Jehovah’s Witnesses recently resumed their trademark door-to-door ministry after a two-and-a-half-year suspension of the work. The change comes as the Christian organization begins a global campaign featuring a new interactive Bible study program.
The decision to resume their door-to-door ministry marks the complete restoration of all pre-pandemic in-person activities for the nearly 1.3 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 12,000 congregations in the United States. Houses of worship (called Kingdom Halls) were reopened on April 1, witnessing in public places resumed on May 31 and in-person conventions are again being planned for 2023.
“I’m so happy! I missed it so much. I enjoy so many things about talking with people about the Bible in person,” said Denise Zack of the Charleston congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
She anticipates heading out into the local neighborhoods again with her husband, Jeff.
“I think what I missed most was seeing a person’s face light up when hope from the Bible touches their heart. Over the phone I can hear it in their voice ... but to actually see God’s word bringing relief and comfort to them — there’s nothing like it,” Zack added.
The suspension of the public ministry was a proactive response by the organization to keep communities and congregants safe. The move was also unprecedented. Jehovah’s Witnesses had been preaching from house to house without interruption for more than 100 years through an economic depression, two world wars and global unrest, but COVID-19 demanded a different response.
The pandemic forced Jehovah’s Witnesses to quickly pivot to virtual meetings and conventions while conducting their ministry exclusively through letters, phone calls and virtual Bible studies. This has led to growth in meeting attendance and the number of congregants, with more than 400,000 newly baptized witnesses joining the ranks of 120,000 congregations globally in just the first two years of the pandemic.
For more information about Jehovah’s Witnesses, their history, beliefs and activities, visit their official website, jw.org, with content available in more than 1,000 languages.
