• Testing and Sifting From Within
    Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom

    • Field Service and Organization Become Issues

      Beginning with its first issue, and with increasing emphasis thereafter, Zion’s Watch Tower urged each and every true Christian to share the truth with others. Thereafter, readers of the Watch Tower were frequently encouraged to appreciate their privilege and responsibility to proclaim the good news to others. Many shared in limited ways, but relatively few were in the forefront of the work, calling from house to house so as to give everyone the opportunity to hear the Kingdom message.

      However, beginning with the year 1919, participation in the field service came to the fore more strongly. Brother Rutherford forcefully emphasized it in a discourse at Cedar Point, Ohio, that year. In each congregation that requested the Society to organize it for service, arrangements were made for a service director, appointed by the Society, to care for the work. He was to take the lead himself and see to it that the congregation had the needed supplies.

      In 1922, The Watch Tower published an article entitled “Service Essential.” It pointed to the dire need for people to hear the good news of the Kingdom, directed attention to Jesus’ prophetic command at Matthew 24:14, and stated to elders in the congregations: “Let no one think that because he is an elder of the class all his service should consist of preaching by word of mouth. If opportunities offer for him to go among the people and place in their hands the printed message, that is a great privilege and is preaching the gospel, often more effectively than any other way of preaching it.” The article then asked: “Can any one who is really consecrated to the Lord justify himself or herself in idleness at this time?”