‘Widening Out’

During the 1970’s and 1980’s, much witnessing was done among the immigrant population in Britain—most of it by Witnesses who were themselves immigrants and who spoke the various languages. But more help was needed.

By 1993 two million people of Asian background lived in Britain, 1 in 28 of the population. Many had come from the Indian subcontinent; others, from East Africa. There were already some 500 Punjabi-speaking and 150 Gujarati-speaking publishers associated with English congregations, and they were conducting over 500 Bible studies in those languages. But by no means were all the immigrants being given opportunity to benefit from the good news of God’s Kingdom.

Recognizing that a person who speaks only English may feel inadequate when trying to witness to people of a different language and culture, the branch office exhorted the local Witnesses to develop an expansive love for people of all races and a Christlike spirit in caring for the welfare of others. They were encouraged to “widen out.” (2 Cor. 6:11-13; Phil. 2:1-4) Our Kingdom Ministry explained: “We want the people in our territory to sense in us the warmth and interest that Jesus Christ expressed in his ministry.” The Witnesses in Britain were told: “A vast missionary field has in effect come to us!”

In showing concern for those speaking foreign languages, all the British Witnesses were encouraged to refer foreigners encountered in their territories to the appropriate foreign-language congregations. Thus whether individual Witnesses could speak another language or not, they all could share in caring for the vast missionary field that had moved into England. Actually, the territories for the foreign-language congregations are mainly made up of such referrals.

Consequently, in 1996, Grace Li visited the home of a lady from Vietnam who lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, in northeast England. The woman speaks Chinese. Grace received a warm welcome and an immediate invitation into the house. She learned that the woman was a refugee who had suffered much during the war in Vietnam. She had lived in England for some ten years but still spoke English poorly. She explained to Grace that she had been near to despair often and had no one to whom she could turn for help.

She also told Grace that four years previously she had received a book with many beautiful pictures but could not understand it because she did not read English. However, whenever she felt depressed, she would look at the pictures, as this helped to relieve her depression and fill her with hope. She took the book from the bookshelf, handed it to Grace, and asked if she would read it for her so that she could find out what it was about. It was the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth! Grace replied that she could do something better than read the English book to her. Grace reached into her bag and pulled out a copy of the same book in Chinese. The lady could hardly believe her eyes. At last, she could learn the Bible’s message! She immediately agreed to a Bible study.

As part of the ‘widening out,’ the branch office gave special attention to helping the ethnic groups grow spiritually and organizationally. Colin Seymour and his wife, Olive, had already served for 20 years in visiting congregations throughout Britain. Both demonstrated genuine interest in those they served, and this had become especially apparent during their visits to the congregations on the islands of Malta and Gozo, in the Mediterranean Sea. They even attempted to comment in Maltese during the congregation meetings, endearing themselves to the local brothers.

In September 1994, Colin was appointed to be the circuit overseer for the non-English-language groups and some of the foreign-language congregations throughout England. He carefully assessed each group’s development toward becoming a congregation and strengthened the congregations that were already functioning. Although at first this circuit was the smallest—only 12 congregations with about 750 publishers—it developed within three years to become the largest circuit, with 1,968 publishers, among whom 388 served as pioneers. Since then the number of foreign-language circuits has increased to three.

Learning a New Language

In order to share life-giving Bible truths with immigrants who speak other languages, some British Witnesses have shown personal initiative in learning another language. Among these is Elisabeth Emmott, who has pioneered in various parts of England. First she tried to learn Punjabi to help people in her territory. Then in 1976, in a new assignment, she began working on Urdu. Next it was Gujarati. To help interested ones, she would also search out Indian and Pakistani publishers at conventions. In the case of Clifton and Amanda Banks, attending a convention in Russia in 1993 got them started. Back home, they obtained a Russian-language course from the local library, moved into an area where Russian-speaking people are located, and began pioneering with the Russian congregation there. But finding time for language study when a person is caring for secular responsibilities and a family, as well as a full program of activity in the congregation and in the field ministry, is not easy.

Because of the special need in England, encouragement was given to pioneers who wanted to broaden out their ministry in this way. Without relinquishing their pioneer service, they learned the rudiments of a language. In order to get needed instruction, some pioneers took a brief course in the basics of their new language—with interesting results.

Christine Flynn, who has been a pioneer for 21 years, along with seven other pioneers decided to enroll in a Gujarati language course in 1996/97. The teachers were an Indian married couple who were, to say the least, surprised when so many English-speaking students joined their course. “They altered many of the classes to assist us,” Christine relates. “They helped me prepare field service presentations and even attended some of our meetings.”

At about the same time, Christine started a new secular job. At her place of work, she met a young Gujarati-speaking woman. When Christine greeted her in Gujarati, the young woman expressed amazement and wanted to know why she was learning the language. Christine explained and gave a fine witness, to which the young woman responded: ‘No other religion would encourage its members to learn such a difficult language. You must really have something important to say.’

Pauline Duncan, also a pioneer, applied herself to learning Bengali in 1994. At first she found it very difficult. “Many times, I supplicated Jehovah with tears, telling him how hard this language is and that I felt like giving up,” she admits. “But with Jehovah’s holy spirit, as well as my determination and effort, I have passed the hard stage and am happy I did not give up because now I am having wonderful results.” Beverley Crook, another pioneer, says regarding the effect her learning Bengali has had on the people she visits: “Since I have learned the language, there has been a complete transformation in my ministry. The Bengali people know that we must love them because we have taken time to learn their language.”

Jennifer Charles, a pioneer in one of the French congregations where there are many refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, says: “Learning a new language has helped me to understand how those in my territory feel when they come to a country where they are not able to speak the language.”

For a number of years, many pioneers, including single sisters who are able to serve where the need is greater, have been encouraged to speak to their circuit overseer about moving to nearby congregations where a need exists. Some have chosen to learn a new language in order to help out in the foreign-language field. In the Greater London area, over 100 pioneer sisters have done this. Their ministry among those who speak languages other than English has been fruitful. With their help many people have studied the Bible and attended Christian meetings.

[Picture on page 108, 109]

Pioneers who chose to serve with foreign-language congregations