Service Meetings for August
Week Starting August 2
10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Comment on May field service report for the country and the local congregation. Encourage all publishers to share in the field ministry during August.
17 min: “Highly Esteem Jehovah’s Beautiful Name.” Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion. Highlight the cited scriptures.—See Live Forever book, pages 184-5.
18 min: “Secular Education and Your Spiritual Goals.” A father discusses article with his son or daughter. They also review related material from the December 22, 1995, Awake!, pages 7-11.
Song 148 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting August 9
8 min: Local announcements. Accounts report.
12 min: Pioneers Assist Others—What Progress Has Been Made? Talk and interviews conducted by the service overseer. Review direction provided in the September 1998 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 4. Relate how this was organized locally, and give an update on the progress made by those assisted. Interview one or two pioneers and some of the publishers who benefited from their help. Encourage those next in line to be assisted to take full advantage of this provision.
25 min: “Has the Door to Pioneering Now Opened for You?” Question-and-answer discussion conducted by an elder. In a positive way, show the possibilities that exist for more publishers to pioneer. Interview pioneers who can relate from their own experience how they were able to overcome common obstacles and succeed. Analyze the “Sample Regular Pioneer Schedules,” emphasizing how good planning can make the hour requirement attainable. Announce that any who wish to have a pioneer application can obtain one after the meeting.
Song 202 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting August 16
10 min: Local announcements. Only two weekends are left in August, so encourage everyone to participate in the ministry before the month ends. Review “New Special Assembly Day Program.”
15 min: Local needs.
20 min: Are You Having a Share in Making Disciples? Audience discussion. In view of the great amount of literature being placed, our aim should be to start Bible studies so that we can help people benefit from the publications they receive. Have publishers comment on the problems that hinder them from conducting more studies: (1) It is difficult to find people who are willing to study. (2) Some people who show interest say that they are too busy to study. (3) After a study is started, it is hard to find the person at home to keep the study regular. Also address the feelings that some publishers may have about the Bible study work: (1) ‘I don’t feel qualified as a teacher.’ (2) ‘I don’t have the time to conduct a weekly study.’ (3) ‘I hesitate to obligate myself to another person.’ (4) ‘I’m satisfied to share in the other features of the ministry.’ Offer positive suggestions on how to overcome these obstacles in order to share personally in the disciple-making work. Have successful publishers relate the joy that they have experienced in the Bible study work.—See April 1998 Our Kingdom Ministry insert, paragraphs 3-8, 15.
Song 100 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting August 23
10 min: Local announcements.
15 min: Help Newly Interested Ones to Appreciate the Sanctity of Marriage. Elder leads audience discussion based on Reasoning book, pages 248-50. We encounter couples who respond to the Kingdom message but who are slow to make progress because they are living together without the benefit of a legal marriage. Discuss how to help them understand why Christians must uphold honorable marriage. (See January 8, 1992, Awake!, pages 26-7.) Give suggestions about what we can tactfully say to help such couples see why they cannot be part of the congregation until their marriage is legally registered.
20 min: “What Will You Say to a Buddhist?” Questions and answers. We often wonder what to say when we find people in the territory who profess a non-Christian religion that features ideas, practices, and rituals that are foreign to us. This article begins a five-part series on this subject. Demonstrate a well-prepared presentation. For more information on Buddhism, see February 1998 Our Kingdom Ministry insert; Reasoning book, page 21; and Mankind’s Search for God, chapter 6.
Song 133 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting August 30
10 min: Local announcements. Remind all to turn in field service reports for August. Congregation Book Study conductors should check with everyone in their group so that all reports can be tallied by September 6.
17 min: We Love Our Brothers. Talk by an elder, including an audience discussion based on December 1, 1995, Watchtower, pages 15-17, paragraphs 7-11. Emphasize the mutual benefits enjoyed when we get to know our brothers well, share encouragement, and assist one another to endure trials. Suggest how this can be done to a greater extent. Invite audience to relate experiences showing how they were refreshed and strengthened by loving encouragement from others.
18 min: Give a Reason for Your Hope. An elder interviews one or two exemplary teenagers who are in public school. They are continually confronted with situations in which worldly peers want to know why our teenagers choose not to join them in their activities. While taking advantage of such opportunities to explain their Bible-based convictions, our youths need to be firm in their resistance. The group discusses how they might respond if they are offered tobacco or drugs. Review the reasoning presented in the Young People Ask book, pages 277-81. Explain how defending their resolve to do what is right serves as a protection and gives a good witness.
Song 129 and concluding prayer.