Two years ago, Caprice Burckholter had “zero interest” in writing letters or using the phone. Now she loves doing both. Her attitude changed in the spring of 2020 when Jehovah’s Witnesses suspended their in-person public ministry, meetings and large conventions.
“I love phone calling because of the give-and-take, actually talking with people,” she said. “I called an older man whose wife had died. You could hear so much sadness in his voice. I was able to sympathize and share scriptures to give him some hope. I just wanted to hug him. You can’t do that with a letter.”
At the same time, the Lima, Ohio, resident loves letter writing because it allows her to draw attention to the free resources on jw.org. “We have a treasure that’s too good not to share. People need hope. We have to keep writing letters.” She is just one of thousands who swapped door-to-door activity for other ways of contacting people in their communities.
With this historic change, the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses grew 3% in the United States in 2021 alone, matching the most significant increase for the organization over the past decade and the second-largest percentage increase since 1990.
“Staying active in our ministry while remaining safe has had a powerful preserving effect on our congregants and communities,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “The wise decision not to prematurely resume in-person activities has united us and protected lives while comforting many people in great need. The results speak for themselves.”
Burckholter is determined to continue reaching out and conducting free Bible studies over the phone and Zoom. As she explained, “People need our letters. They need our phone calls. They need to know about God’s kingdom and that it will fix their problems. They need to know that God does care. He cares about them. He cares about their problems. And they need to know that He’s giving them a hope.”
Last year, the international organization reported all-time peaks in the number of people participating in their volunteer preaching work, increased attendance in Zoom meetings and more than 171,000 new believers baptized. In the past two years, more than 400,000 have been baptized worldwide.
Some whose ministry or attendance at religious services had slowed because of age and poor health said they feel reenergized with the convenience of virtual meetings and a home-based ministry.
Despite dealing with memory loss and diminished energy, Joseph Fuoco, 81, and his wife Sarah, 88, are now nicknamed “the dynamic duo.”
The Fuocos use Zoom to worship twice a week with their Hollis, New Hampshire, congregation and regularly join online ministry groups to comfort neighbors and family through phone calls, letters, texts and email.
“What could have been quite a disadvantage, we’ve made into an advantage,” Joseph Fuoco said. “The fact that we can work right from home is a great advantage. I’m happy with it.”
By sharing the Bible’s hope remotely, the fewer than 3,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Alaska can rapidly preach across the 586,000 square miles of their sparsely populated state. “We’re talking to more people in a day than we did in a month,” said Marlene Sadowski of Ketchikan.
The official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses, translated into more than 1,000 languages, has also leveraged the organization’s outreach.
After starting a free self-paced Bible course on jw.org in December 2019, Lisa Owen requested a free, interactive Bible study over Zoom. She was one of nearly 20,000 baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses last year in the United States in private settings, including backyard swimming pools, tubs and even rivers.
To start an online Bible study course, receive a visit or attend a virtual meeting locally, visit jw.org.
