Three Days of Spiritual Refreshment
1. What can we expect to receive from this year’s district convention?
1 In this spiritually scorched land that is Satan’s world, Jehovah continues to refresh his servants. (Isa. 58:11) One provision Jehovah uses to invigorate us is the annual district convention. As the convention for this year approaches, how may we prepare to receive and impart spiritual refreshment?—Prov. 21:5.
2. What preparations do we need to finalize?
2 If you have not already done so, take time now to arrange your personal and secular work schedules to be present for all three days of the convention. Have you calculated the time that you will need to travel to the convention site each day so that you can arrive and locate seating well before the program begins? We would certainly not want to miss any of the invigorating spiritual meal that Jehovah has prepared for us! (Isa. 65:13, 14) Have your arrangements for lodging and transportation been completed?
3. What suggestions will help us and our family to benefit fully from the program?
3 What will help you to keep your mind from wandering during the sessions? If possible, get plenty of rest each night during the convention. Focus your eyes on the speaker. Look up every scripture in your Bible. Take brief notes. Families do well to sit together so that parents can help their children to pay close attention. (Prov. 29:15) Perhaps you can discuss highlights of the program each evening as a family. So that your family can continue to be refreshed even after the convention, time could be allotted during your Family Worship evening to consider specific points for your family to apply.
4. How can we help others in our congregation to receive spiritual refreshment?
4 Help Others Gain Refreshment: We want others to receive spiritual refreshment too. Are there elderly publishers or others in the congregation who need assistance in order to attend the convention? Are you in a position to help them? (1 John 3:17, 18) Elders, especially group overseers, should see that such publishers receive the needed assistance.
5. How will we distribute invitations to the convention? (See also the box above.)
5 As in the past, three weeks before the start of our convention, we will share in a campaign to invite others to attend. Congregations should set a goal to distribute their allotment of invitations and cover as much of their territory as possible. Invitations that your family has left over at the end of the campaign should be brought to the convention for you to use when witnessing informally. Further information on this will be provided during the program on Friday. Invitations that your family does not expect to use while in the convention city should be given to an attendant when you enter the facility. Please keep one copy for yourself, as you will need to refer to it during the last talk on Sunday.
6. In what ways can we display good manners at the convention?
6 Good Manners Refresh: At a time when many people are “lovers of themselves” and show a lack of regard for the feelings of others, how refreshing it is to be around fellow Christians who endeavor to display good manners! (2 Tim. 3:2) We show good manners by entering the building in a calm and orderly way when it opens at 8:00 a.m. and by saving seats only for those living in our home or traveling in our vehicle or for our current Bible students. We follow the chairman’s direction when he requests that we go to our seats to listen to the musical interlude introducing each session. It shows good manners to set our cell phone or pager so as not to distract others during the program. We also display good manners by not talking, texting, eating, or roaming the corridors needlessly during the program.
7. How may we receive and give refreshment while associating with our brothers?
7 Refreshing Association: Conventions give us extended opportunities to enjoy our refreshing Christian unity and brotherhood. (Ps. 133:1-3) Why not take the initiative to “widen out” and meet brothers and sisters who are present from other congregations? (2 Cor. 6:13) You might make it a goal to get to know at least one new person or new family each day. The midday break affords a good opportunity to do this. So bring a light lunch and enjoy eating and associating with others on the premises rather than leaving to purchase food or to eat in a nearby restaurant. This may lead to the blessing of new and lasting friendships.
8. Why should we volunteer to work at the convention, and how can we do so?
8 How refreshing it is to work alongside fellow worshippers in sacred service! Could you volunteer to assist a department or help your congregation with its cleaning assignment? (Ps. 110:3) If you do not already have a work assignment, please consider approaching the Volunteer Service Department at the convention. Many hands make the work joyful and light.
9. Why should we give particular attention to our conduct and appearance during the convention?
9 Our Conduct Is Refreshing to Observers: We are convention delegates during all three days of the convention, not just during the program. Those who observe us while we are in the convention city should be able to see a refreshing contrast between us and non-Witnesses. (1 Pet. 2:12) Our dress and grooming at the convention site, at our place of lodging, and at restaurants should honor Jehovah. (1 Tim. 2:9, 10) If we wear our lapel badges, onlookers will be able to identify us as Jehovah’s Witnesses. This may provide us with an opportunity to tell them about our convention and give a further witness.
10. How may we ensure that hotel and restaurant workers have a positive view of our convention?
10 How may we cooperate with hotel and restaurant workers? We should not reserve more hotel rooms than we will actually use, as this prevents other delegates from obtaining rooms and makes it very difficult for the hotel to replace the lost business. If the hotel is busy at the time that we check in or check out, we should demonstrate patience and graciousness. (Col. 4:6) We should give the customary tip to servers at restaurants and to hotel workers who carry our bags, clean our room, and provide other services.
11. What experiences illustrate the good witness that results from our Christian conduct?
11 What impression does our good conduct during the convention make on others? According to a newspaper article, the manager of one facility used for conventions said this: “The people are very polite. We’re excited to have them every year.” Last year a non-Witness lost his wallet at a hotel used by convention delegates. When the wallet was returned to the hotel manager with all its contents intact, the manager told the owner: “It was a good thing for you that Jehovah’s Witnesses were attending their convention nearby, and the hotel was full of them. Otherwise you would probably not have had the wallet returned.”
12. As the convention approaches, what should be our aim, and why?
12 This year’s conventions are fast approaching. Much time and effort have gone into making the program and the convention environment refreshing. Make it your aim to be present all three days, and be prepared for what Jehovah and his organization have in store for you. Be resolved to refresh others through your good manners, joyful association, and fine conduct. Then you and others may feel as did one of last year’s delegates who wrote, “I cannot recall a more satisfying experience!”
[Blurb]
As in the past, three weeks before the start of our convention, we will share in a campaign to invite others to attend
[Blurb]
Our dress and grooming at the convention site, at our place of lodging, and at restaurants should honor Jehovah
[Blurb]
Be resolved to refresh others through your good manners, joyful association, and fine conduct
[Box]
2011 District Convention Reminders
◼ Program Times: The program will begin at 9:20 a.m. all three days. The doors will open at 8:00 a.m. When the introductory music is announced, all of us should go to our seats so that the program can begin in a dignified manner. The program will conclude at 4:55 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday.
◼ Parking: At all convention sites where we control the parking, the spaces will be available to attendees at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Only those with a state-approved license plate or placard for the disabled will be allowed to park in the area reserved for them. Parking is usually limited, so carpooling should be done to the extent possible.
◼ Seat Saving: Seats may be saved only for those living in our home or traveling in our vehicle or for our current Bible students.—1 Cor. 13:5.
◼ Noon Meal: Please bring a lunch rather than leave the convention site to obtain a meal during the noon break. A small cooler that can be placed under a seat may be used. Large family-size picnic coolers and glass containers are not permitted in the convention facility.
◼ Donations: We can show our appreciation for the convention arrangements by making voluntary contributions to the worldwide work at the convention. Any checks should be made payable to “Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
◼ Accidents and Emergencies: If a medical emergency arises at the convention site, please contact a nearby attendant, who will immediately notify First Aid so that our qualified first-aid personnel can assess the seriousness of the situation and render assistance. If it is necessary, our first-aid personnel will call 911. This will prevent emergency-response services from receiving many cell-phone calls.
◼ Medication: If you require prescription medication, please be sure to bring an adequate supply with you, since none will be available at the convention.
◼ Footwear: Each year a number of injuries occur that are related to footwear. It is best to choose modest, well-fitting shoes that will allow one to walk safely on ramps, stairs, gratings, and so forth.
◼ Baby Strollers and Lawn Chairs: Baby strollers and lawn chairs should not be brought to the convention site. However, child-safety seats are acceptable if they can be secured in a seat next to the parents.
◼ Fragrances: Most conventions take place in enclosed areas with mechanical ventilation. Therefore, it would be loving on our part to limit the use of strong fragrances, colognes, and perfumes that may cause reactions in persons with respiratory or related problems.—1 Cor. 10:24.
◼ Please Follow Up (S-43b) Forms: A Please Follow Up form should be used to provide information regarding any interest from informal witnessing during the convention. Publishers should bring one or two forms to the convention. Completed forms may be submitted to the Book Room or given to the congregation secretary on your return.—See the November 2009 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 4.
◼ Restaurants: Honor Jehovah’s name by your fine conduct at restaurants. Leave a tip if this is customary.
◼ Hotels:
(1) Please do not reserve more rooms than you will actually use, and do not have more people stay in your room than what is allowed.
(2) Do not cancel your reservation except for an emergency situation, and notify the hotel as soon as it occurs.—Matt. 5:37.
(3) Take a luggage cart only when you are ready to use it, and return it immediately so that others may use it.
(4) Cook only in rooms where cooking is permitted.
(5) Tip hotel workers when they carry your luggage, and leave a tip for the housekeeper each day.
(6) Do not abuse any complimentary breakfast, coffee, or ice provisions that are made available for guests to use while they are at the hotel.
(7) Display the fruitage of the spirit in dealing with the hotel staff at all times. They are caring for a large number of guests and appreciate our kindness, patience, and reasonableness.
(8) The room rate shown on the Recommended Lodging List is the full price per day, excluding tax. If you are overcharged or billed for things you did not request or use, refuse these charges and inform the Rooming Department at the convention as soon as possible.
(9) If a problem arises with your hotel room, inform the Rooming Department while at the convention so they can assist you.
(10) Please also note that if you use a debit or credit card when registering at a hotel, it is standard practice for a hold to be placed on enough funds in your account to cover your total room cost, plus any possible damages or incidentals during your stay. You will not be able to use any of those funds until your account is settled within a few days after you depart.
◼ Volunteer Service: The happiness we gain from attending the convention will be even greater if we volunteer to assist with the necessary work involved. (Acts 20:35) Any who wish to do so should report to the Volunteer Service Department at the convention. Children under 16 years of age can also make a fine contribution by working under the direction of a parent or guardian or other adult approved by a parent or guardian.
[Box]
How Will We Offer the Invitation?
In order to cover our territory, we should be brief. We might say something like this: “Hello. We are sharing in a global effort to distribute this invitation. Here is your copy. You will find more details on the invitation.” The front of the invitation is interest-arousing, so hand it to the householder in such a way that he can see it. Be enthusiastic. When sharing in the distribution on the weekends, the magazines should also be offered when appropriate.