Service Meeting Schedule
Week Starting December 10
10 min: Local announcements. Using the suggestions on page 8 or other presentations appropriate for your territory, demonstrate how to offer the December 15 Watchtower and the December Awake!
20 min: The Theocratic Ministry School for 2008. Talk by the school overseer. Discuss points needing emphasis locally from the October 2007 Our Kingdom Ministry insert. Review the role of the auxiliary counselor. Encourage all to be diligent in fulfilling their assignments, in participating in Bible highlights, and in applying the suggestions given weekly from Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education.
15 min: “Comfort the Brokenhearted.”a Relate one or two brief local experiences.
Week Starting December 17
10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Encourage everyone to view the video Jehovah’s Witnesses—Organized to Share the Good News in preparation for the discussion at the Service Meeting the week of December 31.
15 min: “We Must Maintain Our Zeal for the Ministry.”b Interview a publisher who is known for being zealous in the ministry. Questions to ask: In what ways have you had to work to maintain your zeal? What has helped you to maintain your zeal?
20 min: “Offer the Magazines That Bear Witness to the Truth.”c Ask for comments on the November 2006 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 8. Encourage audience to read the January 1 Watchtower and the January Awake! Ask them to bring these with them to the meeting next week.
Week Starting December 24
10 min: Local announcements. Read accounts report and donation acknowledgments. Mention the literature offer for January, and have one appropriate presentation demonstrated.
15 min: Prepare to Offer the Current Magazines. Audience discussion based on the January 1 Watchtower and the January Awake! After giving a brief overview of each issue, ask the audience which articles may appeal to people in the territory and why. Invite audience to give suggestions using some of the articles they plan to feature. What question could be asked to start a conversation? Which scripture in the article could then be read? How could the scripture be tied in to the article? Using the sample presentations from Our Kingdom Ministry or a presentation suggested by the audience, demonstrate how each magazine might be offered.
20 min: “Make It Your Goal to Conduct a Bible Study.”d Interview one or two who recently started a Bible study. How was the study started? How is the study progressing?
Week Starting December 31
5 min: Local announcements. Remind publishers to turn in field service reports for December.
15 min: The Motivating Power of Godly Devotion. Encouraging talk based on the March 1, 1990, Watchtower, pages 22-3.
25 min: “The Greatest Preaching Campaign the World Has Ever Known!”e Invite audience to comment on the positive reaction seen when showing the video Jehovah’s Witnesses—Organized to Share the Good News to relatives, acquaintances, return visits, and Bible students.
Week Starting January 7
Note: Information regarding the district convention should not be considered before the week of January 7. Congregations are not to move their Service Meeting for the week of January 7 to an earlier night unless the circuit overseer is visiting. The Recommended Lodging List should be posted on the information board at the conclusion of the Service Meeting. If the Service Meeting is canceled because of a circuit assembly, book study overseers should be given a copy of the Recommended Lodging List and should announce the dates and location of the convention at the book study that week. Those in the group may write down the hotel phone numbers for making their reservations, but they should not receive a copy of the list.
5 min: Local announcements.
15 min: Local needs.
25 min: “2008 District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”f To be handled by the congregation secretary. Before considering the insert, read the December 15, 2007, convention assignment letter. When considering paragraph 7 of the insert, read each point under “Rooming Guidelines” and “Steps in Making Your Hotel Reservation” in the box on page 4, unless the congregation is local and thus does not need to use hotels. Thank all for making their convention arrangements as soon as possible.
[Footnotes]
a Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.
b Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.
c Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.
d Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.
e Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.
f Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.