Kingdom Proclaimers Report
“Every Day in the Marketplace”
THE apostle Paul used every opportunity to spread the Kingdom message. In order to search out deserving ones, he reasoned “in the synagogue with the Jews . . . and every day in the marketplace with those who happened to be on hand.”—Acts 17:17.
Such zeal has been a hallmark of true worshipers of Jehovah since the first century C.E. (Matthew 28:19, 20) Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses likewise use a variety of methods as they zealously help honesthearted ones come to an accurate knowledge of truth. (1 Timothy 2:3, 4) The following experience from Australia illustrates this.
Five days each week, Sid and Harold take turns tending a small display of Bible literature by a railway station in Sydney. They have been sharing the good news of God’s Kingdom in this way for about five years now. Sid, who is 95 years old, explains: “When I turned 87, I was unable to drive a car any longer. That disappointed me because I enjoyed the public witnessing activity. One day while near a popular tourist spot called Echo Point in Katoomba, I saw an artist selling landscape paintings. I studied the paintings and thought to myself, ‘I have better pictures than that in my witnessing bag—and for a fraction of the cost!’ So I decided to make up a small display stand, set it up at a popular spot, and offer to passersby the beautifully illustrated Bible literature distributed by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“Four years ago, I moved the stand to Sydney, and Harold joined me. We take turns tending the stand and working with our local congregations.” Harold, now 83, says: “Monday through Friday very few people are at home. So sharing the Kingdom message this way puts us where the people are. Naturally, we get better results. Our literature placements are quite outstanding for this country.”
“Though we’ve set ourselves up in four or five different places over the years,” says Sid, “it’s not long before we are known. Some people come to us for literature. Others have questions they want answered. And some just want to talk a few minutes. This is the only time my return visits come to me,” he chuckles.
“Many people truly are interested in the Bible,” adds Harold. “In one month four persons started to study the Bible with the Witnesses as a result of the literature they received from us and because of the questions we were able to answer from the Bible. Experiences like that encourage us greatly.”
Like Sid and Harold—and like the apostle Paul—Jehovah’s Witnesses everywhere use every means possible to spread their vital message. Thus, the “good news” continues to be preached “in all the inhabited earth.”—Matthew 24:14.