Jehovah's Witnesses: How many hours of field service per months do you do on Yahoo! Answers or other websites?

Question

Are most of the hours of field service you report done on the internet or during real field service (door to door preaching)? In what proportions?

The average amount of online time you PERSONALLY report per month and the percentage of your average total field service it represents.
No hearsay, please. Thanks.

achtung_heiss, I think this long sermon (apparently addressed to your fellow witnesses) doesn't answer the question. There is absolutely no need to act as if you had unmasked me and do a victory dance... This question is simple: I expect simple answers -- not moralistic discourses or warnings about evil apostates and unwholesome websites. For the moment, only martha_angelica01 answered clearly the question (thanks, by the way)

Answer 1

Personally I dont count ANY time in here as Field Service time. For others it may be different.

Answer 2

Hi. Answering on Y!A is something I do for a couple of reasons. One is because to post questions you must have points, to obtain points you need to answer questions, to get questions fast you need best answers, to get best answers you should answer about something you know, since I know my beliefs I feel this is a good subject for me to answer on. I also answer questions about Anime, Pets, Video Games, TV, etc. I originally came to Y!A because I at times have questions about various things, mostly related to videogames (which I in turn am a seller these trying HARD to get a hobby/business going). I have also found Y!A to be a good source of aid with my poor typing/spelling skills.

I do occasionally count one or more hours of my time (when answering about the Bible), if I see my answers were actually read and helpful. Even then I only count an hour or two. I view it as informal Witnessing. Being a Witness is not a 9-5 thing, it should be a 24, 7 thing. So just as I count the time when I informally Witness real world I do when I witness here.

I do appreciate the concern your comment shows. The net is not a place to make friends. Just as there are good and bad people in the real world there are Good and Bad people on line. The difference is it is much easier to hide ones truer nature on the net. Discernment is always needed.

It is something I do for fun, I for a good while didn't get out of the house much, so allot of the Witnessing I did was either over the phone, or Internet and informal.

Currently I would say it comprises, maybe 15 percent as I haven't been out much. Though I hope to get to where, even if I count any time on here it is a Small percentage.

I actually started a conversation with someone on here and it lasted quite a while, and I think really helped her:D

Answer 3

Personally i don't report my online spiritual activities. I report only my physical (in person) activities being that I am will and able to preach outdoors. I come online approximately 30-60 min a day just to answer and check messages. I try to be balanced since the internet can be time comsuming making it addicting. I'm not on here so much to preach to people but to be a source of encaouragement. Their are so many people no matter how knowledgeable about the Bible they may be, or their religious affiliations that feel empty and have a sence of misdirection in their lives. All could use a kind word, a reminder, just a spiritual conversation to ease their pain what ever it may be!

Therefore as much as i would not put a price on my time to share the message of the Bible I surely won't place this as a credit for my field service time.... Just my opinion!

Answer 4

True Christians do not need works. they do not have to report to the ORG. so the ORG. could boast about being the only one out there doing the ministry.

Many Many Christians witness the true gospel daily, and effectively.

Heiss is a Special Pioneer and his feet never hit the pavement...it is all done via Yahoo answers and the Internet....How else does one get 40% best answer? You have to be a mega troll!

Answer 5

Jehovah's Witnesses have always taken advantage of the latest technology to further their ministry, including pioneering efforts with personal record-album players, "talking" motion pictures, wide-area-networks of telephone tie-ins, and nationwide radio broadcasts nearly a century ago. Jehovah's Witnesses have enabled more and more internet-based tools on their own websites every year, and have encouraged adherents to use them.
...(Isaiah 60:17) Instead of the copper I shall bring in gold, and instead of the iron I shall bring in silver, and instead of the wood, copper, and instead of the stones, iron

From time to time, an anti-Witness works to discourage those who might refute his anti-Witness propaganda. At other times, a seemingly sincere self-described Jehovah's Witness feels compelled to counsel those who refute anti-Witness misinformation. Ironically, both groups tend to imply that the publications of Jehovah's Witnesses say things that they do not actually say.

Is it fair to imply that a Jehovah's Witness who participates in Yahoo Answers is unfaithful or disobedient? Do Jehovah's Witnesses really discourage the use of the internet by adherents?

No and no.

Firstly, Yahoo Answers does not require or even encourage socializing between participants. The bible does not authorize a true Christian (such as a Jehovah's Witness) to ignore a question of faith unless it is posed by a "good associate".
...(1 Peter 3:15) Sanctify the Christ as Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you, but doing so together with a mild temper and deep respect.


Secondly, a Christian whose conscience permits him to share the "good news" exclusively in person certainly does not displease God and Christ, for such personal ministry is required of true Christian ministers. But he must recognize that there is no rational reason to suppose that corresponding via the internet must be viewed differently than corresponding by post or on the telephone.

Is time spent "answering" questions here on Yahoo Answers time that a Jehovah's Witness would report as ministry? Most self-described Witnesses here have said that they do not count the time they use to research or post answers, because they cannot really be sure that anyone will read what they have written. By contrast, an instant-message exchange or personal correspondence by email seems little different from a conversation by phone or correspondence by post. In any event, the matter of what time should be conscientiously reported as "ministry" is left to each Christian publisher, and no human should feel the need to compare or criticize his brother's determinations in this regard.
...(Galatians 6:4) Let each one prove what his own work is, and then he will have cause for exultation in regard to himself alone, and not in comparison with the other person.

None of this should blind Christians to the fact that the internet can be used to waste time and view unwholesome material. As with television, Christians are encouraged to be selective in their choice of virtual association. There is no need to watch an entire program, or read an entire website/"question" to recognize its unwholesomeness.

(1 Corinthians 15:33) Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/index.htm?article=article_04.htm

Answer 6

being a care giver some time i do count the time but mostly i go from door to door my honest answer

Answer 7

It varies from person to person. Some don't report any hours. I know others report time online because they can't get out due to illness or other circumstances.

Answer 8

I report what my Bible trained conscience allows me to.