Continue Teaching Without Letup
1 The Bible does not leave us in doubt about the kind of territory that the apostles and early Christian disciples had. Not long after Jesus’ death, the authorities warned them not “to make any utterance or to teach” about Jesus. (Acts 4:18) Why? One reason was the amazing success they were having. Thousands were becoming believers, as Acts 4:4 reports: “Many of those who had listened to the speech believed, and the number of the men became about five thousand.”
2 Because we also continue teaching without letup, hundreds of thousands, yes, millions are becoming believers in our day. During October we have the privilege of offering Awake! and The Watchtower on a subscription basis. There is no doubt that Awake! has played an important part in making people conscious of their spiritual need. This has led to happiness for many, as they have learned to do Jehovah’s will.—Compare Matthew 5:3.
REACH EVERYONE
3 Even though we may have territory that is frequently worked, it may still be possible to speak with some who have had little opportunity to hear the good news. How so? In territory that is inaccessible in the door-to-door ministry, why not take advantage of the suggestion made at our district convention and in Our Kingdom Ministry for July 1990 to share in telephone witnessing? Or make a special effort to speak with the man of the house when engaging in evening or weekend witnessing. By keeping good house-to-house records, we may be able to seek out other family members, such as a grandmother, a nephew or cousin who goes to school, or a sister-in-law who works during the week. The extra effort made to speak with each member of the family may be well rewarded.
4 There are many fine ways to obtain subscriptions during the month. One would be to invite our Bible students and other interested persons to subscribe. Perhaps one of our Bible students already subscribes to one of the magazines. Why not suggest he receive both? Families may be encouraged to obtain a Watchtower subscription for each member so they can prepare for the Watchtower Study. Another suggestion would be to develop magazine routes and then offer subscriptions to those who are showing more than the usual interest. We should also offer to study the Bible with those who show genuine interest.
EXPAND YOUR MINISTRY
5 It is still not too late to turn in an application for auxiliary pioneer service for the month of October. As a family, are you planning to share in the pioneer work during the worldly holidays in December? Now is the time to start thinking about how you can do it successfully. If the entire family cannot auxiliary pioneer, can you work together so that one or more family members can do so? If not, would it at least be possible to spend more time in the ministry in offering the Awake! and Watchtower magazines?
6 We appreciate the spiritual benefits and blessings we have received through the pages of Awake! and The Watchtower. We know that honesthearted individuals in our territory will also richly benefit from reading the magazines on a regular basis. During the month of October, let us continue our teaching with the fine instruments Jehovah has made available to us. By doing so, we will reap Jehovah’s blessing and prove ourselves a blessing to others.—Gal. 6:9.