Service Meeting Schedule
NOTE: Beginning with this issue of Our Kingdom Ministry, the Service Meeting Schedule will include an outline for the first Service Meeting of the following month. This adjustment is being made to compensate for possible delayed shipments of Our Kingdom Ministry because of a new shipping arrangement.
Week Starting December 6
10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry.
15 min: “Imitate Jehovah’s Impartiality.” Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion. Explain the meaning of impartiality, how Jehovah displays it, and how we can demonstrate this in our ministry.—See Insight, Volume 1, page 1192, paragraphs 4-7.
20 min: “Haven’t We Heard That Before?” Talk and audience discussion. Invite audience to comment on how repetition has helped them to understand and appreciate the truth more fully.—See The Watchtower, July 15, 1995, pages 21-2, and August 15, 1993, pages 13-14, paragraphs 10-12.
Song 218 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting December 13
10 min: Local announcements. Accounts report. Offer suggestions on how to respond tactfully to holiday greetings. If the congregation has copies of the Greatest Man or Great Teacher books in stock, show how they can be used to good advantage in the ministry during the Christmas holidays.
15 min: “The Theocratic Ministry School for 2000.” A talk by the Theocratic Ministry School overseer. Review the following changes in the schedule for the new year. Assignment No. 3 will be based on “Bible Topics for Discussion” as found in the New World Translation. Assignment No. 4 will continue to cover Bible characters from Insight on the Scriptures and during the last three months of the year will be based on “Bible Topics for Discussion.” Where the number sign (#) appears next to this assignment, it is preferred that a brother handle it. Encourage all to keep up with their weekly Bible reading and to be diligent in fulfilling assignments in the school.
20 min: “What Will You Say to an Atheist?” Questions and answers. Review various reasons why many have lost faith in God. Suggest some ways we might approach them to help them see the logic in recognizing God’s existence. Have one or two brief demonstrations. For more information, see Reasoning book, pages 145-51, and Mankind’s Search for God, chapter 14.
Song 220 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting December 20
10 min: Local announcements. Have publishers relate brief pointed experiences they have enjoyed recently in field service.
15 min: Responding to Potential Conversation Stoppers. Audience discussion and demonstrations. Read “Comments” on pages 15-16 of the Reasoning book. Pick out two or three “conversation stoppers” from pages 16-20, or use others that are frequently encountered in your territory. Review some of the suggested responses, and analyze why they may be effective locally. Briefly demonstrate a few of them. Invite audience to relate responses they have used with good results.
20 min: Should I Accept Employment Involving a Religious Organization? Talk by an elder, based on the April 15, 1999, Watchtower, pages 28-30. Some individuals have accepted such employment and later discovered that what they were doing was not in harmony with Bible principles. Review the questions we need to consider when making a decision about doing secular work that has some religious connections. Encourage all to pursue a course that will ensure a good standing before Jehovah.—2 Cor. 6:3, 4, 14-18.
Song 109 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting December 27
10 min: Local announcements. If your congregation will change meeting times for the new year, give kind encouragement urging all to maintain regular meeting attendance at the new times. Inform Bible students and other interested ones of any changes, and begin using handbills that show the new schedule. Remind all to turn in field service reports for December.
15 min: Local needs.
20 min: Offering Older Books During January. Talk and demonstrations. Show two or three older 192-page books, published prior to 1986, that are in congregation stock, and encourage publishers to pick up some for the field ministry. (If none are available, discuss the alternate offer for January.) Explain why these older publications are still effective for cultivating interest in the Bible. In each book highlight talking points and illustrations that can be used to good advantage in starting conversations. Demonstrate one or two presentations. Where interest is found, the Require brochure can be used to start a study.
Song 224 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting January 3
NOTE: Congregations are not to move their Service Meeting for the week of January 3 to an earlier night unless the circuit overseer is visiting.
8 min: Local announcements.
17 min: Know How to Give an Answer. (Col. 4:6) Talk and audience discussion. The Reasoning book is a wonderful aid in paving the way to share Bible truth with others. When a householder raises an objection to one of our beliefs, perhaps we can use the feature “If Someone Says—” at the end of the section dealing with that belief. Discuss the remarks about the Bible that are noted on pages 64-8, and consider why the suggested replies may prove to be effective.
20 min: “2000 ‘Doers of God’s Word’ District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Secretary handles question-and-answer coverage of article in insert. First, read December 15, 1999, convention assignment letter. Use the cited scriptures to show why all of us need to follow the Society’s direction closely. Stress the importance of everyone arranging definite vacation dates ahead of time in order to attend every day of the convention, including Friday. Commend the brothers for cooperating with the Society’s arrangements.
Song 56 and concluding prayer.