Presenting the Good News—By Using Magazines Wisely
1 Many are the Scriptural truths we have learned or had clarified for us by information published in The Watchtower and Awake! Do you find that you both anticipate and treasure each issue of the magazines? They contain information that helps us to be better Christians. We can heartily recommend them to others.
USE THEM WELL
2 Many brothers and sisters set aside a day each week specifically to offer The Watchtower and Awake! from house to house and in public places. When doing house-to-house magazine witnessing, more can be accomplished if we arrange to call when the majority of people are at home. Street witnessing is another avenue that we can use. This can be done by approaching persons who are on the streets near shopping areas, waiting for public transportation, sitting in parks, and so forth. When doing so, show them an appealing article as you offer them the magazines. Some publishers have been observed simply standing or walking on the streets displaying the magazines but seldom speaking to those who pass. While there are some good results at times from doing street work this way, this may give the impression that we are just being impassive magazine vendors.
3 The offer can be made simply by greeting a person and asking if he or she would like to read a particular article featured in the magazine. If there is interest, it may be that the conversation can be carried further. Many of our brothers and sisters are getting good results from such an approach and are encouraged by the fact that they are successfully talking to so many people. If you have an opportunity to use the Bible, do so.
YOUR ORDER
4 Are you using all the magazines you obtain? Can you improve your efforts in distributing them? Please review your weekly order and determine how many magazines you can distribute. We hope you can place all your magazines each week, or perhaps more, as you look for opportunities to place them. But be realistic. Adjust your order with the congregation so that you will not have too many or too few. If large amounts of magazines are accumulating at the Kingdom Hall, the body of elders should decide how to encourage more magazine work and if it is best to adjust the order of the congregation with the Society. Paper and postage are expensive, and much labor goes into getting magazines to the congregations. All of us want to use the magazines wisely.
5 Many of us have been leaving older issues at not-at-homes. This can continue to be done. However, if the congregation is experiencing problems because older issues frequently are left when people are not at home, we suggest that the local body of elders review the matter and make suggestions to the congregation that they feel will be most appropriate for the territory and in the best interest of the work.
6 What can you do so that you will use your magazines effectively? (1) Endeavor to work with the magazines when more people are at home. (2) When working on the street, approach individuals, endeavoring to engage them in conversations when presenting the magazines. (3) If necessary, adjust your order so you will receive the number you can use effectively. May Jehovah bless your endeavors to make wise use of these two valuable publications.