Making Good Use of The Watchtower and Awake!
1 The Watchtower and Awake! are the most valuable and the most beneficial magazines that people can read today. Why? Because the spiritual truths they contain can have an everlasting effect for good on people’s lives. However, many are not fully conscious of their spiritual need, or they do not know where to look to satisfy it. It is our privilege to imitate the apostle Paul by helping people to open their eyes spiritually.—Matt. 5:3; Acts 26:18.
2 Be Positive and Prepare Well: Likely there are sheeplike people in your territory who will respond to the truth. Some may simply need kind encouragement to read the magazines. Therefore, be positive and persuasive as you offer The Watchtower and Awake! Keep a supply of magazines at hand and take advantage of every opportunity to distribute them, even when featuring other publications.
3 What may make us more effective in distributing magazines? To begin with, we must really appreciate their value ourselves. We should be familiar with the articles in the magazines that we are offering, and this will enhance our confidence and our eagerness to present them. Keep this thought in mind as you initially read them. Be alert to select points to highlight in the ministry. Ask yourself: ‘To whom would this article particularly appeal? Would a housewife, a young person, or perhaps a businessman appreciate it? Would this point be intriguing to a student, to a married person, to someone concerned about the environment?’ To be truly effective, we should be able to recommend the magazines based on our personal knowledge and enjoyment of their timely articles.
4 Make Good Use of Older Issues: Remember, The Watchtower and Awake! do not lose their value, even if they have not all been placed within a month or two of their issue date. The information they contain does not become less important with the passage of time, and we should not hesitate to offer older copies if they are in good condition. Allowing older magazines to accumulate and never using them shows a lack of appreciation for these valuable instruments. Each magazine contains truths that have the potential to awaken and satisfy spiritual appetites. Instead of setting aside older issues and forgetting about them, would it not be better to make a special effort to place them in the hands of interested people or at least to leave them in an inconspicuous place when people are not at home?
5 The Awake! magazine has helped many who initially were not spiritually inclined persons to become conscious of their spiritual need. The Watchtower is a key instrument in the spiritual feeding program of Jehovah’s people. These magazines complement each other nicely, and they play a vital role in getting the good news preached.
6 As we take advantage of every opportunity to place magazines, we can have full confidence in their effectiveness in meeting the spiritual needs of sheeplike ones. We want to maintain a positive attitude, prepare well, and be regular in the ministry. As publishers of the good news, may all of us regularly make good use of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines.