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Statistics in 2000
Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) report that in Spain they have 103,784 publishers which amounts to 0.26% of the total population. The number of "publishers" does not include visitors, inactive members, and interestingly enough does not even include those whom they have baptized or who simply attend their meetings on a weekly basis. It is estimated that the number of those who actively affiliate themselves with and participate at a lower level of commitment in the the JW movement are roughly double the number of active publishers. Therefore, the number of JW adherents in Spain could be as high as 200,000 or 0.52% of the total population.
What is a JW Publisher?
To be counted as a "Publisher" a JW must meet stricter criteria beyond what is required for membership of other religions. Jehovah's Witnesses only report the number of those who go out actively proselytizing. Publishers are Jehovah's Witness who are in "good standing" and who submit a monthly report of their proselytizing activity. The number of reports turned in each month changes from month to month. The national total of publishers is based on the number of "average monthly publishers," This means that in Spain the annual average number of monthly publishers was 103,784 publishers who submitted proselytism reports in 2000.
Analysis
The requirement to submit monthly reports to be considered in "good standing" is the methodology by which Watchtower motivates their followers to actively proselytize others on a monthly basis. "Good standing" includes salvation and earning a higher status in the Kingdom. A Jehovah's Witness' salvation and sanctification are based upon their individual works and not upon the Grace of God as proclaimed in the Gospel. Although this system of individual merit effectively motivates a large percentage of their laity to actively proselytize, the doctrine of earning one's salvation is contrary to the clear teaching of the Bible.
The Bible teaches:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:9)
By simply believing on Jesus Christ,a Christian is saved by God's Grace. No one can save themselves by his or her own works and efforts. Anyone may receive the free gift of salvation from God, which Jesus earned for everyone by his sacrificial death for us on the cross. Today anyone can have a personal relationship with the living Christ simply by inviting Jesus into his or her life as their personal Savior. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a place in the Kingdom of God is freely given to anyone who believes that Jesus died for their sins and rose again from the dead to give us eternal life.
The Apostle Paul writes:
"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:8-10)
Two forces motivate Jehovah's Witness to proselytize others. On the one hand JWs are in constant fear they may lose their own salvation each month if they don't go out and witness and secondly they hope to earn a higher place for themselves in the Kingdom by doing a better job of witnessing.
One fact is certain, without countless hours of distributing literature and persistent proselytism this religious movement would not grow as the follow statistics report.
How many publishers does it take to convert a person to become a Jehovah's Witness?
In Spain, it takes 42 publishers' working for one year to baptize one person, whereas in Albania in one year it takes for only 5 publishers. In Denmark, it takes 74 publishers' working for one year to convert one person, and in Britain with one of the worst publisher to baptism rations, it takes 446 publishers. (This shows that Great Britain has become more resistant to the JWs. The dramatic difference may demonstrate the relative ineffectiveness of British publishers compared to other countries or it may point out inaccuracy of of monthly reports submitted by publishers in Britain in comparison to other countries.)
How many preaching hours does it take to convert a person to become a Jehovah's Witness?
In Spain, it takes 8,215 hours of preaching to gain one baptism, whereas in Moldavia it takes only 1636 hours. In Japan, it takes 17,415 hours of preaching to gain one baptism.
Dedication, persistence and the hard work making "converts" does NOT guarentee the salvation of the worker nor of the person who is "converted". If someone rejects Jesus, the Son of God, as did most of the religious leaders in Jesus' day, then they are rejecting God's sacrifice for our sins and his only way of salvation. By rejecting God's Son not only is all their effort and hard work in vain, but it is doubly bad when other people are taught to reject Jesus too.
Jesus warned the Pharisees who rejected him as the Son of God:
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. " (Matthew 23:15)
No amount of good works can save us if we choose to reject the salvation Christ freely offers everyone. Anyone can be saved by believing that Jesus out of his infinite love and grace chose to die for us and we call upon Jesus to be our Savior and Lord.
"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile -- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10: 8-13)
Decline of Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses seem to have reached the saturation point in Western Europe and Spain. After many years of rapid growth the reported number of publishers in 1997 through 2000 has begun to decline. More dramatic has been the steady decline in baptism over the past ten years from an annual total of 6,000 in 1989 to only 2,000 baptisms in 2000. It is not that JWs have changed their methodology, so what are some possible reasons for this significant decline?
One analyst of the worldwide Watchtower religion writes:
What is common among those countries with zero growth or negative growth (most European and North American countries) compared to those countries with steady and rapid growth (former Soviet Union, most African and South and Central American countries)? This has been my question for the past several years since I started this statistics site. Economical, political and social instability of the countries seems to be related to the growth of the Watchtower religion. It prospers where the society is poor and unstable.
In a real sense, JWs have limited the success of their outreach by their strong doctrines against society and modern medical practices such as blood transfusions. From the start JWs have defined themselves as against government and opposed to culture. In this way they have relegated themselves to the fringe of society and not its center. They pull out as many as they can--who are willing to leave their host culture to join their sub-culture--instead of attempting to transform the whole of society. Evangelicals need to beware that if they only pull out the malcontents from society, they too will never reach the whole society no matter how many thousands of hours are spent knocking on doors and preaching to a deaf audience.
Growing Public Opposition in SpainPress coverage of the increased number of deaths caused by parents refusing to allow blood transfusions for their children have raised strong emotions and hostility among modern Spaniards. As the number of JWs has increased in Spain so have the number of deaths of children refused medical treatment by their parents. This goes against the grain of Spanish family values.
When JWs go door-to-door through a neighborhood or enter an apartment building, all the Spaniards recognized them from a distance and know in advance to put up their defenses. Most Spanish homes have been visited repeatedly which only increases the number of Spaniards who avoid them like the plague, often refusing to open their doors for them.
Lessons LearnedEvangelicals should do all in their power to avoid triggering the automatic defense mechanism of the Spanish community -- lest they too earn the distrust and rejection of the main stream Spanish society they hope to reach with the gospel.
The Watchtower methodology uses high pressure salesmanship tactics to motivate and deploy lay workers. On the surface this methodology of starting new religious units has appeared successful in Spain and other countries. The reality is that in the end this confrontational method proves to be counter productive in that it alienates more than it wins.
Success should never be equated with the raw number of hours spent confronting people. If in the process of winning one, thousands are alienated, then all evangelistic methods and approaches should be reevaluated in the light of the fact that it is not God's will that any should perish, but all should be brought to repentance (2 Peter 2:39).
True Christians have the Holy Spirit to guide them in the right way, to the right person, at the right time. Instead of following man-made laws to proselytize others for self glory, love compels Christians to share the good new of God's love and grace in Jesus Christ for the eternal benefit of all.
Jesus said:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16)