Informant, December 1949

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INFORMANT

DECEMBER, 1949

. . will yet praise thee more and more.”—Ps. 71: 14.

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

December a Mi

Another Pe<

Back-Calls

Play Important Role

Consistent praise on the part of God’s servants has made 1949 the biggest year of praise that this earth has ever known. Since men must praise Jehovah in order to get life, more praisers now means more enjoying life in the new world. Not content then to rest upon past accomplishments, Jehovah’s servants earth-wide exclaim in the words selected as the theme for the December Testimony Period, “But I will hope continually, and will praise thee yet more and more.” (Ps. 71:14, Am. Stan. Ver.) Together we will strive to climax the year with another peak in number of active praisers, that more may have life.

The fact that several peaks have recently been reached does not make a December peak less likely, but rather even more probable. New publishers inject much beneficial enthusiasm and all are encouraged to greater effort at such evidence of Jehovah’s favor. Furthermore, in most companies there are many more Publisher’s Record cards on file than their publisher peaks during the last six months. Why, if all who have published during the past year were to praise during December, a decisive peak would easily be reached. The potential is already there!

Increasing Praise

Praising Jehovah does not result from following the course of least resistance. It takes no great effort to meet the low standards which the Devil sets for men; and his standards do not allow for any praise to Jehovah. Have you allowed yourself to become irregular in service? to unwittingly slack your hand? to habitually depend upon others to help you praise when you might be helping someone else? If you do not personally budget your time to serve God, the Devil budgets it for you and helps you to waste It. This is not a time for laxity. This is the time to form better habits of praise, to take the initiative and utilize all opportunities that arise during the day's activity. December should present many opportunities for service, including the holidays. Are you budgeting them for praise?

Group Witnessing Aids Praisers

Group witnessing provides helpful assistance for Jehovah’s praisers and should be arranged for in all companies. True, some may not be able to conform to all of the group witnessing arrangements. When this is true the servants can investigate to determine the time most convenient for those thus restricted but otherwise able to participate in the service at some other time during the week. It can then be arranged for them to meet for service at a convenient time and place. Even though no servant may be able to be present, someone who can be there can take oversight Such

PLAN Now to Attend

Intensified interest marks the passing months as the 1950 international convention comes on apace. Jehovah's ministers the world over are keenly anticipating and planning for what promises to be the most thrilling assembly yet. International it will be indeed, for already publishers in South America. Europe, Africa, India, China, Philippine Republic, Australia and virtually every other clime and place are arranging their affairs so as to gather in Theocratic convention July 30 to August 6, 1950. Brethren in the United States are likewise doing their share of planning for this great occasion. Those engaged in secular work are arranging for vacations at convention time; good-will persons are being invited and encouraged to attend ; and forward-looking publishers are accumulating savings for the journey to New York city.

Transportation Preparation

Travel to New York will require advance planning. Publishers should begin now considering what means of transportation they will utilize. (Questions or problems on travel may be referred to the Society's Convention Transportation Desk for counsel.) Next to private auto travel, rail transportation will accommodate most of the conventloners. Therefore, the Society has tentatively arranged for several special trains and coaches to serve various sections of the country. Well-equipped trains are planned for departure from Los Angeles, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., Portland, * Oreg., Seattle, Wash., Denver, Colo., Omaha, Nebr., Chicago, Ill., Detroit, Mich., San Antonio. Texas, Oklahoma City, Okla.. St. Louis, Mo., New

mth for Praise

k Our Goal

groups need not be large. Perhaps only two or three can come, but if definite arrangements are made and followed out it will surely result In increased praise.

Whether in group work or otherwise, servants, publishers and pioneers should gladly accept the opportunity to assist others. Pioneers can be of great assistance in midweek activity and can frequently, by good example, be instrumental in aiding others to be full-time praisers.

Many of our brethren have burdens that restrict their service, but by sharing burdens we can help them to share in the increase of praise. For example, sisters can take turns at caring for children, transportation can be provided and those needing practical assistance can be invited to accompany you. At the same time, those receiving such aid will want to take their turn in helping others.

In arranging car groups the spirit of a sound mind should always be used. Consideration should be taken of family and marital relationships so that even the appearance of evil will be avoided, and especially that persons becoming interested will not be stumbled.

All of Jehovah’s praisers will present “Let God Be True” and The Kingdom, Hope of All Mankind on a contribution of 35c during December. When people are contacted who already have the book, be ready to assist them to study and to understand it rather than to try to jilace additional literature immediately. And do not forget to keep a record of interest, so as to make your own back-calls.

Back-Calls Increase Praise

A great responsibility rests upon Jehovah's witnesses to call back upon persons who have manifested interest in God's Word. Since back-calls are no longer turned in to be filed, that responsibility has increased. Yet reports show that many companies are decreasing in average number of back-calls, indicating that some are not sharing in this essential avenue of praise, or it may be that the back-calls are not being properly reported. Remember, a return visit can be counted as a back-call even if only an additional witness is given and the person manifests no further interest after the visit is finished. If a study is held four times in a month the publisher should report four back-calls.

The many persons of good-will whom we meet and nurture to an understanding of God’s Word, together with those who have been somewhat irregular in their- service, furnish a tremendous potential for an increase in number of praisers. Not yet have we reached the final peak before Armageddon brings an end to the ingathering of men now living on the earth. “I will increase them with men like a flock,” promises Jehovah through his prophet. (Ezek 36:37) May December see

the 1950 Convention!

Orleans, La., Jacksonville, Fla., Atlanta, Ga., and Cincinnati, Ohio. Additionally, these trains will serve many points en route to New York. Transportation servants are being appointed in key cities and they will arrange for special trains under directions from the Society. In due time full details on train schedules and information on other modes of travel will be sent to all companies.

Reporting Travelers

In order to organize convention travel efficiently the Society requires certain information. Company servants (or transportation servants where such have been appointed) should ascertain the number of persons in their companies that will be traveling by auto, rail (whether coach or Pullman), bus and airplane. This can probably be dohe by having the brethren turn in slips of paper listing the method of travel they plan to use, or by a showing of hands at one of the company meetings. These figures should be listed separately and sent to the Watchtower Convention Transportation Desk, 117 Adams St., Brooklyn 1, N. Y., by January 1, 1950. It is realized that this count will only be a general estimate and that many of the brethren may find it necessary to change their plans between now and convention time, but such a poll will give the Society the over-all transportation picture for 1950.

As the time for this great spiritual feast spread by the Lord draws near, the Society encourages each and every one to: Plan now to attend the 1950 international convention in New York city!

How Well Do Y

Review of Yearbook Valuable

If you were suddenly placed in the midst of a group of witnesses of every nationality and tongue, how well would you know them? Not many months hence this will happen as witnesses from all over the world gather in New York city for the great international assembly. That we may understand our brethren better and know something about the countries from which they come, the customs of tire people, the work our brethren have accomplished and the conditions under which they work, the following procedure will be followed:

Beginning January 1, 1950, or as soon thereafter as the 1950 Yearbook is received, all companies will devote about 15 minutes of each service meeting to reviewing an average of two countries a week from the Yearbook reports. If the countries are small, perhaps two or three can be covered; if they are large, maybe only one. We will start at the beginning of the 1950 Yearbook many more in that flock and a new publisher peak, to the end that Jehovah will receive yet more praise!

Know Them?

and continue each week until all of the countries reporting have been covered.

This will not be simply the quoting of many figures, but should be Interesting discussions of those countries and their advances in Kingdom service. If the country is small and unfamiliar, perhaps a large map or a sketch on a blackboard can be used. Reference can also be made to the world map on the inside cover of the Yearbook. The one handling each assignment can consult and use material from previous issues of the Yearbook, from the chart in the Yearbook, from maps, encyclopedias and any other sources of information regarding the particular countries and their people.

This highly educational material will instill in our minds an even greater appreciation of the Yearbook and the service work done by our brethren in other lands. May we not also be even more united world-wide than in the past? All publishers will look forward eagerly to these discussions during the international year of 1950, that they may really know their brethren better.

Ministers for the Issue

Prepare Now for 12th Annual Subscription Campaign

The Watchtower and 8 Booklets to Be Presented

How few on earth today appreciate what the paramount issue before all creation really is! The majority vainly concern themselves with minor and temporary issues, ignoring the vital and all-important issue raised almost six thousand years ago: Who is the Supreme One? and who will rule the universe?

That men may be without an excuse for pursuing such a course of folly Jehovah God has his ministers on earth who make known that issue. Today, when its final settlement draws near, it becomes increasingly urgent that those ministers, in the words of our text lor January, “bless Jehovah” and “do his pleasure” by publishing the truth regarding the issue.—Ps. 103: 21, Am. Stan. Ver.

The Campaign Offer

The chief instrument that Jehovah’s ministers have been using for the past seventy years to aid them in clarifying the issue is The Watchtower. That journal reveals the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, removes the stumbling-stones of false doctrines and aids men of good-will to take their stand on Jehovah’s side of the issue; and it instructs Jehovah’s ministers regarding the importance and manner of carrying out their commission.

How fitting, therefore, that the ministers for the issue should present the magazine for the issue! During the four months of the 12th annual subscription campaign they will present a subscription for The Watchtower for one year for one dollar, with a premium of eight booklets free. Seventy-five cents will be remitted to the Society. To those already subscribing for The Watchtower, Awake! may be presented. However, no premium will be given with Awake! and one dollar will be remitted to the Society for each Awake! subscription obtained.

Servant Preparation Essential

To get the subscription campaign off to a good start will require thorough advance preparation on the part of all servants. The company servant not only will prepare to feature the subscription campaign in the service meetings but will also see to it that every other part of the company organization is properly prepared. The assistant company servant will do his part by cheeking the Publisher’s Record cards to see who needs help to get into the service as well as who needs training in the placing of literature and obtaining of subscriptions. The Bible study servant will promptly distribute expired subscription slips as well as look after the proper calling back on those who subscribe.

The territory servant will see to it that the territory longest without a witness is covered first, and particularly such as may not have had the benefit of the subscription offer last year. To have sufficient copies of each issue of the magazines on hand will be the obligation of the advertising servant; while the stock servant will make sure that the company is well supplied with booklets and subscription forms. There are 14,769,712 booklets in the pioneer and company literature stock throughout the United States. These should be used before ordering more, regardless of how long since they may have been first published. Circuit servants can aid in relieving overstocked companies by advising companies needing booklets where to secure them. The accounts servant will be prepared to effectively and accurately handle the subscriptions as they come in.

Individual Advance Preparation

Each minister in the company will likewise need to make advance personal preparation. First of all, he should prepare his mind. He should have a keen appreciation of the importance of The Watchtower as the official journal of Jehovah’s visible organization and the vital role it plays in making known the issue. He should be subscription-conscious at all times, not only when engaging in the house-to-house and street ministry, but when shopping or when tradespeople or acquaintances call, or whenever opportunity affords. Be prepared to have something specific to say regarding the particular issue of The Watchtower you are presenting. With conviction, show why this publication is for the benefit and spiritual welfare of those to whom you speak.

Individual advance preparation also means having definitely in mind where one will work, and also when. Plan definite times for your field ministry; do not let it be a matter of mood or inclination. And when going forth, be prepared also with presentable equipment: magazines, booklets, subscription blanks, handbills, etc.

Quota

The subscription quota for each company will again be twice its peak number of publishers. Based on the August, 1949, peak, the United States quota will be set at 180,000 subscriptions. Last year’s quota for the United States, 165,000 subscriptions, established on the same basis, was exceeded by more than 3,000, as 168,154 subscriptions were sent in. Can we meet or exceed our quota again? Every country where The Watchtower or Awake! is distributed will set a similar quota. Last year from January to April the publishers throughout the world obtained 361,218 new subscriptions. This promises to be another great campaign for expansion.

With full appreciation of the primary issue before all creation, and of the part that The Watchtower plays in making it , known, let each minister of Jehovah see to it that he is well prepared to do his part in the 12th annual Watchtower subscription campaign.

New Aicake! Subscriptions Obtained in the United States During October Campaign 60,164

1950 Yearbook and Calendar

Zealous service prompted by love for Jehovah has resulted in splendid world-wide increases in Kingdom activity during the service year just past. For the benefit and enlightenment of all, the Society’s president has again compiled a report on this great expansion of praise, and it is published in the 1950 Yearhook of Jehovah's witnesses. This encouraging report should be read by every person interested in the advance of true worship in the earth. As in the past, the Yearhook also contains a Bible text with comments for each day of the year. The Yearbook is now available at 50c a copy.

The 1950 Calendar, also now available. presents an accurate colored

Improving Your

Company Servants Diligently Plan and Publishers Support

This Important Meeting

The service meeting is one of the most Important meetings for Jehovah’s consecrated people today. At the Watchtower study we ‘transform our minds to prove what is that good and acceptable will of God’, and at the service meeting we learn how to do that will and meet God’s approval. A good service meeting also increases the desire to share in the service work. That service meetings may be improved, the following suggestions are given.

Each service meeting should be, first of all. practical and workable. It should be current and deal with the problems of the local company; it should have variety, be thoroughly prepared and properly timed; and it should instruct, not merely entertain.

Variety of Material and Presentation

An almost endless variety of material presents itself to the alert servant. The Informant fills the primary place in this respect. In addition, Yearbook reports, resumes of new publications and special letters from the Society should be considered. Talks on unity, conduct, consecration, etc., may be appropriate at times, and Counsel on Theocratic Organization and Freedom of Worship should be regularly considered and frequently reviewed.

Field service arrangements should also be taken up at each service meeting. Related subjects include attention to the company book-study arrangement, examination of the company’s condition by use of the chart, how to conduct interesting and instructive back-calls and studies, how to work individual and business territories and do effective magazine and advertising work. Instruction on welcoming the stranger, on how to acquaint persons of

UNITED STATES QUOTA FOR 1950 91,254 Publishers

Monthly Field Service Report

OCTOBER

REPORT

Av.

Av.

Av.

Pubs.

Hrs.

B-C

Bi. St.

Sp’l Pios. 380

134.5

56.2

7.7

Pioneers 4,714

91.6

33.9

5.5

Co. Pubs. 88,467

10.0

3.4

.5

Total Pubs. 93,561

Public Meetings Held: 6,139

A new peak by 2,098 publishers! Company publishers also show improvement in hours, back-calls and home Bible studies. Keep up the good work!

reproduction of the new Bethel home in Brooklyn, N. Y. The yeartext for 1950 is overprinted across the top, and the Calendar pad presents the names of the six Testimony Periods and the service themes for the intervening months. Calendars are 25c each, or 5 for SI when sent to one address.

It is preferable that those associated with a company place their orders for the Calendar and the Yearbook with the company servant. He should determine immediately how many of the Calendar and of the Yearbook will be required by publishers, new pioneers and persons of good-will and send in the order promptly, keeping in mind that both the Calendar and the Yearbook are cash items and a remittance to cover must accompany each order.

Pioneers who entered full-time service prior to July 1, 1949, will be sent a copy of the Yearbook free.

Service Meetings

good-will with service and on ways of aiding the irregular are also profitable from time to time.

The service meeting is an effective place to point out the importance of meeting attendance and participation too. Practical ways to apply in the field information gained at the various meetings can be demonstrated to the benefit of all.

The possible ways of presenting this reservoir of material is almost as varied. Some material will be best presented by discourse; other things by questions and answers; and then there are demonstrations, narration and pantomime, interviews, questions from the audience, or any combination of these methods. Service meetings need not follow the same routine pattern each week.

Planning the Meeting

The company servant is responsible for this meeting and he should always be alert for material, for weaknesses in the company to be overcome and for good points to be commended. He should welcome suggestions from other servants and publishers, as these will aid him in dealing with company problems and planning the meeting.

On receipt of the Informant he would do well to plan the service meetings for the following month, selecting an appropriate theme for each. Usually the theme is based on an Informant article around which the meeting is built, or perhaps the theme for the month. For example: The first meeting in December would follow the theme “Yet More Praise”, which is the theme of the main Informant article. There might first be a discourse on More Praise by Home Bible Studies, then an interview on Company Book Studies Organized for Praise, followed by the main Informant article, “December a Month for Praise.” The first part of the article might be considered by a discourse, then a demonstration of the offer, and conclude with questions and answers on the remaining paragraphs. The meeting could then be concluded with a short stirring talk on Regular Praise.

Throughout the month other necessary matters can be considered. The main thing is to plan your meetings and work for variety, building each meeting up to a climax. Avoid having three discourses in a row; rather, intersperse talks with other forms of presentation.

Effective service meetings require advance preparation and participants must know what they are to present. Just to say, “I want you to talk 15 minutes on back-calls,” is not sufficient. To tie that portion of the program in with the theme may require the development of specific points about a subject, such as “How to conduct interesting and instructive back-calls” or “How to turn back-calls into studies”, etc. If it is to be a demonstration, be sure the conductor knows the points to emphasize. Time is important too, and that means that each one should stay within his allotted time so that the meeting will not lie over an hour. Various forms of audience participation always help to enliven a meeting if all strive to contribute their share.

Instructive and interesting service meetings are very helpful and necessary for God’s people in performing their ministry. Company servants, give diligence to planning the service meeting! Brethren having assignments, prepare well and stay within your allotted time! Publishers, support the service meeting by your attendance and participation I