Will We Do It Again?—Another Call for Auxiliary Pioneers
1 Will we do what again? Will we auxiliary pioneer during the Memorial season? The February 1997 Our Kingdom Ministry insert captured our attention with the bold heading: “Wanted—100,000 Auxiliary Pioneers.” We were confident you would take that call seriously. When the March 1997 service report was compiled, we were delighted to learn that 116,335 had enrolled in the auxiliary pioneer service! If we add to that number the 70,472 regular pioneers and the 181 special pioneers who reported that month, we find that nearly 20 percent of all publishers were in the pioneer service. Will we do it again this Memorial season?
2 We warmly commend all who put forth the extra effort to increase their field service activity last spring. Clearly, all of you were motivated by unselfish love for Jehovah God and for your neighbor. (Luke 10:27; 2 Pet. 1:5-8) Publishers in varied circumstances of life made room for auxiliary pioneering. In one congregation, 51 publishers pioneered together the same month, including most of the elders, a mother with a 15-month-old daughter, a sister who quit her job and found part-time work to enable her to pioneer, and an older sister who had never before pioneered. The circuit overseer wrote: “A tremendous effort in the preaching work is under way. . . . Not only is this having an impact on the territory but the congregations are bubbling with enthusiasm. Brothers are enjoying getting to know one another better as well as seeing fine results in the ministry.”
3 Young people were not left out last spring. A 13-year-old unbaptized publisher had been anticipating the time when she could symbolize her dedication to Jehovah. After being baptized in February, she wrote about her desire to auxiliary pioneer in March: “With nothing to hold me back now, I immediately turned in my application. . . . The many wonderful experiences we enjoyed would never have become a reality had it not been for your loving invitation to pioneer. I am grateful to Jehovah to have had this privilege to be among those 100,000 who responded.” She has set a goal to do it again.
4 Perhaps you were among the 116,335 who engaged in the auxiliary pioneer activity last March, or the 78,640 in April, or the 56,905 in May. Will you do it again this year? If you were not able to pioneer last spring, can you do it this year? Could we exceed 120,979, the number of those who auxiliary pioneered in April 1989? That was the largest number of auxiliary pioneers in any one month in the United States branch.
5 Concentrate on April and May: This year, the Memorial falls on Saturday, April 11, making April an excellent month for increased activity in the ministry. (2 Cor. 5:14, 15) During the first 11 days of the month, we will give attention to inviting as many interested ones as possible to attend the Memorial. If you plan to auxiliary pioneer, please submit your application well in advance of the date you wish to start.—1 Cor. 14:40.
6 Since May has five full weekends, publishers who attend school or who work secularly full-time may find it easier to auxiliary pioneer that month. By scheduling ten hours in field service each of the five weekends, you would need to schedule only ten additional hours in the month to reach the required 60 hours.
7 During both April and May, we will be presenting individual copies of The Watchtower and Awake! as the literature offer. This should encourage even more of us to reach out and pioneer. Why do we say that? The magazines are easy to present and are enjoyable to work with in the ministry. They lend themselves for use in all features of the service—house-to-house and store-to-store work, as well as when we approach people on the street, in parking lots, and in parks and other informal settings. Most important, The Watchtower and Awake! champion Kingdom truths. They draw attention to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, proving that God’s Kingdom is ruling. They also touch readers’ lives by coming to grips with the real needs of people. If we think of how our life has been touched by these precious journals, we will be motivated to share in giving them the widest possible distribution in April and May.
8 In preparation for this intensified magazine activity, you will benefit from reviewing these articles: “The Watchtower and Awake!—Timely Journals of Truth” (January 1, 1994, Watchtower), “Make the Best Use of Our Magazines” (September 1995 Our Kingdom Ministry), and “Prepare Your Own Magazine Presentation” (October 1996 Our Kingdom Ministry).
9 Elders Take the Lead: To accommodate the many publishers who were pioneering last spring, the elders in one congregation promoted one Saturday in the month as a special day of service activity for the entire congregation. Arrangements were made to meet at a number of different times during the day, giving all in the congregation an opportunity to share in various forms of witnessing. These included working businesses, witnessing on the street, calling from house to house, making return visits, writing letters, and witnessing by telephone. The response was outstanding, with 117 publishers participating in field service during the course of the day. They totaled 521 hours spent in the ministry and 617 placements of magazines, brochures, and books! The excitement of that Saturday was carried through to Sunday, with a near-record attendance at the Public Meeting and Watchtower Study.
10 At each Service Meeting in April and May, the congregation should be reminded of when and where meetings for field service will be held during the coming week, especially if some additional arrangements are made other than those normally scheduled. Regular pioneers as well as publishers who are not auxiliary pioneers are encouraged to support these group arrangements as their circumstances permit.
11 The service overseer will need to meet with the brother who assigns the territories to make arrangements for working the ones that are not covered frequently. Increased attention may be given to not-at-homes and witnessing on the streets and from store to store. Evening witnessing can be emphasized, especially where there is a return to daylight saving time the first weekend in April. Sufficient supplies of magazines should be ordered for both April and May in anticipation of the increased activity.
12 Many Publishers Can Qualify: The first sentence on the auxiliary pioneer application states: “Because of my love for Jehovah and my desire to help others to learn about him and his loving purposes, I would like to increase my share in the field service by enrolling as an auxiliary pioneer.” Loving Jehovah and wanting to help others spiritually are basic to our dedication. (1 Tim. 4:8, 10) To qualify for auxiliary pioneering, one must be baptized, be of good moral standing, and be in a position to devote 60 hours to the ministry during the month. As all of us consider our circumstances, could some of us who have never pioneered before do so this year in April or May?
13 Many in the congregations may realize that they also could pioneer when they see others enroll who have circumstances similar to theirs. Schoolchildren, elderly ones, full-time secular workers, including elders and ministerial servants, and others have successfully auxiliary pioneered. A housewife and mother of two who has a full-time job reached 60 hours, placed 108 magazines, and started 3 Bible studies in one month of auxiliary pioneering. How did she do it? She used her lunch hour at work to witness in nearby territory, she witnessed by writing letters, and she engaged in parking-lot and street witnessing. She also used her day off from work each week to good advantage by sharing with the congregation in field service. Although she initially thought that auxiliary pioneering was an unreachable goal, with encouragement from others and a practical schedule, the obstacles were overcome.
14 Jesus assured his disciples: “My yoke is kindly and my load is light.” (Matt. 11:30) That was the title of an encouraging article in the August 15, 1995, Watchtower. It tells about a sister who had a high-pressure, full-time secular job. Did she think auxiliary pioneering was out of the question for her? No. In fact, she managed to auxiliary pioneer every month. Why? Because she felt that pioneering actually helped her to keep her balance. Aiding people as they learned Bible truth and seeing them change their lives to gain God’s approval was the greatest source of joy in her busy life.—Prov. 10:22.
15 Any personal sacrifices and adjustments that someone needs to make in order to pioneer are more than made up for by the blessings enjoyed. A sister wrote of her experience with auxiliary pioneering: “It helped me to take my mind off self and to be more focused on helping others. . . . I recommend it for those who can do it.”
16 It Takes a Good Schedule: On the last page of this insert, we have reproduced the sample schedules that appeared in the February 1997 Our Kingdom Ministry. Perhaps one of these fits your circumstances. As you review them, give thought to your normal routine of monthly activity. What projects around the home can be performed in advance of your pioneering or can temporarily be set aside until afterward? Can some of the time you spend on entertainment, recreation, or other forms of leisure be eliminated? Rather than look at the total of 60 hours that are needed, plan your schedule on a daily or weekly basis. Only 2 hours a day or 15 hours a week are needed to auxiliary pioneer. Look at the sample schedules, and with pencil in hand, see what you can work out in the way of a personal service schedule that best suits you and your family.
17 The fine response and extra support the congregation showed for the ministry last spring bolstered the enthusiasm of a regular pioneer who wrote: “Thank you so much for your loving encouragement to put forth an extra effort to support auxiliary pioneering. . . . Your suggested schedules helped many that had never pioneered before to see that they could do it. . . . I am so happy to be part of Jehovah’s organization and to follow the happy loving lead of the faithful and discreet slave.”
18 Proverbs 21:5 assures us: “The plans of the diligent one surely make for advantage.” Proverbs 16:3 encourages us: “Roll your works upon Jehovah himself and your plans will be firmly established.” Yes, by prayerfully including Jehovah in our decision and strongly relying on him to help us succeed, we can be positive about our plans to auxiliary pioneer. It may be that after seeing how well our schedule works for a month or two of auxiliary pioneering, we will be able to mark the box on the auxiliary pioneer application that reads: “Check here if you wish to serve continuously as auxiliary pioneer until further notice.” In any case, we can look ahead to auxiliary pioneering again in August, when there will be five full weekends. As we conclude the service year in August, a concerted effort will be made for everyone to participate as fully as possible in the ministry.
19 Jesus prophesied: “He that exercises faith in me, that one also will do the works that I do; and he will do works greater than these.” (John 14:12) It is our joyous privilege to serve as God’s fellow workers when this prophecy is having its grand fulfillment. Now is the time to preach the good news with the greatest intensity ever, buying out the opportune time to do this work. (1 Cor. 3:9; Col. 4:5) Sharing as often as possible in the auxiliary pioneer service is an excellent way to do our part as Kingdom proclaimers. We eagerly wait to see how great the song of praise will be this Memorial season from the auxiliary pioneers. (Ps. 27:6) Thinking of last spring’s results, we wonder, ‘Will we do it again?’ We are confident that we will!
[Box on page 3]
Can You Auxiliary Pioneer?
“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.”—Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry, page 114.
[Box on page 6]
Auxiliary Pioneer Schedules
Sample Ways to Schedule 15 Hours of Field Service Each Week
Mornings—Monday through Saturday
Sunday may be substituted for any day
Day Period Hours
Monday Morning 2 1⁄2
Tuesday Morning 2 1⁄2
Wednesday Morning 2 1⁄2
Thursday Morning 2 1⁄2
Friday Morning 2 1⁄2
Saturday Morning 2 1⁄2
Total Hours: 15
Two Full Days
Any two days of the week may be selected
Day Period Hours
Wednesday Full Day 7 1⁄2
Saturday Full Day 7 1⁄2
Total Hours: 15
Two Evenings and the Weekend
Any two weekday evenings may be selected
Day Period Hours
Monday Evening 1 1⁄2
Wednesday Evening 1 1⁄2
Saturday Full Day 8
Sunday Half Day 4
Total Hours: 15
Weekday Afternoons and Saturday
Sunday may be substituted for any day
Day Period Hours
Monday Afternoon 2
Tuesday Afternoon 2
Wednesday Afternoon 2
Thursday Afternoon 2
Friday Afternoon 2
Saturday Full Day 5
Total Hours: 15
My Personal Service Schedule
Decide on the number of hours for each period
Day Period Hours
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Total Hours: 15