Jehovah's Witnesses Internet Evangelism

March 28, 2012
News item:
Jehovah's Witnesses to reduce pages in Watchtower & Awake! Magazines

More attention being given to Internet evangelism
Starting next year, if you obtain a magazine when a Jehovah's Witness calls at your door you'll notice it's a bit thinner. Beginning in January 2013, the public issues of the magazines Watchtower and Awake!, both published monthly, will be reduced to 16 pages from their usual 32 pages. (A monthly issue of the Watchtower, circulated only to members, will remain at 32 pages.) Witness leaders, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Patterson, New York, have sent out a letter to congregation elders dated April 2, 2012 announcing the change, noting the effect the Internet is having on their traditional print ministry:

"The Governing Body has noted the growing tendency for people to obtain reading material

from the Internet and has carefully weighed the effect this trend is having on the printing industry

and on our ability to obtain paper and equipment for printing. Based on these changing conditions,

effective with the issues of January 2013, Awake! and the public edition of The Watchtower will be

reduced from 32 pages to 16 pages. These magazines that we distribute to the public will continue

to provide a rich supply of enlightening material to attract people to the truth of God's Word. Since

each issue will contain less material, it may be possible for more translation teams to be able to

translate every issue of Awake! and the public edition of The Watchtower, thus increasing the number

of languages in which they are available. The study edition of The Watchtower will continue to

be a 32-page magazine."
The letter from Witness headquarters also announces a consolidation and upgrade of their web presence:

"To enhance the effectiveness of our use of the Internet, the Governing Body has decided to consolidate the three sites into one site called jw.org. The Web site will be completely redesigned. It will be appealing and easy to navigate using either a computer or a mobile device."

Witness evangelists will still be calling door-to-door but Witness leaders are expecting their message will reach many more people via the Internet.

Contact:
Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses
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Submitted-Danny Haszard