Question Box

● What is the Society’s position on large, organized groups of brothers attending assemblies in distant lands?

The Society tries to arrange district assemblies for the convenience of brothers in each country. Thus it is not necessary for publishers to travel great distances to attend an assembly. When convention facilities are arranged, they are for the convenience of those whom the Society expects to attend. If greater numbers of witnesses attend than are planned for, then the facilities are overcrowded and this inconveniences the conventioners of that locality.

Occasionally the Society does arrange for international assemblies, and announces these well in advance. Then facilities are obtained to take care of any large overseas groups that might be coming. If at such time the Society thinks it advisable to encourage some brothers to travel to a different land the Society will do so. This is because of the witness that can be given and for the encouragement of the brothers they meet with in another land. In these instances the Society gives the congregations detailed information on Society stationery and the travel is handled by the Society.

If a congregation or individuals receive correspondence from a travel agency encouraging them to travel with a group to some foreign country, saying it is to attend a convention of Jehovah’s witnesses, this is very likely a business promotional scheme of the travel agency. Please do not write to the Society about travel agency arrangements because the Society is not involved and does not have any knowledge of such arrangements.

If any brothers wish to travel from one country to another, that is their personal business, not the Society’s. Of course, under those circumstances they have to arrange their own transportation and they cannot expect the branch offices of the Society to take care of them as the Society does when it arranges for travel to assemblies in other countries.