The Peru Gazette

Jason (left) and Nicole Hanaburgh (center), of Morrisonville, N.Y., engage in a door-to-door ministry – PHOTO COURTESY OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

Plattsburgh Jehovah’s Witnesses Return to Door-to-Door Ministry After 30-Month Pandemic Pause

Jehovah’s Witness News Release 

Jehovah’s Witnesses resumed their trademark door-to-door ministry beginning September 1, when a two-and-half-year suspension of the work was officially lifted, just in time to begin a global campaign featuring a new interactive Bible study program.  

The decision to resume their door-to-door ministry marks the complete restoration of all pre-pandemic in-person activities for the 1.3 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 13,000 congregations in the United States. Houses of worship (called Kingdom Halls) were reopened on April 1, witnessing in public places resumed on May 31, and in-person conventions are once again being planned for 2023.

Nicole Hanaburgh, of Morrisonville, New York, has been writing letters and making phone calls to her neighbors over the past 30 months. But she is eager to head back into her community in the coming weeks. “I’m really excited to return to our door-to-door ministry,” she said. “I look forward to seeing people face to face and seeing their reaction to a positive message.”

The suspension of the public ministry was a proactive response by the organization to keep communities and congregants safe. The move was also unprecedented. Jehovah’s Witnesses had been preaching from house to house without interruption for more than 100 years through an economic depression, two world wars and global unrest. But COVID-19 demanded a different response.

“We believe that the early decision to shut down all in-person activities for more than two years has saved many lives,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We’re now ready and eager to reconnect with our neighbors once again – person to person, face to face. It’s not the only way that we preach, but it has historically been the most effective way to deliver our message of comfort and hope.”

The pandemic forced Jehovah’s Witnesses to quickly pivot to virtual meetings and conventions while conducting their ministry exclusively through letters, phone calls and virtual Bible studies. This has led to growth in meeting attendance and the number of congregants, with more than 400,000 newly baptized Witnesses joining the ranks of 120,000 congregations globally in just the first two years of the pandemic.

For more information about Jehovah’s Witnesses, their history, beliefs and activities, visit their official website, jw.org, with content available in more than 1,000 languages.