Service Meeting Schedule
Week Starting May 12
10 min: Local announcements. Selected Announcements from Our Kingdom Ministry. Using the suggestions on page 8, have two separate demonstrations of how to present the May 15 Watchtower and the May 22 Awake! In each case, both magazines should be offered as a set, even though only one is featured. Include mention of the donation arrangement.
20 min: Parents—Help Your Children to Progress. A talk discussing highlights from the Ministry School book, pages 9-12 and 21-38. Encourage parents to use some of this material in their family study, with the goal of training their children to progress in the ministry. Call attention to specific points that can be used to help young ones develop needed skills.
15 min: “Entrusted With the Good News.”a Arrange in advance for one or two publishers to explain briefly how they were able to adjust their personal circumstances so as to increase their share in the preaching work.
Song 46 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting May 19
15 min: Local announcements. Accounts report. Discuss “International Kingdom Hall Building in Some European Lands.” Mention that construction of Kingdom Halls both in lands with limited resources and in the local branch territory is supported by contributions to the Kingdom Hall Fund.
15 min: Local needs.
15 min: “Praise Jehovah by Witnessing Informally.” Talk and audience discussion. When discussing paragraph 3, ask the audience what could be said to initiate a Bible discussion in some of the following situations: (1) while standing in a checkout line, (2) while using public transportation, (3) to a neighbor working in the yard, (4) to a workmate at your place of employment, and (5) to a classmate at school. Arrange in advance for a local experience that shows how the publisher successfully gave an informal witness.
Song 135 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting May 26
10 min: Local announcements. Remind publishers to turn in service reports for May. Using the suggestions on page 8, have two separate demonstrations of how to present the June 1 Watchtower and the June 8 Awake! In each case, both magazines should be offered as a set, even though only one is featured. At the conclusion of one of the presentations, leave the tract Would You Like to Know More About the Bible? with a householder who did not accept the magazines.
10 min: Question Box. A talk. Briefly review some suggestions for telephone presentations that appeared in the February 2001 Our Kingdom Ministry, page 6, paragraphs 12-15, or others that have been effective in the local territory.
25 min: “God’s Word Is Truth.”b Use questions that are provided. Invite audience to comment on how they were helped to learn the truth when publishers used the Bible to answer their questions. When discussing paragraph 4, have a capable publisher demonstrate how to use the Bible on the initial call, using some of the suggestions appearing in the article “Handle God’s Word Aright.”—km 12/01 p. 1 pars. 3-4.
Song 188 and concluding prayer.
Week Starting June 2
10 min: Local announcements. Review one or two suggestions from the January 2002 Our Kingdom Ministry insert for presenting the Require brochure and Knowledge book.
20 min: Honorable Marriage—A Divine Requirement. Talk and audience discussion. In many lands, it is common for couples to live together without being legally married. Some claim that this has practical advantages. Highlight the Bible’s view, emphasizing that marriage is of divine origin. (rs pp. 248-9) Living together without the benefit of marriage is fornication. (fy p. 17) Contrary to what many believe, studies show that living together before marriage reduces the likelihood that the marriage will succeed. (g02 3/8 p. 29; g92 9/8 p. 28; g91 5/8 p. 28) Christians honor Jehovah by conforming to his standards. In doing so, they also benefit themselves.—Isa. 48:17, 18.
15 min: How Are You Benefiting? Audience discussion to be handled by the school overseer. Starting in January, we were introduced to a new format for the Theocratic Ministry School. Briefly review some of the new features of the school. Highlight the positive results seen so far. Have more enrolled in the school? Has there been a greater willingness to participate? How are the students benefiting from the new arrangements for providing counsel? Invite audience to relate how they have personally benefited so far and how they feel the new program will help them in the future.
Song 225 and concluding prayer.
[Footnotes]
a Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.
b Limit introductory comments to less than a minute, and follow with a question-and-answer discussion.