Be Progressive in Your Ministry
1 Growth and progress are desirable qualities to observe and experience. The farmer anxiously watches seedlings grow into fruit-producing plants. Parents take delight in seeing their children develop into responsible adults. In like manner, Jehovah is keenly interested in seeing us make spiritual progress in our ministry. His Word encourages us to make our advancement manifest, that is, observable.—1 Tim. 4:15, 16; Phil. 3:13, 16.
2 Paul’s letter to the Hebrews indicates that some had failed to be progressive in their ministry. He likened them to babes; before they could make progress as teachers of God’s Word, someone had to teach them the fundamentals. (Heb. 5:12-14) Does not their experience and the counsel they received emphasize that we ought to see progress in our Christian course? How can we work toward improving the quality of our field ministry?
IMPROVING OUR PRESENTATIONS
3 Possibly your first experience in field service was accompanied by nervousness and feelings of inadequacy. You may have memorized a presentation and used it over and over until you felt more comfortable at the doors. As we increase in knowledge, however, our presentations should become more flexible, enabling us to speak with greater confidence on a variety of Bible topics. How are you progressing in this regard? Are you still expressing yourself at the doors as you did when you started publishing? Or have you made advancement in your door-to-door presentations?
4 Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses who began publishing at an early age were taught a brief magazine presentation by their parents. In the course of time, these have progressed to using the current Topic for Conversation with the regular literature offer. Parents, we encourage you to help your children to improve their presentations as they grow physically and spiritually.
5 Of vital importance to our being progressive in the ministry is the training offered at congregation meetings. Do we pay close attention at the Service Meeting? There we receive current instruction that can help us to meet effectively the challenges we face in our ministry. Are we taking advantage of this excellent provision? Our presentations will be greatly improved if we take all this valuable training to heart and put it to use.
USING THE LIVE FOREVER BOOK
6 The Live Forever book is a remarkable teaching aid, a timely provision from Jehovah’s progressive organization. During the months of June and July we can have a full share in the distribution of this excellent publication. However, as progressive ministers, we want to do more than merely place books. A careful record of all placements should be kept. Why? Because in placing the Live Forever book, we are providing the householder with a principal textbook for Bible study. Our ultimate goal is to make disciples, so a conscientious effort should be made to return within the week, if possible, to develop the interest even further.
7 Progressive ministers learn to take advantage of every opportunity to offer a Bible study. Some publishers are able to start studies on the first call. When directing the householder’s attention to the book, use paragraphs that you have selected in advance. These should be directly related to the subject under discussion and have questions that are likely to arouse interest. Publishers who carefully prepare to do this are more successful in starting studies than are those who show the householder portions of the book at random.
8 We have come to be part of Jehovah’s progressive organization, and Jehovah lovingly assists us to keep pace with it. Let us all respond to that help by being progressive in our ministry. By taking advantage of the abundant direction and training he provides, “let us by love grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ.”—Eph. 4:15.