At times, specific needs of Jehovah’s people have been addressed by means of timely counsel in the pages of The Watchtower. For example, the worldwide report of the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses for 1977/78 reflected a decrease in the number sharing in the preaching work. Was the decrease at least partly due to disappointed expectations concerning 1975? Perhaps. But there were other influencing factors. What could be done?

The Governing Body took steps to strengthen the conviction among Jehovah’s Witnesses that there was a need to continue zealously proclaiming the Kingdom from house to house. The Watchtower of July 15, 1979, contained the articles “Zeal for Jehovah’s House,” “Preaching in a Lawless World,” “They Preached From House to House,” and “What Others Have Said About House-to-House Witnessing.” These and other articles reaffirmed that house-to-house preaching has a solid Scriptural basis and urged zealous and whole-souled participation in this important activity.b—Acts 20:20; Col. 3:23.

In December 1977 the Pioneer Service School, a two-week course of training for pioneer ministers, was inaugurated in the United States and eventually extended to all parts of the earth. During the next 14 years, the number of pioneers increased more than fivefold—from 115,389 to 605,610!

From 1976 to 1992, the international Bethel family tripled in size, from about 4,000 to over 12,900 members serving throughout the earth.

To care for those streaming into Jehovah’s organization, over 29,000 new congregations were formed worldwide between 1976 and 1992. (Mic. 4:1) More circuit and district overseers were appointed by the Governing Body and sent out to help. The number of these traveling overseers went from about 2,600 in 1976 to some 3,900 in 1992.

As the number of congregations increased, there was also a growing need for more meeting halls. Was there a quicker way to build Kingdom Halls? In the 1970’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States organized a building program whereby skilled construction workers from neighboring parts of the country were invited to help local Witnesses build a Kingdom Hall. With hundreds assisting, a hall could be completed quickly—often in just two or three days. By the 1980’s, quickly built Kingdom Halls were going up in other parts of the earth.

Political changes in Eastern Europe also affected Jehovah’s Witnesses. What a thrill for our brothers in such countries as East Germany (as it was then known), Hungary, Poland, Romania, and what was then called the Soviet Union to learn that they had been granted legal recognition, in some cases after 40 years of ban! The increased freedom in those countries now made it easier for them to reach some 380,000,000 persons with the good news! Jehovah’s Witnesses wasted no time in availing themselves of their newfound freedom to share in their public preaching activity.

And the results? The word of Jehovah has moved speedily! For example, in April 1992 the number of Kingdom proclaimers reporting in Poland was 106,915. And the prospects for future growth were outstanding: That same month the attendance at the Memorial of Christ’s death was 214,218. Similarly, in the lands that formerly made up the Soviet Union, a total of 173,473 attended the Memorial in 1992, an increase of 60 percent over the year before.

[Graph on page 112]

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Expanding Ranks of Pioneers

1992

600,000

400,000

1986

200,000

1981

1976

[Graph on page 113]

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Growing Worldwide Bethel Family

1992

12,000

9,000

1986

6,000

1981

1976

3,000

[Graph on page 114]

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Multiplying Congregations

80,000

1992

60,000

1986

1981

1976

40,000

20,000

[Graph on page 115]

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Increase of Kingdom Proclaimers

1992

4,000,000

1986

3,000,000

1981

1976

2,000,000

1,000,000