Arrangements were promptly put into operation to bring the organization into closer conformity to this Biblical pattern. These began with the Governing Body itself. Its membership was enlarged beyond the seven who, as members of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, had been serving as a governing body for Jehovah’s Witnesses. No fixed number of members for the Governing Body was set. In 1971, there were 11; for a few years, there were as many as 18; in 1992, there were 12. All of them are men anointed of God as joint heirs with Jesus Christ. The 12 serving as members of the Governing Body in 1992 had among them at that time a record of over 728 years of full-time service as ministers of Jehovah God.

It was determined on September 6, 1971, that the chairmanship at meetings of the Governing Body should rotate annually according to the alphabetical arrangement of the family names of its members. This actually went into effect on October 1. Governing Body members also took turns, on a weekly basis, in presiding at morning worship and the Watchtower Study for members of the headquarters staff.d This arrangement went into effect on September 13, 1971, when Frederick W. Franz led the program of morning worship at the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

In the early 1970’s, careful thought was given to further reorganization of the Governing Body. Ever since the incorporation of the Watch Tower Society in 1884, publishing of literature, supervision of the global evangelizing work, and arrangements for schools and conventions had been cared for under the direction of the office of the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. But after careful analysis and discussion of details over a period of many months, a new arrangement was unanimously adopted on December 4, 1975. Six committees of the Governing Body were formed.

The Chairman’s Committee (made up of the current chairman of the Governing Body, the preceding chairman, and the one next in line to be chairman) receives reports on major emergencies, disasters, and campaigns of persecution, and it sees that these are handled promptly with the Governing Body. The Writing Committee supervises the putting of spiritual food into written, recorded, and video form for Jehovah’s Witnesses and for distribution to the public, and it oversees translation work into hundreds of languages. The Teaching Committee’s responsibility is to supervise schools and assemblies, also district and international conventions, for Jehovah’s people, as well as Bethel family instruction and the outlining of material to be used for such purposes. The Service Committee supervises all areas of the evangelizing work, including the activity of congregations and traveling overseers. The printing, publishing, and shipping of literature as well as the operation of factories and the handling of legal and business matters are all supervised by the Publishing Committee. And the Personnel Committee has oversight of arrangements for personal and spiritual assistance to members of Bethel families and is responsible for inviting new members to serve in the Bethel families around the world.

Additional helpful committees are assigned to oversee the factories, the Bethel homes, and the farms associated with the world headquarters. On these committees the Governing Body makes liberal use of the abilities of members of the “great crowd.”—Rev. 7:9, 15.

Adjustments were also made in the oversight of the Society’s branches. Since February 1, 1976, each branch has been supervised by a committee of three or more members, depending on needs and the size of the branch. These work under the direction of the Governing Body in caring for the Kingdom work in their area.

In 1992, further assistance was provided for the Governing Body when a number of helpers, mainly from among the great crowd, were assigned to share in the meetings and work of the Writing, Teaching, Service, Publishing, and Personnel committees.e