MOVED by the desire to help the lost sheep, the elders in a congregation in the United States considered what they could do to help those who had lost contact with the flock. They determined that about 30 individuals who had stopped serving Jehovah decades earlier were still living in the congregation’s territory. Most of them were now up in age.
Alfredo, one of the elders, got a list of their names and began visiting them. “Every Friday morning, I knock on the door of an inactive one,” he relates. When the inactive one opens the door, Alfredo tries to have a relaxed conversation in which he conveys his heartfelt feelings of concern. He tells the inactive brother or sister that the congregation has not forgotten the fine work the person did in behalf of Jehovah’s Kingdom. Says Alfredo, “When I told one elderly inactive brother how many hours he had preached and how many magazines he had placed during the last month that he reported field service in 1976, the brother’s eyes welled up with tears.” Alfredo also reads Luke 15:4-7, 10 with those whom he visits, and then he asks them, “What happens when a lost sheep returns to the congregation? Jehovah, Jesus, and the angels rejoice—just think of it!”
For the past two years, Alfredo has been reaching out to inactive ones. What has been the result of his patient efforts? He has had the joy of helping two brothers start associating with the congregation again. They now regularly attend the Sunday meeting. “When they entered the Kingdom Hall, it was my turn to shed some tears,” he says with a smile. “Although these inactive ones have started attending meetings,” he adds, “I still contact them on Fridays because they tell me that those weekly visits are moments they look forward to—and I feel the same way!”