Kingdom Proclaimers Report
Spreading Kingdom Seed on Every Occasion
GOD’S Word, the Bible, encourages industriousness. King Solomon said: “In the morning sow your seed and until the evening do not let your hand rest; for you are not knowing where this will have success, either here or there, or whether both of them will alike be good.”—Ecclesiastes 11:6.
On every appropriate occasion, Jehovah’s Witnesses sow “seed” by preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom. In over 230 lands and island groups, they continue “without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.” (Acts 5:42) The following experiences illustrate how Jehovah’s Witnesses are ‘not letting their hands rest’ in the preaching work.
◻ In the Republic of Cape Verde, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses was walking by a prison while engaged in the field ministry. In the prison’s courtyard, some prisoners were perched in a tree. Observing the Witness down below, the prisoners cried out for some magazines. The Witness tied a number of Watchtower and Awake! magazines to a stone and threw them over the prison wall. As a result of this initial interest, 12 Bible studies were started. Three of the prisoners have dedicated their lives to God and have presented themselves for water baptism. One of the prisoners has been serving as a full-time evangelizer, or pioneer, for over a year now. How, though, do they conduct field service activities in prison? First the prison is divided into territories. Then the territory is distributed among the three Witnesses and worked from cell to cell. These Kingdom proclaimers follow up on interest in much the same way as Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world do—by making return visits. One difference, however, is the frequency with which Bible studies are conducted. Rather than study the Bible just once or twice a week for an hour or so, some prisoners study every day! Additionally, the Witnesses have been given permission by the general director of the prison to conduct all congregation meetings inside the prison.
◻ A woman in Portugal inherited a number of Watch Tower publications following her grandmother’s death. Since she was not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, she had no interest in keeping the books. However, she did not want to destroy them. One day she told one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who called on her in the door-to-door ministry about the library. The Witness asked her if she had any idea of the library’s real value. The woman replied: “As a matter of fact, I don’t know their real value, but how can I find out?” The woman accepted a Bible study, and soon she came to treasure her grandmother’s library. Now she too is a baptized Witness of Jehovah. Moreover, her daughter and a close friend of the family are also studying the Bible. What a valuable inheritance this collection of books proved to be!