JW NEW LIGHT - No More Door to Door

Summary

The 2024 District Assembly introduces a significant shift in the organization's approach to ministry work. The script reveals that door-to-door evangelism is no longer a requirement for all members, but will continue with trained elders and missionaries. Biblical support is provided from Luke 10:7 and Mark 16, emphasizing that evangelism should be public and not limited to homes. The new direction encourages a more relaxed and loving community, focusing on family and congregational activities, and a stronger emphasis on Jesus' role in the organization's work.

Takeaways

• 🌟 The 2024 District Assembly introduces a new understanding of the door-to-door ministry, emphasizing a change in approach.
• 🔄 Door-to-door work is now limited to elders, missionaries, and qualified individuals, ending the traditional expectation for all members.
• 📖 Scriptural support is provided for the new approach, referencing Luke 10:7 and Mark 16, among others, to justify the change.
• 📚 The use of the English Standard Version of the Bible and a 'Bible tool' is encouraged for a more modern understanding of scriptures.
• 🛑 The traditional practice of 'going from house to house' is re-evaluated, with an emphasis on staying in one place rather than moving between houses during ministry.
• 🚫 The new light suggests that there will be no more online videos or outreach in areas that do not receive the missionaries well, as they will 'shake the dust off their feet'.
• 📢 The Great Commission in Mark 16 emphasizes proclaiming the gospel to all creation, not just door-to-door ministry.
• 🛍 The role of pioneers may evolve to include more direct preaching and involvement in the ministry, with additional training.
• 👨‍👧 The importance of treating children with kindness and allowing them to enjoy their innocence is highlighted, with a call to be more childlike in approach.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 There is a shift towards more family-oriented and enjoyable activities within congregations, promoting a more relaxed and loving atmosphere.
• 🔄 A significant change in the organizational approach is taking place, with a renewed focus on Jesus' role in the ministry and the lives of believers.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the 2024 District Assembly?

The main topic discussed is the introduction of a 'new light' or new understanding about the door-to-door ministry work, suggesting that it will continue only through elders, missionaries, and other qualified individuals.

How many attendees were present at the 2024 District Assembly?

There were exactly 23,123 attendees at the assembly.

What changes have been made regarding the door-to-door ministry work?

The changes include the cessation of door-to-door work for the general congregation, with it now being limited to elders, missionaries, and other trained individuals.

What scriptural support is given for the new understanding of ministry work?

Scriptures from Luke 10:7 and Mark 6:10 are cited to support the new understanding, emphasizing that Jesus instructed his disciples not to go from house to house.

What Bible translation is used to support the new understanding in the assembly?

The English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible is used to support the new understanding, with an encouragement for publishers to familiarize themselves with it.

How does the new understanding affect the role of women in the ministry work?

Women who qualify with missionary service are granted the privilege of participating in door-to-door work, but the rest of the congregation is no longer required to do so.

What is the significance of the scripture reading from Mark 16 in the context of the new understanding?

Mark 16, particularly the Great Commission, is highlighted to emphasize the proclamation of the gospel to all the world, not just through door-to-door work.

What is the new stance on the involvement of children in congregation activities?

The new stance encourages a more relaxed and enjoyable approach, involving activities like playing ball or going on picnics with children, to foster a sense of family and congregation unity.

How does the script address the issue of child abuse within the organization?

The script acknowledges past issues of child abuse and cover-ups, indicating a new stance that prioritizes the well-being and proper treatment of children as the next generation.

What is the new focus in terms of the organization's religious emphasis?

The new focus is on Jesus, recognizing his active presence and role in the organization's work, which is a shift from the past emphasis on Jehovah.

How does the script suggest congregation members should interact with their neighbors?

The script suggests that congregation members should love their neighbors, get to know them, and potentially invite them to social events like barbecues or potlucks, as a way of spreading the good word.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Introduction of New Light at the 2024 District Assembly

The speaker welcomes attendees to the 2024 District Assembly, emphasizing the presence of 23,123 participants and the international nature of the event. They introduce a significant change in the approach to door-to-door ministry work, suggesting that it will now be limited to elders, missionaries, and other qualified individuals, while the general congregation will no longer be required to participate. Biblical support is cited from Luke 10:7, using the English Standard Version, to reinforce the new understanding that Christ is in control and guiding the organization's actions.

05:01

🔄 Redefining the Role of Door-to-Door Ministry and Biblical References

This paragraph delves deeper into the scriptural basis for the new approach to ministry work. The speaker contrasts the special occasions when Jesus sent out 72 missionaries, who were trained and had the gift of tongues, with the current practice of sending missionaries trained in missionary schools. The speaker also discusses the role of the 12 apostles, likened to circuit overseers and the governing body, and their directive to stay in one place rather than moving from house to house. The summary includes references to Mark 16, highlighting the Great Commission and the absence of a specific directive for door-to-door work, and a clarification of misconceptions regarding Paul's actions in Acts 20.

10:01

📜 Scriptural Interpretation and the Evolution of Ministry Practices

The speaker continues to explore the scriptural basis for the new light, focusing on Acts 5 and the apostles' practice of teaching from house to house. They emphasize that this practice was specific to the apostles and the governing body, not the general congregation. The paragraph also touches on the importance of shepherding the flock through personal visits by elders and the role of love in spreading the word. The speaker suggests that the congregation can support the ministry by fostering relationships with neighbors and participating in community events, rather than traditional door-to-door evangelism.

15:02

🎉 Embracing Change and the Focus on Jesus in the New Organizational Direction

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker highlights the significant changes in the organization's approach to ministry and the shift in focus from Jehovah to Jesus. They encourage a more relaxed and enjoyable approach to congregational activities, such as playing sports with children and having picnics, to foster a sense of community and family. The speaker ends with a note of thanks and an invitation to future congregational events, emphasizing the importance of living a life filled with love.

Keywords

💡New Light

The term 'New Light' refers to a new understanding or revelation that the speaker claims to have received. In the context of the video, it signifies a shift in the religious practices of the organization, particularly regarding door-to-door evangelism. The speaker mentions that this 'New Light' is a result of recognizing Christ's control and action in their lives, leading to changes in their approach to ministry.

💡District Assembly

A 'District Assembly' is a gathering of members from a specific geographical area within a religious organization. In the video, the speaker welcomes attendees to the 2024 District Assembly, indicating that it is a significant event for the community with a large number of attendees, which underscores the importance of the 'New Light' being shared.

💡Door-to-Door Work

This concept refers to the traditional method of evangelism where members of a religious group visit houses in their communities to spread their beliefs. The speaker announces that this practice is coming to an end, except for elders, missionaries, and other qualified individuals, marking a significant change in the organization's approach to spreading their faith.

💡Elders

In many religious organizations, 'Elders' are individuals who hold a position of authority and responsibility, often involved in teaching and shepherding the congregation. The script mentions that only elders, along with missionaries and other qualified individuals, will continue the door-to-door work, indicating a narrowing of who is permitted to engage in this form of ministry.

💡Missionaries

'Missionaries' are individuals who are sent out, often overseas, to spread their religion's teachings. The video suggests that missionaries, like the 72 sent out by Jesus in the scriptural account, are trained and will continue to play a key role in the organization's evangelism efforts, but with a different approach than door-to-door work.

💡Circuit Overseers

The term 'Circuit Overseers' refers to leaders within the organization who oversee multiple congregations within a certain geographical area. The speaker likens them to the 12 apostles, suggesting they are part of the 'governing body' and will be involved in the new approach to evangelism.

💡Scriptural Support

The speaker provides 'Scriptural Support' by referencing specific Bible verses to justify the changes in their practices. This includes verses from Luke and Mark, which are used to argue for the new understanding of evangelism and the roles of different members within the organization.

💡English Standard Version

The 'English Standard Version' (ESV) is a translation of the Bible that the speaker uses to interpret certain verses. The speaker encourages the use of this version and a Bible tool for studying scriptures, indicating a preference for this translation in understanding the 'New Light'.

💡Great Commission

The 'Great Commission' is a term derived from the scriptural account of Jesus' command to his disciples to spread the gospel throughout the world. In the video, the speaker refers to this concept while discussing the new approach to evangelism, emphasizing that the focus should be on proclaiming the gospel rather than traditional door-to-door work.

💡Governing Body

The 'Governing Body' refers to the highest authority within the religious organization. The speaker suggests that this group, likened to the 12 apostles, will take the lead in the new evangelism practices, setting an example for others in the organization.

💡Love Your Neighbor

The command to 'Love Your Neighbor' is a fundamental teaching in many religions, including Christianity. The speaker suggests that this principle will be a driving force in the new approach to spreading their faith, with congregants encouraged to build relationships with their neighbors and share their beliefs in a more personal and community-oriented way.

Highlights

Introduction of new light to the 2024 District Assembly with 23,123 attendees.

Announcement of changes in the approach to door-to-door ministry work, emphasizing the role of elders and missionaries.

Scriptural support provided for the new understanding of door-to-door work, referencing Luke 10:7.

Explanation of the difference between the special occasion of Jesus sending out 72 missionaries and the congregation's activities.

Mention of the absence of speaking in tongues and the reliance on missionary schools for training.

Recommendation for publishers to familiarize themselves with the English Standard Version of the Bible.

Emphasis on the importance of staying in one place while preaching, as instructed in Mark 6:10.

Clarification that the Great Commission in Mark 16 does not specifically mention door-to-door work.

Discussion on the role of pioneers in the ministry and the need for additional training to qualify for door-to-door work.

Highlighting the importance of using scriptures to explain teachings, rather than directing people to jw.org.

Explanation of Paul's actions in Acts 20, emphasizing his teachings to the elders about door-to-door ministry.

Differentiation between the roles of the governing body and the congregation in ministry work.

Acknowledgment of past issues with child abuse within the organization and the commitment to a new stance on the matter.

Jesus' teachings on treating children with kindness and the importance of play and imagination.

Encouragement for elders and congregations to engage in family-friendly activities and to relax.

The shift in focus from Jehovah to Jesus, recognizing Jesus' active presence and role in the organization.

Conclusion of the new light presentation, highlighting the significant changes and the organization's new direction.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

welcome brothers and sisters welcome to

the

2024 District

assembly and today we have some new

light I am privileged to deliver this

new light to uh all of you at this

District assembly all

23,123 of you to be

exact so this is a big International

assembly and uh here we are going to

first introduce this new light the

brothers have given this prayerful

consideration prayerful consideration

we've made a lot of Chang es over the

the last year and I know this has taken

some of you by

surprise it's as if there's a new light

a new energy coming upon us from Christ

actually we're recognizing that Christ

is now taking

action Christ is in control and through

this recognition we have received this

new light or this new understanding

about uh the door to door work and we've

realized that the doorto door work

well it can come to an end we we have

reduced it to check in a box that the

door-to-door work uh will continue but

only

through the elders and the missionaries

the circuit

overseers and all the trained

individuals that would be qualified to

do the the door to-door work

now some of the women who who qualify

with the missionary service they will

also have that uh privilege of of being

in the doorto door work but for the rest

of us we no longer have to do the doorto

door work it's now come to an end and uh

here we're going to give you some

scriptural support look at the

scriptures here Luke 10 and verse uh 6

we're going to look at but first of all

this is where Jesus sends out the

72 and uh that was a special occasion

right that wasn't uh you know sending

out the congregation of women and

children this is 72

missionaries and they were trained

actually on various

languages so they uh through the spirit

they got some quick training but today

we don't have the speaking of tongues so

of course our training today comes at

our missionary schools and we send our

missionaries to various lands now when

we look at this

scripture uh you notice I'm not using

our Bible I'm using the English Standard

Version I'm just using um the Bible tool

we're we're encouraging more of uh our

Publishers to use this get familiar with

some of this stuff and uh this is just a

Bible tool this we'll we'll show you

more on this as time goes on but uh on

this video I will pin these scriptures

so that you guys can all see the

scriptures now here Jesus sends out

72 and uh this was a special thing this

was not sending out uh the whole

congregation now here um what do he say

in verse 7 the latter part do not go

from house to house do not go from house

to house you see uh if we pop over to

our Bible our Bible says

uh and it was revised our Bible revised

to say do not keep

transferring from house to house so it

uh it appeared that uh you know um if

you get in there and you you set up a

place of re rest uh residency don't keep

transferring from house to house that's

how the Watchtower understood this but

uh if we go back to the Watchtower

Library you can take a look at this

Bible

uh it's a King James version and it's

under the uh the Bible scripture the

Bibles in our library you go down to

Luke verse 7 Luke

10:7 and it again just like The New

International Version and all the other

Bibles out there it says do not go from

house to house go

not house to house so the house to house

was uh came later it wasn't uh really a

Jesus thing now we're going to look at

mark

uh Jesus sends out the 12 apostles again

the 12 apostles are like circuit

overseers the the 12 apostles are like

the governing body this would be like

the governing body uh following Jesus

commands and they themselves the nine

members um in in various lands they take

the lead and uh they would they would go

into the public areas now let's look at

Mark there we're going to look at two

accounts

Mark uh Jesus sends out the 12 it's good

to know what who we're talking about

he's not sending out women and children

just the 12 these are the the uh the

governing body and in verse 10 it says

he said to them whenever you enter a

house stay there until you depart from

there so no longer will the governing

body be staying in hotels or anything

that when they travel they will be

traveling without a without a food pouch

without a purse without money and and

they will just stay at people's houses

and um it says there uh whenever you uh

you stay there until you depart so

they'll come and they'll stay at

someone's house and in verse 11 it says

and if any place will not receive you

and they will not listen to

you um when you leave just shake the

dust off your feet as a testimony

against them so there will be no uh

jworg videos on Russia or any of those

things because the governing body will

just shake the dust off their

feet that's it it's it's okay if there's

no place in Russia for them to stay the

night so that's kind of new light we're

looking at this a way different my uh

friends brothers and sisters we're

looking at this a way different now

we're going to move on to Mark chapter

uh

16 and this is a

go all the way up Mark 16 the English

Standard Version and if we go all the

way down and uh what you'll notice here

is they have um subheadings kind of

giving you an idea what we're talking

about so down here it calls it the Great

Commission Now afterward he appeared to

the 11 themselves that's this is uh

Jesus appearing as they were reclining

at the table and he rebuked them for

their unbelief and Hardness of Heart

because they had not believe those who

saw him after he had risen you see those

who saw him were the women and uh we're

going to take a whole different look at

the women the way Jesus looked at the

women the way Paul initially looked at

the women and some of the changes that

came at ni scene uh 3:25 that'll be

coming up in some later videos but here

we see that uh uh those who saw him

after he had risen and he said to them

go into all the world and proclaim the

gospel to the creation so there's

nothing about doorto door work there uh

a lot of religions uh you know they have

just their churches you know so we have

the kingdom halls we're already out

there now uh the governing body the

circuit overseers and the elders and

missionaries train missionaries now

Pioneers could work into that position

but there would be some training some

extra training how to deal with

people couple of years of training

and

uh to be

qualified there's a lot of

qualifications so rather than just

telling people to go to

jworg the training would dictate that

our people could use the Bible again and

they could just explain from the

scriptures what the scriptures teach so

here Jesus said go into all the world

and Proclaim so they could be going down

to the street corners U the Bible talks

about the squares the town squares where

the places where they would talk about

things talk about religion we see a lot

of religions they also go down and and

Proclaim on the town squares so uh

that's something that we will be looking

into but the door Todo work is

ended the door too work is ended and

again folks I uh recommend we look at uh

the scriptures Luke 10 in verse 7 do not

go from house to house do not go from

house to house but wait a minute you're

going to say well Paul went from house

to house what was that all about well

yes you're right let's look at a few

scriptures acts chap 20 we're going to

look at that Paul uh here uh let's take

a look this is Acts 20 and 20 okay so we

go all the way down to Paul here and

he's speaking to the elders so it's good

to know who he's speaking to folks he's

not speaking to the congregation he's

not speaking to the women and children

he's speaking to the elders the ones

that are

qualified to go door

too so Paul speaking to the Ephesian

elders and uh yeah he talks to them he

talks to them about going door to door

and uh he says that it's

okay and he says how did I I not shrink

back from declaring to you anything that

was profitable and from teaching you in

public and from house to house but

mostly you see Paul would go to visit

the congregations and he would go to the

congregants house to

house you see this is about shepherding

the

flock so the elders would go to the

congregants door too but this is not

about going out and proclaiming to all

the people you see love does that work

for us folks love does that work for us

you see each of the congregants live and

they're spread around the neighborhoods

and they would be loving and the biggest

command Jesus has is love neighbor so by

them loving their neighbor they might

throw a barbecue on once a year and

invite all their neighbors and potluck

of

course you you're not feeding your

neighborhood but uh they would be

instructed to get to know their

neighbors and through

that the good word is

spread but the elders would go door to

door and encourage the congregants maybe

they would attend the barbecue the

elders maybe that's how they would

support the congregates on a

door-to-door level you see folks we're

taking a whole different stance a whole

different look at the ministry and we

want to make sure that we're qualified

you see the scriptures talk about being

qualified

before our Lord okay well let's look at

uh acts

5 and Paul's talking here again but who

is he talking to well and when they had

called in the apostles so this would be

the governing

body and every day verse 42 the

governing body would be in the temple

and from house to house they wouldn't

cease in teaching and preaching so in

New York the governing body could be in

the street corners preaching the Govern

only the governing body they're like the

apostles and uh they would be out there

teaching without L out they would be

setting the example okay our next

scripture but there's no women and

children no and no congregant members

you see Paul was talking to the apostles

these are high-end people now here's

what the children should be doing uh

Jesus says let the children come to me

and uh so they brought the children to

him and uh Jesus used to touch and heal

his hands had a lot lot of power so it's

like if you ever have a pet dog or a cat

and you pet them and you know the cat

starts to purr well that's the power of

your hands so uh I would assume that's

kind of how it was with Jesus so Jesus

uh he saw how he the children were being

treated you know people treat children

in the wrong way they abuse children and

we've had some uh problems in our own

organization where abuse to children has

happened and these are crimes and

they've been covered up so we're taking

a whole new stance on this folks the

children they're our next Generation so

take a close look at the scripture with

me

folks uh verse 15 truly I say to you and

this is Jesus saying whoever does not

receive the kingdom of God like a child

shall not enter it like a

child so he took the children into his

arms blessed them laid his hands on him

on

them and then he went out to the ball

diamond and played baseball with them

and he said to the apostles come on guys

let's be like the children they want to

play

baseball or soccer or whatever you call

it they wanted to have fun the children

just want to have time they PR and they

make uh Make Pretend things out of

nothing they have uh uh huge

imaginations you see so Jesus said to

the apostles let's be like the children

and this is what we want to encourage

all the elders in all the congregations

to do let's relax you know we have our

Sunday

meeting let's do what the children want

to

do let's go to go out and play ball with

the children go on a

picnic let's do something enjoyable as

families and as

congregations with our

children okay folks well that brings an

end to the new light we thank you for

listening this is this is a huge change

in the organization a huge change but

it's going to make us a whole new

religion basically basically this summer

we're talking about Jesus it is all

about Jesus you know in in years past we

we talked about

Jehovah

mostly and we talk about Jesus sometimes

but now we realize that Jesus is here

with us he's here with us he's working

with us and we have to work with Jesus

well thanks again brothers and sisters

and we'll see you at the congregation

picnic or maybe you'll see at your

neighborhood

barbecue okay wherever we see you we

want you to take this now keep living

your life with

love bye for now

[Music]

[Music]