was not mentioned during our midweek meeting. There isn't any information from the Branch to announce it at any meeting.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Tortuga

[Qapla]

It was not announced at our meeting, but there was a bit of discussion about it among those on Zoom before and after the meeting.

 

[DancesWithWife]

25 minutes ago, Qapla said:

It was not announced at our meeting, but there was a bit of discussion about it among those on Zoom before and after the meeting.

 

I will be on my brothers Zoom meeting as ours was cancelled due to a major power outage. I was looking forward to the local needs part. I will be an active listener at the meeting since it's not my meeting.

[Rodejong]

On 10/8/2023 at 12:26 AM, Adam! said:

Matthew 22:37 - You must love Jehovah with your WHOLE heart. 

Irrespective of how many hours you spend in the ministry each month, its your love for Jehovah that makes you step out of your home to go out and preach & teach each time.

 

Look at any application form for pioneering, it says in part, words to the effect "because of my love for Jehovah"... not because of some sort of recognition by others or Look "good" in front of others.

 

So if anyone thinks that one's might not be seen more in the field because they no longer report hours - who of us can know someone's true best, their true motives and their own love for Jehovah.

But as I understand it, it has to do with the love for our neighbour. We want to save them. We used the illustration of the sinking ship (Titanic) where the employees banned on the doors to wake people up. That is still the case. We want to save them, because we care, not because we want to say "I woke up so and so many"!

[shali]

At our meeting it was announced that the annual meeting will be the broadcast for November and it will be released on November 6th and we will receive the reasons for the changes, I'm sure when we have the Watchtower released in January it might delve into these changes and the reasons for the new thinking a bit deeper. Personally, all my life I could never reconcile giving a "warning" when the GT started but no one was allowed to heed it. This is a big relief for me.

[TheKid23]

here’s the full announcement 

[truce]

14 minutes ago, shali said:

At our meeting it was announced that the annual meeting will be the broadcast for November and it will be released on November 6th and we will receive the reasons for the changes, I'm sure when we have the Watchtower released in January it might delve into these changes and the reasons for the new thinking a bit deeper. Personally, all my life I could never reconcile giving a "warning" when the GT started but no one was allowed to heed it. This is a big relief for me.

According to the announcement, not the entire annual meeting, but only the final 4-part symposium dealing with adjustments to our field ministry. The rest of the annual meeting will be released in the January broadcast. 

[Dages]

I have the feeling this is going to encourage a lot of new/young ones to become publisher. It's simpler. A good step to become a JW

[Landon1285]

With the AI translation initiative I hope we will eventually get the full annual meeting in the November broadcast for 2024.

[Tortuga]

23 minutes ago, Dages said:

I have the feeling this is going to encourage a lot of new/young ones to become publisher. It's simpler. A good step to become a JW

I have to be honest and say that I don't understand all of the enthusiasm yet. It doesn't seem to change anything except that we don't turn in our time at the end of the month. Maybe I will feel different after the November Broadcast but for now, nothing has changed.

[DancesWithWife]

7 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

I have to be honest and say that I don't understand all of the enthusiasm yet

All the years of making sure you turned in "time" will be gone for many of us. We were always asked to turn in our time, did you get any time, make sure to count your time. Time seemed to be the priority. When I got severely hurt and sick 10 years ago, the first thing I thought was how can I get the same amount of time. I gradually changed to how can I improve or take advantage of my new situation. 

 

As my health continues to decline, I see more opportunities to express my faith in smaller amounts that will no longer be measured by minutes or hours. For many of us, the amount of time we put in will not change, just how we report it. My wife is one of those who is very enthusiastic about the change. 

 

I think of the example of the slaves who were given talents in Matthew 25. We know what the Master expects, so we need to do something. Even the wicked slave could have done something. 

 

We all see change differently. We react to change differently.  Change is good yet can be hard to accept or understand sometimes. Change can cause anxiety for some and enthusiasm for others.

[Tortuga]

38 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

I have to be honest and say that I don't understand all of the enthusiasm yet. It doesn't seem to change anything except that we don't turn in our time at the end of the month. Maybe I will feel different after the November Broadcast but for now, nothing has changed.

Three people laughed at my comment, did I say something funny?

[Tortuga]

16 minutes ago, DancesWithWife said:

Change can cause anxiety for some and enthusiasm for others.

The change hasn't created any anxiety or enthusiasm for me yet. So far it only means that I don't report my time at the end of the month. My motivation hasn't changed, my service hasn't changed, nothing else has changed so far.

[DancesWithWife]

4 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

The change hasn't created any anxiety or enthusiasm for me yet.

It probably won't. We just react differently that's all some are saying. My older physical brother and I totally react differently on most subjects. I get excited over seeing the moon, my wife not so much. This is what makes the Truth special, we can all react to it differently, yet be in harmony and peace with each other! 

[Qapla]

49 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

The change hasn't created any anxiety or enthusiasm for me yet. So far it only means that I don't report my time at the end of the month. My motivation hasn't changed, my service hasn't changed, nothing else has changed so far.

 

And that's fine ... for you ~

 

However, there has long been a feeling that, unless a person reports 10 or more hours a month - most of that being door-to-door - they are "falling short" 

 

This will no longer be the case. No one will know how many hours a person preached, or even what aspect of the ministry they engaged in ... only that they engaged in some form on the ministry. 

 

New/young ones will not feel like they have to be able to spend a minimum of 10 hours in door-to-door just to become a publisher (after all, they don't have return visits or bible studies if they have never engaged in the ministry yet) - just that they can engage in some form of the ministry to become a publisher. So, this change may, indeed, encourage more to reach out to become a publisher.

 

 It will also help those who have become limited in some way to keep from feeling self-conscious about asking to be put on the "infirm list" that allows them to report minimal service time.

 

[Sun]

In the early 90's I went out one morning to preach with my teacher, when we finished preaching I had not left any publications and I felt discouraged, but he encouraged me saying that he had left many words that are also very important in people's hearts.
I guess it will be a similar feeling, when we only focus on one aspect, the time is the same we can dedicate to the ministry and it is the same people we have around us, as long as we go out preaching that will be the important thing 🙂

[jwhess]

1 hour ago, Tortuga said:

I have to be honest and say that I don't understand all of the enthusiasm yet. It doesn't seem to change anything except that we don't turn in our time at the end of the month. Maybe I will feel different after the November Broadcast but for now, nothing has changed.

Richard, there are so many changes to be explained, shown in videos, printed material changes that will become clear when everybody sees the AM video. Hold on for 3 more weeks. Then you can express joy with those who attended the AM.  It is not just about turning in your time reports. Much more to come.

[jwhess]

1 hour ago, Landon1285 said:

With the AI translation initiative I hope we will eventually get the full annual meeting in the November broadcast for 2024.

It is not just the translating of the program. There are many videos to be subtitled or voiced-over. Printed material has to be photographed with local language titles. And so on. They told us it would be translated into  almost 500 languages.
 

Remember the program is 3 hours long.

[Dannie]

33 minutes ago, jwhess said:

Richard, there are so many changes to be explained, shown in videos, printed material changes that will become clear when everybody sees the AM video. Hold on for 3 more weeks. Then you can express joy with those who attended the AM.  It is not just about turning in your time reports. Much more to come.

WOW Beautifully put!  I in fact needed this encouraging reiteration myself!!!

[Landon1285]

54 minutes ago, jwhess said:

It is not just the translating of the program. There are many videos to be subtitled or voiced-over. Printed material has to be photographed with local language titles. And so on. They told us it would be translated into  almost 500 languages.
 

Remember the program is 3 hours long.

I'm aware of the nuance of translation. All of the things you mentioned above are being addressed by this initiative. 

[Dolce vita]

2 hours ago, Tortuga said:

Trois personnes ont ri de mon commentaire, ai-je dit quelque chose de drôle ?

Four, I'm guilty

[New World Explorer]

3 hours ago, Tortuga said:

I have to be honest and say that I don't understand all of the enthusiasm yet. It doesn't seem to change anything except that we don't turn in our time at the end of the month. Maybe I will feel different after the November Broadcast but for now, nothing has changed.

Richard, I have similar feelings. 
My routine in the ministry is rock solid. I look after Friday morning group and very often afternoon for RV’s. I serve as a group overseer and my assistant is very busy with LDC projects, so I take Saturday morning group very often, and even if not I am there to set example and encouragement for the rest of the group. So reporting or not, has zero impact on my routine. ( well I am secretary assistant so submitting reports to the branch will be easier … excited about that) 

 

I love the simplicity of a new arrangement as it allows us to show what is in our hearts.