They Are Leaving the Churches

AMONG those leaving the churches of Christendom today are people who have a real love of righteousness. Not only are they disturbed by the hypocrisy they have witnessed in the churches, but they are very much interested in learning about the Bible. Many of these sincere people are now enjoying a study of the Holy Scriptures with Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. They are also eager to tell others about the good things they have learned.

● In Shillong, India, a college student began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses. Later he returned to his village. There he built a Kingdom Hall and began holding regular meetings. Recently one of Jehovah’s witnesses from Shillong visited the village. To his great surprise, eighteen persons were assembled with the former college student. Their deep interest in the Bible was evident from their many questions. Twelve of those present had already severed their ties with the Lutheran church. Included in this group was a seventy-year-old man who had been a preacher in the Lutheran church for sixteen years. His leaving the church meant being deprived of his livelihood. But with joy he exclaimed: “I have come out of Babylon the Great and now I am in God’s organization.”

● In yet another village of India, where a new church was being constructed, Jehovah’s witnesses began building a modest Kingdom Hall. Eventually church attendance dwindled and attendance at the Kingdom Hall increased. The number of those sharing the Bible’s message with others in the village increased to twenty-eight. Recently, when a traveling minister of Jehovah’s witnesses gave a public discourse on Sunday at the Kingdom Hall, 149 persons attended. But only five people were seen at the church that Sunday.

The fine attendance at the Kingdom Hall was despite the fact that the church secretary had hired a man to go round the village, beating a drum and calling the people to church. Church members even got a man to throw dung into the hut where the traveling minister of Jehovah’s witnesses was staying.

According to the latest information, the church secretary has left that church and the treasurer is seriously thinking about doing so. The thought among those who are still church members is that Jehovah’s witnesses will soon be using the church building as their Kingdom Hall.