Special metropolitan public witnessing has been organized at 127 locations in 14 cities in the United States. During the first seven months of the 2015 service year, 8,445 Bible studies were started! This form of witnessing has also been instrumental in helping many who were formerly associated to get involved with true worship once again. For instance, a man named Terry was looking over one of our literature displays in Los Angeles, California, so the Witness couple at the table asked if he had read our literature before. He explained that he is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses but that he had been inactive for about four years. The couple read and discussed with him Ezekiel 34:11, where Jehovah says: “I myself will search for my sheep, and I will care for them.” They told him about our website and JW Broadcasting. The next morning Terry e-mailed the brother, explaining that just moments before he saw the witnessing table, he had begged for God’s forgiveness for neglecting congregation meetings. He had also asked for help to draw closer to Jehovah. “Then you greeted me warmly,” said Terry. “You read that encouraging scripture to me and provided me with the information that I need to get back in step with Jehovah’s organization. It was an answer to my prayer.”

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, nearly 700 people have asked for Bible studies since the special metropolitan public witnessing program began there in 2014. Many interested ones have been attending meetings and are drawing closer to God. In one year, over 250,000 pieces of literature were taken from display carts by people from countries in Africa and overseas.

In the Solomon Islands, where fewer than 2,000 publishers are preaching in a vast territory of more than 300 inhabited islands, special metropolitan public witnessing has become an important method of spreading seeds of truth. In the capital city, Honiara, the brothers distributed more than 104,000 magazines and more than 23,600 brochures, many to people from islands and isolated villages where there are no Witnesses. In just one afternoon, they placed 400 copies of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? and 60 people requested home Bible studies.

There are four special metropolitan public witnessing locations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In three months the brothers placed 37,275 publications, and 629 people requested a visit from the Witnesses. Among the many who accepted a Bible Teach book was an older man who immediately began reading it. In the past he had studied at a religious seminary, and he had questions about Jesus and God’s Kingdom. So the following day, he went back to the stand to get answers to his questions. The day after that, he agreed to a Bible study, and at the end of the week, he attended his first meeting. Now he regularly attends our meetings and is making good progress.