Jehovah's Witnesses One Year Without Knocking On Doors

Paducah KY

01 September, 2021

11:46 AM

Description

Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Year Without Knocking on Doors Castillo family of Fulton, Ky., work together to write encouraging letters to their neighbors. It’s been one year since Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide adjusted their hallmark methods of sharing comfort and hope from the scriptures due to the pandemic. For many, the change from ringing doorbells and knocking on doors to making phone calls and writing letters expanded and invigorated their ministry. “Witnesses have embraced this shift, finding the good in these trying times,” said Joseph Castano, who reports a 30 percent increase in the Witnesses’ preaching activity in his region of northern Virginia and nearby parts of West Virginia. “In fact, I hear many saying, ‘I’m able to do more now.’” In March 2020, the some 1.3 million Witnesses in the United States suspended their door-to-door and face-to-face forms of public ministry and moved congregation meetings to videoconferencing. “It has been a very deliberate decision based on two principles: our respect for life and love of neighbor,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “But we are still witnesses and, as such, we must testify about our faith. So it was inevitable that we would find a way to continue our work.”  In the bitterly cold winters of Arden Hills, Minnesota, Terri Whitmore normally bundles up for the door-to-door ministry in a long down coat and snow boots—sometimes with removable cleats to help navigate icy sidewalks.  Now she sits at her dining room table, sips on hot tea, and calls people on her cell phone to share the same message. In December, she conducted more than twice as many Bible studies than in any prior month. “I’m having a blast,” she said. “After a nice phone call, it energizes you. You can’t wait to make the next call.”  Her “go-to” topics for conversation with her neighbors are COVID-19, civil unrest, and government. “Some people feel like they have nothing secure to hold on to,” she said. “The power of God’s word is amazing. You can just share a scripture and you feel like they’re settling down.” Nearly 51,000 people in the United States last year made a request for a Witness to contact them, either through a local congregation or jw.org, the organization’s official website, according to Hendriks. Since the outbreak, the Witnesses have followed up on these requests via letters and phone calls instead of in-person visits.  “Our love for our neighbors is stronger than ever,” said Hendriks. “In fact, I think we have needed each other more than ever. We are finding that people are perplexed, stressed, and feeling isolated. Our work has helped many regain a sense of footing even normalcy  at a very unsettled time.”  When Hector and Sandra Castillo and their four children moved to Fulton, Kentucky, in 2015, they loved that people were willing to open their doors and discuss the Bible. Switching methods during the pandemic was a challenge at first. Their daughter Leanna, 9, had enthusiastically shared her beliefs at school and with anyone she met, but she wondered what people would think about receiving letters. Her parents encouraged her to begin by writing to her teachers. "Leanna was very happy when the teacher texted me that she received the letter," said Mrs. Castillo. "The other kids wrote to their teachers too. We received texts that they were encouraged by it."  "We love going house to house and we miss it,” said Mr. Castillo, “but it has its advantage doing the letter writing here at the house. Writing the letters, we’re telling people that we love them. They can get to know God, and that what we’re living in now is not all there is. We’re going to get something better.”   For more information on the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, visit their website jw.org, with content available in over 1,000 languages.Public Information Desk | 900 Red Mills Road, Wallkill, New York, 12589 | 718-560-5600 | [email protected]