• Highlights of the Past Year
    2001 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • New and Expanded Branch Facilities

      To care for the growing number of Jehovah’s Witnesses and to equip them for their ministry, it has also been necessary to provide suitable branch facilities. A number of these were dedicated within the past year. Such facilities worldwide are staffed by a total of 19,587 ordained ministers, all of whom are members of the Order of Special Full-Time Servants.

      SOUTH AFRICA: The branch facilities in Krugersdorp seemed more than adequate when they were completed in 1987. Why, just 12 years later, were they dedicating an enlargement of the office block, three new residence buildings, a trucking garage, and a spacious new export shed?

      One reason is the increased freedom enjoyed by Jehovah’s people as a result of the end of the Cold War. Bans on Jehovah’s Witnesses were lifted in such countries as Rwanda, Malawi, Mozambique, and Angola. Since the completion of the branch facilities in 1987, ten of the countries to which South Africa sends supplies have seen a total increase in publishers of 148 percent! (Mozambique alone had a 523-percent increase in those 12 years.)

      Furthermore, a new government in South Africa and the dismantling of apartheid resulted in greater freedom of movement to and from other countries in Africa. The South Africa branch has thus been able to do more to send supplies to neighboring branches. In addition to printing magazines, brochures, and other material, this branch stores literature and processes congregation orders for a number of nearby countries. As the construction of Assembly Halls and Kingdom Halls gains momentum in Africa, more branches are obtaining building supplies from South Africa.

      Other factors: The South Africa branch territory itself enjoyed a 62-percent increase in Kingdom proclaimers since 1987. In the last few years, the Translation Department had to be enlarged to handle the additional work of translating the Bible into seven local languages—Afrikaans, Sepedi, Sesotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu. Little wonder, then, that crucial areas of the South Africa branch had to be expanded.

      Thus, on October 23, 1999, enlarged branch facilities were dedicated in South Africa. On hand for the occasion was Daniel Sydlik, a member of the Governing Body, who delivered a stimulating discourse entitled “Dedications Reflecting God’s Glory.”

      JAPAN: A few weeks later, on November 13, expanded branch facilities were dedicated in Ebina, Japan. The additions included two 12-story residence buildings and a 4-story service building. Over 70 skilled international servants and volunteers working together with some 2,000 local long-term and short-term workers had brought the project to completion in three and a half years.

      This dedication program took place 50 years after the first Watch Tower missionaries arrived in Japan following World War II. Some of those missionaries, still serving in Japan, were present for this occasion, along with all the traveling overseers in Japan, other long-time servants of Jehovah, and 344 delegates from 37 other lands.

      When the first missionaries arrived in Tokyo and restarted the preaching activities after World War II, only a handful of Jehovah’s faithful worshipers were to be found in Japan. Now there are over 221,000 active Kingdom proclaimers spreading the good news in every corner of the land. Additionally, Bible literature printed in Japan in 27 languages is shipped to other countries, and at the direction of the Governing Body, the branch is giving direct help to the field activities of some Asian countries.

      At a special meeting the day following the dedication, Theodore Jaracz, a member of the Governing Body, spoke to an audience of 61,323 in the Yokohama International Stadium. Altogether, with 41 locations throughout the country tying in, there was a total attendance of 269,376. The program, which included reports from foreign delegates and a talk by Brother Jaracz on the subject “Being Taught by Jehovah—Beneficial Today and Eternally,” gave strong encouragement to all present to keep on making spiritual progress.

      BENIN: This country in West Africa is proving to be a productive field in the spiritual harvest. There are 6,343 publishers of the good news, and well over half of these got baptized during the 1990’s.

      To serve this growing throng of true worshipers and those in Niger, new branch facilities, a new Assembly Hall, and a missionary home were dedicated in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, on January 1, 2000. Gerrit Lösch, a member of the Governing Body, used the occasion to emphasize two vital points: (1) The principal reason we serve Jehovah is, not our hope to gain everlasting life, but our love for him. (2) Read God’s Word, the Bible, every day. What practical reminders!

      MYANMAR: A few weeks after the dedication in Benin, new branch facilities were dedicated in Myanmar. The branch office had been established there in 1947. In 1977 the Society came into possession of land on which to build suitable facilities. But, oh, what obstacles had to be overcome! It had not been possible for Jehovah’s Witnesses to get registered, so how could they get a permit to build? It would be necessary to import building materials, but how could that be done, since such permits were never granted to any organization? Bringing brothers from abroad to help with construction also seemed impossible, since visas for such work would be granted only for projects sponsored by the government itself. To top it all off, a woman went to court claiming that the property that the Society had held for over 20 years was actually hers. Suddenly, however, the problems melted away. Government policy changed on every point that had been an obstacle. And as construction began, the court rejected the claim of the woman who sought to take the property.

      Most of the construction materials were sent as a gift from the brothers in Australia; more came from Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Brothers came from Australia, Britain, Fiji, Germany, Greece, New Zealand, and the United States to help with the work, and the local Witnesses assisted. When the completed facilities were dedicated on January 22, 2000, during a visit by John E. Barr, a member of the Governing Body, those present felt compelled to say: “Jehovah has done a great thing in what he has done with us. We have become joyful.”—Ps. 126:3.