More than 17,000 Jehovah's Witnesses will converge on
Phoenix over the next two weekends to reaffirm their faith as a community.
While Witnesses are often perceived as primarily recruiters for the religion,
they say they only want to spread a message of peace and good citizenship.
"I'm not asking you to believe me or do what I tell you," said Gregg
Ovist, a member in town for the convention. "We want you to listen to
God's Word."
There are a little more than 1 million Witnesses in the United States, and the
group is growing each year by about 1 percent. Their world membership is 6.3
million.
"It doesn't sound like a lot," said Maxie Burch, a professor of
Christian history at Grand Canyon University, but when membership of other
religions such as Southern Baptists is declining, "you're doing pretty
good."
Arizona number seven
The national organization doesn't keep statistics by state,
but the National Survey of Religious Identification found Arizona to have the
seventh biggest population of Jehovah's Witnesses.
They focus on following the Bible, the word of Jehovah, or God. Jehovah's
Witnesses interpret the Bible to mean they cannot accept blood transfusions,
celebrate holidays or birthdays, or pledge allegiance to a flag. But more
importantly than the Bible's restrictions, is its message, says J.R. Brown,
national spokesman.
"We want to bring about peaceful conditions to mankind," Brown said.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not display religious icons or collect money during
services. Meetings are held in "kingdom halls," modest buildings made
to blend into the community. Services include prayer, song and discussion.
Though the public may be averse to the group's outreach, Jehovah's Witnesses
are not daunted. They believe it's their duty to spread the word of God as
Jesus did, said Bill Gardner, a Valley spokesman.
'Personal decision'
"What (the public does) with that information is a
personal decision," Gardner said. "Even if someone isn't interested
the first time, I still go by to make sure they haven't changed their
mind."
The appeal of Jehovah's Witnesses is often in their conservative values that
emphasize morality and the role of family, Burch said.
Drawn together
"They're very committed internally to one
another," he said. "Ethical and moral boundaries hold their community
together. People are drawn by strength and connectedness to community."
Burch said Witnesses tend to attract a working class that often feels
marginalized. Though Witnesses only represent a small proportion of society,
their success at outreach has been surprising.
"There must be something compelling about it in terms of growth or they
wouldn't be doing it. They are looking for people who are passionate about what
they believe," he said.
Jehovah's Witnesses, along with Mormons, appear to attract a large number of
converts, according to the American Religious Identification Survey. But they
also have a substantial turnover, as people leave the religion.
Low divorce rate
The same survey found Witnesses have a low divorce rate
compared to other religions of only 6 percent.
The convention itself at Veterans Memorial Coliseum will focus on prayer and
discussion about personal challenges including health, the economy and
maintaining family values.
"It's basically a lot of reminders," Ovist said. "But it's a
blast, just seeing everyone in one place and meeting new people."
Volunteers Thursday helped build a golden door onstage, modeled after Solomon's
temple in the Bible and placed purple and gold flowers around it. A large pool
was set up to perform about 100 baptisms during the convention.
Jean Ellison of Ahwatukee said she likes to see the community's growth.
"It helps us to see the results of our work," she said. "We see
this is something that is possible with the right motivation, which is
God."