Service Meetings for May
NOTE: Our Kingdom Ministry will schedule a Service Meeting for each week during the summer months. Congregations may make adjustments as needed to allow for attending the “God’s Prophetic Word” District Convention and then for a 30-minute review of the program highlights at the Service Meeting the following week. The day-by-day review of the convention program should be assigned in advance to three qualified brothers, who will focus on outstanding points. This well-prepared review will help the congregation remember key points for personal application and for use in the field. Any comments from the audience and experiences related should be brief and to the point.
Week Starting May 3
8 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Theocratic News.
17 min: “Teach Others to Benefit Themselves.” Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion. Using chapter 13 of the Knowledge book, illustrate how people are benefited in a practical way by studying, understanding, and applying Bible principles.
20 min: “Ways to Expand Your Ministry.” Two elders discuss the article in response to questions posed by different ones in the audience. A teenage publisher, a married couple, and a brother of retirement age ask about ways that they might expand their ministry. Practical suggestions are offered from the article and chapter 9 of the Our Ministry book, focusing on “What Are Your Spiritual Goals for the Future?,” pages 116-18. The publishers express appreciation for the helpful information the Society provides that shows how to plan for expanded service activity in the immediate future.
Song 11 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting May 10
8 min: Local announcements. Accounts report.
12 min: What Are Your Plans for the Summer? A family reviews their arrangements for attending the convention, auxiliary pioneering, vacationing, and recreation. (See May 1998 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 7.) They discuss how to plan for and do informal witnessing, and they demonstrate how to initiate a conversation. Stress need to keep up with personal and family Bible study, to get to congregation meetings when traveling elsewhere, and to report field service activity to the home congregation. The family reminisces about the good experiences they have had visiting other congregations and the joy that they felt. They consider ways that they can show hospitality to any visitors who come to the congregation.
25 min: “1999 ‘God’s Prophetic Word’ District Conventions.” (Paragraphs 1-16) Questions and answers. Read paragraphs 6, 8, 11, and 16. Stress reasons why we should attend the entire convention, including the Friday sessions. Emphasize the importance of following the Society’s direction to bring our own lunch to the convention each day.
Song 19 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting May 17
10 min: Local announcements.
15 min: “Plan Ahead!” A talk reviewing all the theocratic activities planned locally for the next several months. Encourage everyone to mark the dates on their calendar and not to allow other things to interfere.
20 min: “1999 ‘God’s Prophetic Word’ District Conventions.” (Paragraphs 17-24) Questions and answers. Read paragraphs 18-21. Use the quoted and cited scriptures to emphasize why dress, grooming, and conduct are matters requiring our close attention.
Song 29 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting May 24
15 min: Local announcements. Announce special field service arrangements for May 31. Review the Society’s letter of October 15, 1998, dealing with the Please Follow Up (S-43) form. Explain how this can help in following up interest found when doing informal witnessing and when contact is made with people who speak another language. Encourage publishers to make good use of these forms.
12 min: Question Box. Talk by an elder.
18 min: Are We Sharing in a Separating Work? Motivating talk by service overseer, based on July 1, 1997, Watchtower, pages 30-1.
Song 32 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting May 31
15 min: Local announcements. Remind all to turn in field service reports for May. Review literature offer for June. When offering the Knowledge book, may include a copy of an older 192-page book that is overstocked in the congregation. Demonstrate a sample presentation, making mention of the donation arrangement.
15 min: Local needs.
15 min: What’s Wrong With My Religion? Discussion between two ministerial servants. We encounter many people who are favorable toward the truth and admire Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, the ties they maintain with their church hinder them. They find it difficult to believe that we have the only true religion and that their form of worship is false. This becomes a major barrier to their spiritual progress. The brothers review the six factors mentioned on page 204 of the Reasoning book, which clearly show that other religions do not follow the Bible. Encourage the audience to use these points in tactfully helping sincere ones evaluate their religious beliefs.
Song 50 and concluding prayer.