Service Meeting Schedule
Week Starting November 13
10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Outline special field service arrangements for November 23.
13 min: Question Box. Talk by an elder.
22 min: “Cultivating Interest Stimulated by Kingdom News No. 36.” Question-and-answer discussion of paragraphs 1-5. Outline local arrangements for covering any territory not yet worked. Review the presentations in paragraphs 7 and 8 for making return visits, and have each one demonstrated. Emphasize the importance of following up all interest and endeavoring to start Bible studies. Conclude by discussing paragraph 9 and the cited scriptures.
Song 63 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting November 20
10 min: Local announcements. Accounts report.
15 min: Experiences Distributing Kingdom News No. 36. Report success in covering the territory. Did any in the congregation share in service for the first time? Relate favorable comments made by householders. Were some publishers able to start Bible studies? If so, have them explain or reenact how they did it. Remind all to cultivate the interest found.
20 min: “Keep On Preaching!” Talk and interview. Some have been associated with Jehovah’s organization and have persisted in the preaching work all their lives. With a positive attitude, they have found joy in doing so. (See Knowledge book, page 179, paragraph 20, and the May 1, 1992, Watchtower, pages 21-2, paragraphs 14-15.) Invite a publisher who has been active for many years to relate the reasons why he has persisted in the preaching work.
Song 141 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting November 27
10 min: Local announcements. Remind publishers to turn in field service reports for November. The literature offer for December is the Knowledge book with the New World Translation. Explain how Jehovah’s Witnesses have played a major role in producing the Bible in many languages.—See the October 15, 1997, Watchtower, pages 11-12.
20 min: Make Good Use of the Reasoning Book. Question-and-answer discussion of pages 7-8. Show how this book is designed to help us prepare for a more effective share in the ministry. Explain how the book can be used when doing telephone witnessing. Demonstrate how to find helpful information to answer a question. Urge all to become familiar with this book, keep it in their witnessing case, and make regular use of it.
15 min: How Can I Control My TV Viewing Habits? An elder talks to a young brother who spends several hours a day watching TV. At first, the brother insists that there is no harm in it. He says that it is simply a form of relaxation and that he is not adversely affected. Elder reviews main points in chapter 36 of the Young People Ask book. He explains that excessive TV viewing consumes valuable time that might otherwise be spent doing personal study, going in the ministry, or helping with congregation needs. The young brother expresses appreciation for the counsel and says that for his spiritual benefit, he will change his TV-viewing habits.
Song 175 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting December 4
10 min: Local announcements. “What Do You Say to an Answering Machine?”
15 min: Local needs.
20 min: “A Word Spoken at the Right Time.” Audience discussion and demonstrations. Many feel inadequate when trying to start conversations, wrongly assuming that they need some special skill to get results. Explain how all of us, including new and younger publishers, can initiate discussions with reasonable effort. Review the suggested presentations, highlighting their simplicity, and have two or three publishers demonstrate them. Refer to the March 1998 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 8, for additional presentations that can be used. Urge all to be positive so that they will find more joy in their ministry.
Song 218 and concluding prayer.