Wanted​—100,000 Auxiliary Pioneers

Can You Auxiliary Pioneer in March? April? May?

¹ “Wanted 1,000 Preachers” was the title of an article published in the April 1881 issue of the Watch Tower. It contained an appeal to all dedicated men and women, “to whom the Lord has committed a knowledge of His truth,” to use whatever time they could to share in spreading Bible truth. Those who could give half or more of their time exclusively to the Lord’s work were encouraged to volunteer as colporteur evangelizers​—the forerunners of today’s pioneers.

² Although times have changed since the 1800’s, one fact remains the same​—God’s dedicated servants want to continue using as much time as possible in spreading the good news. Serving as auxiliary pioneers enables congregation publishers to improve their effectiveness as they put forth extra time in the Kingdom ministry.​—Col. 4:17; 2 Tim. 4:5.

³ Ever since its inception, auxiliary pioneering has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters. Enthusiasm for this feature of the pioneer ministry grew to the extent that a peak of more than 100,000 auxiliary pioneers was reached in the United States branch territory in April 1985! Three times since then, more than 100,000 publishers have shared as auxiliary pioneers during the month of April​—in 1988, 1989, and 1992. The potential certainly exists to repeat this fine effort during the spring of 1997.

⁴ We encourage you to have the goal of auxiliary pioneering during one or more of the months of March, April, and May. Why include March? Because this year the Memorial of Christ’s death falls on Sunday, March 23. There is no better way that we could spend the weeks preceding the Memorial than to share zealously in the Kingdom-preaching work that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, instituted. With a great heap of witness being given in March, we can invite many interested persons to join us in the commemoration of Christ’s death. March will also be special in that, for the first time, we will be featuring the new book, The Secret of Family Happiness. Additionally, the month of March contains five Saturdays and five Sundays, allowing for intensive weekend activity in the field service. Of course, during the months of April and May, a continued zealous effort in the ministry will allow us to follow up on the interest found and start new home Bible studies, using the brochure What Does God Require of Us? We will also cover our territory thoroughly, particularly on weekends, with the current timely issues of The Watchtower and Awake!

⁵ Who Qualify to Auxiliary Pioneer?: Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry, page 114, explains: “Whatever your personal circumstances, if you are baptized, are of good moral standing, can arrange to meet the requirement of spending 60 hours a month in the field ministry and believe you could serve one or more months as an auxiliary pioneer, the congregation elders will be pleased to consider your application for this privilege of service.” Can you make room for this privilege in March? April? May?

⁶ A positive attitude on the part of the bodies of elders along with the wholehearted support of the rest of the publishers should make the response to this call for 100,000 auxiliary pioneers a resounding success. (Heb. 13:7) All family heads are encouraged to ascertain how many within their household can join the ranks of the auxiliary pioneers during one or more of the coming months.​—Ps. 148:12, 13; compare Acts 21:8, 9.

⁷ Do not be quick to conclude that auxiliary pioneering is beyond your reach because of your full-time secular work, school schedule, family responsibilities, or other Scriptural obligations. For some it may not be easy to take part; nevertheless, with good organization and Jehovah’s blessing, they can succeed. (Ps. 37:5; Prov. 16:3) Let the desire to share in pioneer service control your circumstances; do not let your circumstances control your desire to pioneer. (Prov. 13:19a) Hence, with a strong love for Jehovah and for fellow humans, many are able to adjust their weekly routine of life so as to expand their ministry a month at a time. (Luke 10:27, 28) Many blessings are in store for those who exert themselves vigorously in the Kingdom service.​—1 Tim. 4:10.

⁸ What Auxiliary Pioneering Accomplishes: The whole-souled effort that thousands of God’s servants put forth to auxiliary pioneer results in a great shout of praise to Jehovah. As these Kingdom proclaimers exert themselves to spread the good news to more people, they are drawn closer to Jehovah personally because they learn to be more dependent upon him for his spirit and blessing.

⁹ Having auxiliary, regular, and special pioneers active in our midst produces a fresh spirit of vitality in the congregation. Their enthusiasm is contagious as they talk about their field experiences. This motivates others to reevaluate their own priorities and potential for having an expanded share in the all-important work of the ministry. A sister who was baptized at the age of 70 immediately began auxiliary pioneering on a continuous basis. When asked some years later why, at her age, she was still exerting herself so much in the ministry as an auxiliary pioneer every month, she said she felt as though the first 70 years of her life had been wasted, and she did not want to waste any of her remaining years of life!

¹⁰ Each participant in the auxiliary pioneer work develops an improved skill in the ministry. One young witness admitted: ‘During early childhood I used to accompany my parents in their preaching activities. Field service was really fun. However, in time, it dawned on me that at school I stood out from the rest of the crowd. It then became awkward for me to speak to fellow students about the truth. When preaching from house to house, I began to dread the thought of meeting up with someone I knew from school. In my case I think the problem was fear of man. [Prov. 29:25] After getting out of school, I decided to try pioneering on a temporary basis. As a result, preaching took on an appeal that it never had before. No longer did I view it as a fun activity, nor was it a heavy burden. On seeing my Bible students progress in the truth, I enjoyed a sense of deep satisfaction at the evidence that Jehovah God was backing my efforts.’ This youth went on to serve as a regular pioneer.

¹¹ From a practical standpoint, when many serve as auxiliary pioneers in the congregation, a thorough coverage of the territory results. The brother who handles the assigning of territories can ask the auxiliary pioneers for their assistance in covering the seldom-worked sections. Packing a lunch and putting in a whole day of service will make it possible to work even the distant corners of the territory.

¹² Elders to Make Advance Preparations: Throughout the next three months, arrangements should be made to schedule different kinds of witnessing activity at various times of the week, including late afternoon and early evening, so that as many as possible can take part. In addition to doing regular house-to-house work, include periods for street witnessing, working business territory, and calling on not-at-homes. By so doing, elders help those who are pioneering to share in service with the congregation at a time that will be most practical and convenient for the pioneers. The congregation should be well informed of all field service arrangements. The handling of meetings for service should be well organized. Additionally, adequate territory should be made available and ample magazines and other literature supplies should be ordered promptly.

¹³ Plan Your Personal Service Schedule: One brother, who at first was apprehensive about auxiliary pioneering, said: “It really is a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. It just takes a good schedule.” On the back page of this insert, do you see a sample auxiliary pioneer schedule that would be practical for you? Fifteen hours each week for the ministry is all the time that is required of auxiliary pioneers.

¹⁴ In order to serve as auxiliary pioneers, housewives and second-shift workers can often schedule their mornings for the field service. Schoolchildren and third-shift workers can generally devote late afternoons to the preaching work. Full-time secular workers have found it possible either to take off one day of work a week or to devote full weekends to the ministry, in addition to doing evening witnessing. Many whose field service is mostly limited to weekend activity choose months that contain five full weekends. This year, that is true of March, as well as August and November. Using the blank schedule on page 6 that is provided as a guide, give careful and prayerful thought to what will be a practical personal service schedule for your individual situation.

¹⁵ One advantage of the provision to auxiliary pioneer is its flexibility. You can choose the months that you will pioneer, and you can serve as often as you desire. If you would like to auxiliary pioneer on a continuous basis but cannot do so, have you thought of enrolling every other month throughout the year? On the other hand, some are able to serve continuously as auxiliary pioneers for extended periods of time.

¹⁶ A Warm-Up for Full-Time Pioneering: Many who have the pioneer spirit would like to serve as regular pioneers, but they wonder if they have the time, the circumstances, or the stamina for it. Undoubtedly most of those who are now regular pioneering first used auxiliary pioneer service as a warm-up for the full-time work. By increasing one’s auxiliary pioneer schedule just one hour each day, or one full day each week, it is possible to fulfill the regular pioneer schedule. To see if that is possible for you, why not try to devote 90 hours in the ministry during one or more months of auxiliary pioneering? At the same time, you will be developing return visits and Bible studies, which will allow you to enjoy a well-rounded pioneer ministry.

¹⁷ One sister enjoyed six years of continuous auxiliary pioneering. All that time it was her goal to enter the regular pioneer service. To that end, she tried four different secular jobs in hopes of creating a situation that would put the 90-hour requirement for regular pioneers within her grasp. Each month, she drew up one or two schedules in order to calculate whether it might be possible. But on examining them, she felt the full-time ministry was beyond her reach. Still, she continued to ask Jehovah for his direction. Then one day while preparing for the Service Meeting, she read an article in the September 1991 Our Kingdom Ministry that stated: “Rather than placing undue emphasis on the hour requirement, why not focus attention on the increased opportunity to share in the ingathering work? (John 4:35, 36)” She relates: “I reread this sentence five or six times, and I was quite sure that this was Jehovah’s answer. At that moment I made the decision to enter the regular pioneer service.” Although her part-time secular work schedule was far from ideal, she submitted her application to regular pioneer. A week later her schedule was changed, and she was given secular working hours that were just right for her. She concluded, “Is this Jehovah’s hand, or not?,” and added: “When you ask Jehovah for guidance and you receive it, do not run away from it​—accept it.” If it is your earnest desire to regular pioneer, perhaps by the end of three months of auxiliary pioneering this March, April, and May, you will be convinced that you too can succeed in the full-time ministry.

¹⁸ We are certain that Jehovah will bless the zeal and will support the efforts of his people as they publish the good news of salvation during this special springtime period of activity. (Isa. 52:7; Rom. 10:15) Will you answer the call for 100,000 auxiliary pioneers by having a share in March? April? May?

[Box on page 3]

How to Succeed as an Auxiliary Pioneer

■ Be positive about your prospects

■ Pray to Jehovah to bless your efforts

■ Invite another publisher to pioneer with you

■ Work out a practical service schedule

■ Order an ample supply of magazines

■ Support congregation arrangements for service

■ Seek opportunities for witnessing informally