Offices, Printeries, and Bethel Homes Worldwide

Around the globe in 1992, there were 99 branch offices of the Watch Tower Society, each of which served to coordinate the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in its part of the world field. Over one half of these branches were doing printing of various kinds to further the work of Bible education. Those who work at the branches are housed, for the most part, as a large family in homes called Bethel, meaning “House of God.” Because of expansion in the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their preaching activity, it has been necessary to enlarge these facilities and to build new ones.

So rapid has been the growth of the organization that there have frequently been 20 to 40 of such branch-expansion programs in progress at a time. This has required a vast international construction program.

Because of the enormous amount of construction work being done worldwide, the Watch Tower Society has its own Engineering and Drafting Department at its New York headquarters. Engineers with many years of experience have left their secular work and volunteered to assist full-time with building projects that are directly connected with Kingdom activity. Additionally, those who have experience have trained other men and women in the work of engineering, design, and drafting. By coordinating work through this department, experience gained in branch construction in any part of the world can benefit those working on projects in other lands.

In time, the great amount of work being done made it beneficial to open a Regional Engineering Office in Japan to assist with construction blueprints for projects in the Orient. Other Regional Engineering Offices operate in Europe and Australia, with personnel drawn from a variety of lands. These work in close cooperation with the headquarters office, and their services, along with use of computer technology, cut down on the drafting personnel needed at any given construction site.

Some projects are relatively modest in size. That was true of the branch office built in Tahiti in 1983. This included office space, storerooms, and accommodations for eight volunteer workers. It was also true of the four-story branch building erected on the Caribbean island of Martinique during the years 1982 to 1984. These structures might not seem extraordinary to big-city dwellers in other lands, but they attracted public attention. The newspaper France-Antilles declared that the branch building in Martinique was “an architectural masterpiece” that reflected a “great love for work well done.”

In contrast from the standpoint of size, the buildings that were finished in Canada in 1981 included a printery, or factory, with upwards of 100,000 square feet [9,300 sq m] of floor space and a residence building for 250 volunteers. At Cesario Lange, in Brazil, the Watch Tower complex completed that same year included eight buildings, with nearly 500,000 square feet [46,000 sq m] of floor space. It required 10,000 truckloads of cement, stone, and sand, as well as enough concrete pilings to reach twice the height of Mount Everest! In 1991, when a large new printery was completed in the Philippines, it was also necessary to provide an 11-story residence building.

To meet the needs of the growing number of Kingdom proclaimers in Nigeria, a large building project got under way in Igieduma in 1984. This was to include a factory, a spacious office building, four connected residence buildings, and other needed facilities. Plans were laid to have the factory completely prefabricated and then shipped from the United States. But then the brothers were confronted with seemingly impossible import deadlines. When these deadlines were met and everything arrived safely at the construction site, the Witnesses did not take the credit but gave thanks to Jehovah for his blessing.

Rapid Expansion Around the Globe

So rapid has been the growth of the work of Kingdom proclamation, however, that even after major expansion of branch facilities in a country, it has often been necessary to start building again within a relatively short time. Consider a few examples.

In Peru a fine new branch—with office space, 22 bedrooms as well as other basic facilities for Bethel family members, and a Kingdom Hall—was completed at the end of 1984. But response to the Kingdom message in that South American land was much greater than anticipated. Four years later it was necessary to duplicate the existing complex, this time using an antiseismic design.

A spacious new branch complex was completed in Colombia in 1979. It appeared that it would provide ample space for many years to come. However, within seven years the number of Witnesses in Colombia had nearly doubled, and the branch was now printing the magazines La Atalaya and ¡Despertad! not only for Colombia but also for four neighboring countries. They had to start building again in 1987—this time where there was more land for expansion.

During 1980, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brazil devoted some 14,000,000 hours to public preaching of the Kingdom message. The figure soared to nearly 50,000,000 in 1989. More people were showing a desire to have their spiritual hunger satisfied. The extensive branch facilities dedicated in 1981 were no longer sufficient. Already by September 1988, excavation for a new factory was in progress. This one would provide 80 percent more floor space than there was in the existing factory, and of course, residence facilities to care for the enlarged Bethel family would also be needed.

At Selters/Taunus, Germany, the Watch Tower Society’s second-largest printing complex was dedicated in 1984. Five years later, because of increases in Germany as well as opportunities to expand the witness work in lands for which the branch there prints literature, plans were under way to enlarge the factory by over 85 percent and to add other support facilities.

The Japan branch had moved from Tokyo to large new facilities in Numazu in 1972. There was further major expansion in 1975. By 1978 another property had been obtained, at Ebina; and work on a factory more than three times as large as that at Numazu quickly got started. This was completed in 1982. It was still not enough; more buildings were added by 1989. Would it not have been possible to build just once and make it large enough? No. The number of Kingdom proclaimers in Japan had doubled again and again in a way that no human could have anticipated. From 14,199 in 1972, their ranks had soared to 137,941 in 1989, and a large proportion of them were devoting full time to the ministry.

A similar pattern is seen in other parts of the globe. Within a decade—and sometimes within a few years—after the building of large branches equipped for printing, it was necessary to undertake major expansion. That was true in Mexico, Canada, South Africa, and the Republic of Korea, among others.

Who does the actual construction work? How is it all accomplished?

Many Thousands Eager to Help

In Sweden, out of the 17,000 Witnesses in the country at the time of building their branch at Arboga, some 5,000 volunteered to help with the work. Most were simply willing helpers, but there were also enough highly skilled professionals to see that the work was done right. Their motivation? Love for Jehovah.

When an official at a surveyor’s office in Denmark heard that all the work on a new branch at Holbæk was going to be done by Jehovah’s Witnesses, he expressed misgivings. Nevertheless, among the Witnesses who volunteered to help, all the needed know-how was found. Yet, would they have been better off if commercial contractors had been hired to do the job? After the project was completed, experts from the town’s building department toured the premises and commented on the fine workmanship—something they rarely see on commercial jobs nowadays. As for the official who had earlier expressed misgivings, he smiled and said: “You see, at that time I didn’t know the kind of organization you people have.”

Population centers in Australia are widely scattered; so, most of the 3,000 who volunteered to work on the branch facilities at Ingleburn between 1978 and 1983 had to travel at least 1,000 miles [1,600 km]. However, bus travel for groups of volunteers was coordinated, and congregations en route hospitably offered to supply meals and association for the brothers at rest stops. Some of the brothers sold homes, closed businesses, took vacations, and made other sacrifices in order to share in the project. Teams of experienced tradesmen came in—some of them more than once—to pour concrete, hang ceilings, put up fences. Others donated materials.

The majority of volunteers on these projects were unskilled, but with a little training, some of them took on big responsibilities and did excellent work. They learned how to fabricate windows, operate tractors, mix concrete, and lay bricks. They enjoyed a definite advantage over non-Witnesses who do the same kind of work commercially. In what way? Those who were experienced were willing to share their knowledge. No one was afraid that someone else would take his job; there was plenty for everyone to do. And there was strong motivation to do high-quality work, because it was being done as an expression of love for God.

At all the construction sites, some Witnesses form the nucleus of the construction “family.” During work at Selters/Taunus, Germany, from 1979 to 1984, several hundred generally made up that nucleus of workers. Thousands of others joined them for varying periods of time, many on weekends. There was careful planning so that when volunteers arrived, there was plenty for them to do.

As long as people are imperfect, there will be problems, but those who work on these projects try to resolve these on the basis of Bible principles. They know that doing things in a Christian manner is more important than efficiency. As a reminder, at the construction site in Ebina, Japan, there were large signs with pictures of workers in hard hats, and on each of the hard hats was inscribed in Japanese characters one of the fruits of God’s spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. (Gal. 5:22, 23) Those who visit the job sites can see and hear the difference. Expressing his own observations, a news reporter who toured the branch construction site in Brazil said: “There are no disorders or lack of cooperation . . . This Christian atmosphere makes it different here from that customarily seen in Brazilian civil construction.”

Constant Growth at World Headquarters

While the Watch Tower Society’s branches have been growing, it has also been necessary to expand the facilities of the world headquarters. There have been major additions to its factory and office quarters in Brooklyn and in other locations in New York State more than ten times since World War II. To house personnel, it has been necessary to build or purchase and renovate numerous buildings, both large and small. Further major expansion in Brooklyn was announced in August 1990 and in January 1991—even while north of New York City construction begun in 1989 was continuing on the extensive Watchtower Educational Center, designed to accommodate 1,200 persons, including resident staff and students.

Since 1972, there has been no letup in construction work at the world headquarters in Brooklyn and its closely associated facilities in other parts of New York and in New Jersey. In time, it became obvious that even though they numbered in the hundreds, the regular construction workers were unable to keep up with the work. So, in 1984 an ongoing temporary-worker program was instituted. Letters were sent out to the then 8,000 congregations in the United States to invite qualified brothers to come for a week or more to help out. (A similar program had already worked well in some of the branches, including Australia, where those able to stay two weeks were invited to volunteer.) Workers would be provided lodging and meals but would pay their own travel expenses and would receive no wages. Who would respond?

By 1992, well over 24,000 applications had been processed! At least 3,900 of these were for persons who were coming back for a 2nd or 3rd, even a 10th or 20th, time. Most of them were elders, ministerial servants, or pioneers—persons with fine spiritual qualifications. All of them were volunteering to do whatever was needed, whether it called for them to use their trade or not. The work was often heavy and dirty. But they counted it a privilege to contribute in this way to the advancement of Kingdom interests. Some felt that it helped them to better appreciate the spirit of self-sacrifice that characterizes the work done at the world headquarters. All of them felt richly rewarded as a result of being present for the Bethel family’s program of morning worship and weekly family Watchtower study.

International Volunteers

As the need for rapid expansion grew, an arrangement for international volunteers was initiated in 1985. It was by no means the start of international cooperation in building, but the arrangement was now carefully coordinated from headquarters. All who share are Witnesses who volunteer to help with construction work outside their own country. They are skilled workers, as well as marriage mates who go with their husbands to help in whatever way they can. Most of them pay for their own travel expenses; none get wages for what they do. Some of them go on a short-term basis, usually staying from two weeks to three months. Others are long-term volunteers, remaining for a year or more, perhaps until the project is completed. Over 3,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses from 30 different countries had part in this during the first five years, and more were eager to share as their skills were needed. They count it a privilege to give of themselves and their means to advance the interests of God’s Kingdom in this way.

The international volunteers are provided with a place to stay and meals to eat. Comforts are often minimal. The local Witnesses greatly appreciate what their visiting brothers are doing, and where possible, they welcome them to share their homes, however humble these may be. Meals are most often eaten at the work site.

The brothers from abroad are not there to do the whole job. Their aim is to work along with the local construction team. And hundreds, even thousands, of others in the country may also come to help on weekends or for a week or more at a time. In Argentina, 259 volunteers from other countries worked along with several thousand local brothers, some of whom were on the job every day, others for a few weeks, and many more on weekends. In Colombia, over 830 international volunteers helped for varying periods of time. There were also upwards of 200 local volunteers who shared in the project full-time and, each weekend, another 250 or more who helped. A total of more than 3,600 different individuals took part.

Difference of language can present problems, but it does not prevent the international groups from working together. Sign language, facial expressions, a good sense of humor, and a desire to accomplish a job that will honor Jehovah help to get the work done.

Outstanding growth in the organization—consequently the need for larger branch facilities—is sometimes experienced in lands where the number of people who are skilled in the building trades is limited. But this is no hindrance among Jehovah’s Witnesses, who gladly help one another. They work together as part of a global family that is not divided by nationality, skin color, or language.

In Papua New Guinea, the volunteers who came from Australia and New Zealand each trained a Papua New Guinean in his trade, in harmony with the request of the Government Labour Department. In this way, while giving of themselves, local Witnesses learned trades that could help them to care for the needs of themselves and their families.

When a new branch was needed in El Salvador, the local brothers were joined by 326 volunteers from abroad. For the project in Ecuador, 270 Witnesses from 14 lands worked alongside their Ecuadoran brothers and sisters. Some international volunteers helped on several projects that were under way at the same time. They rotated between construction sites in Europe and Africa, according to the need for their trade skills.

By 1992, international volunteers had been sent out to 49 branch locations to assist the local building crews. In some instances those who received help from this program were able, in turn, to provide assistance to others. Thus, having benefited from the labors of about 60 long-term international servants who helped with the branch building project in the Philippines, as well as over 230 volunteers from abroad who helped for shorter periods, some of the Filipinos made themselves available to help build facilities in other parts of Southeast Asia.

[Pictures on page 337]

Newly arrived temporary construction workers at the world headquarters in New York

Each group is reminded that being a spiritual person and doing quality work take priority over doing the job fast

[Box/Pictures on page 338]

International Construction Program Fills Urgent Needs

Rapid growth of the organization has required ongoing expansion of offices, factories, and Bethel homes around the globe

International volunteers give assistance to local Witnesses

Spain

Construction methods used make it possible for many volunteers with limited experience to do valuable work

Puerto Rico

Skilled workers gladly make their services available

New Zealand

Greece

Brazil

Use of durable materials helps to keep long-term maintenance costs down

Britain

High-quality work results from personal interest on the part of those who do it; this is an expression of their love for Jehovah

Canada

These projects are enjoyable occasions; many lasting friendships are made

Colombia

Sign in Japan reminded workers of safety measures, also of the need to show the fruits of God’s spirit