Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses

By Sara Sickels

I decided this project would be the perfect time to finally visit my friend's Kingdom Hall. She has politely asked me several times to come to bible study with her but it never felt right for some reason. When I called her to tell her I was finally ready to join her for a bible study with her congregation she was not boastful or even really over joyed, she was just happy I was finally willing to try something new. I did explain to her that technically it was for a class I was taking but she did not care, she was willing to take any excuse just to get me out of the box, for even a short time.

During my visit to the Kingdom Hall I learned that the modern day organization began in the 19th century with a small group of bible students in Pittsburgh, PA. They began to compare what was being taught in the churches with the true teachings of the bible. They published their finding in the journal known today as the "Watchtower". Charles Russell took the lead of the small group and was the first editor of the "Watchtower". The witnesses believe the true founder of their religion is Jesus Christ because he was the first teacher or leader of Christianity.

Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Halls can be found in 239 lands around the world, the published material in done in 595 languages, and they have over 111,000 congregations worldwide. Every single congregation teaches the same material every week so no matter which Kingdom Hall you would attend the same readings and article are being used. Currently the fastest growing location is Mexico. The Jehovah's Witness service is also one of the only religions to offer bible study in sign language and has printed material to help witnesses communicate with the deaf.

Members or witnesses attend service two times per week at the Kingdom Hall. One Kingdom Hall can host up to five different congregations, they each are given an assigned night to meet with Sunday being the day all congregations use the hall at the same time for service. It is interesting to note that all service meetings are open to the public.

The week night service is where they do the heart of their learning and sharing. They study the bible book by book. I wonder how many times a witness goes through the whole bible this way in their life time? The next meeting they have the same night is called ministry school, this is where they practice on each other their door to door teachings for the week. Sunday service is a public talk and a reading of an article from the "Watchtower".