They're back: Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on doors again
Photo courtesy Jehovah’s Witnesses Steve Cole with Jehovah's Witness returns to his door-to-door ministry in Kootenai County after a 30-month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County Jehovah's Witnesses are resuming their trademark door-to-door ministry after two and a half years.
The move marks the restoration of all pre-pandemic in-person activities for the 1.3 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 13,000 congregations in the United States.
Kingdom Halls were reopened April 1, witnessing in public places resumed May 31 and in-person conventions are once again being planned for 2023.
“It will be great to go door to door and see our neighbors again,” said Athol resident Steve Cole. “I look forward to hearing how they have endured over the past two and a half years.”
The suspension of the public ministry was a response by the organization to keep communities and congregants safe, according to a press release.
The move was also unprecedented. Jehovah’s Witnesses had been preaching from house to house without interruption for more than 100 years through an economic depression, two world wars and global unrest.
But COVID-19 demanded a different response, the release said.
“We believe that the early decision to shut down all in-person activities for more than two years has saved many lives,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We’re now ready and eager to reconnect with our neighbors once again — person to person, face to face.”
The move coincides with a global campaign to distribute a new interactive Bible study program available in hundreds of languages at no cost. The program comes in the form of a book, online publication or as an embedded feature within the organization’s free mobile application, JW Library.
Released in late 2020, the interactive study platform combines text, video, illustrations and digital worksheets.
“This new study program is designed to match the learning needs of the 21st-century student,” said Hendriks. “We’re excited to begin sharing it with our neighbors as we return to making personal visits.”
The pandemic forced Jehovah’s Witnesses to pivot to virtual meetings and conventions while conducting their ministry through letters, phone calls and virtual Bible studies.
According to the press release, this has led to growth in meeting attendance and the number of congregants, with more than 400,000 newly baptized witnesses joining the ranks of 120,000 congregations globally in just the first two years of the pandemic.