Expanding Your Ministry as a Regular Pioneer
1 “It has taken long, careful, prayerful consideration before sending this.” Those were the words of one sister in a letter that accompanied her regular pioneer application the first of this service year. She was now able to join her daughter who entered the pioneer work upon graduation from high school last summer. Prayerful consideration—yes, that is a prerequisite for those who would expand their ministry into regular pioneer service. Have you prayerfully reflected on your circumstances and considered how you might take up this blessed privilege?
2 We are assured by the apostle John that we will receive what we pray for in harmony with God’s will. (1 John 5:14, 15) And what special work has Jehovah willed to be done in these last days? “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness,” answers Jesus. (Matt. 24:14) Jesus also indicated that we should “beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” (Matt. 9:37, 38) Jehovah will surely pay attention to our heartfelt request for more workers, perhaps enabling us to enter the regular pioneer service.
3 Great diversity in age, background and circumstances is evident among those wholeheartedly responding to the need for more full-time preachers. A 96-year-old brother who started pioneering just over a year ago continues to do excellent work as a pioneer. One housewife and mother of several children views her pioneering as a family project that is proving to be a source of spiritual enrichment for all in her household.
CAN CIRCUMSTANCES BE CHANGED?
4 “Yes,” answers a mother of three who moved into a smaller apartment after her last child married. Having pioneered before, she kept the pioneer spirit alive and, when circumstances permitted, adjusted her situation to resume her pioneer service.
5 It is wise to count the cost when considering the regular pioneer work. (Luke 14:28) It is not a matter of ‘pioneering at all costs.’ However, some who at first thought they could not pioneer have analyzed the way they were using their time. By adjusting their schedule, they made room for the three hours that were needed on the average each day to meet the pioneer requirement, and they did so without neglecting other Christian responsibilities. These are now happily serving as regular pioneers.
6 Undue concern for meeting the hour requirement keeps some from entering the full-time service. But Christian faith can move mountainlike obstacles, including those that spring from such apprehension. (Matt. 17:20) God’s Word and spirit, along with the good advice offered by Jehovah’s organization, can help to build such faith.
POSITIVE ACTION NEEDED
7 You will get into the pioneer work only by taking decisive steps in harmony with your prayers. What steps need to be taken? Heartfelt desire must be cultivated; you must want to pioneer. Increase your preaching activity as much as you can now and make a special effort to work with those already enrolled. Observe their joy. This will help you develop the pioneer spirit. Do not dwell on the negative factors in your circumstances. (Eccl. 11:4) Rather, seek to imitate Nehemiah’s positive attitude regarding rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls in the face of obstacles. He said: “The God of the heavens is the One that will grant us success, and we ourselves, his servants, shall get up, and we must build.”—Neh. 2:20.
8 Pioneer work will open up many more opportunities to experience the special joy that comes from helping others to know and serve Jehovah. And by expanding your ministry as a regular pioneer, you will find the refreshment suggested at Proverbs 11:25, that of being freely watered spiritually yourself because of your “freely watering others” with the Word of life.