Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses

Chart (December 15 1971) "Watchtower": 749. It should be possible to replace this fair use image with a freely licensed one. If you can, please do so as soon as is practical. Jehovah's Witnesses are currently led by a small Governing Body located at the Watchtower headquarters. The number of men who make up the Governing Body has ranged from 10 to 17 and now stands at 10. The Governing Body, through the departments of its various legal organizations, directs the operation of the 112 branches throughout the world. Members volunteer to operate these facilities. Each branch assigns circuit overseers who travel among various congregations, spending a week with each. Within each local congregation, elders assigned by the branch organize the congregation's public ministry and schedule various speakers for congregational teaching. They also decide on qualified members of the congregation for the positions of elder or ministerial servant, requiring the approval of higher leadership.

Elders are prominent in congregational matters, particularly in religious instruction and spiritual counseling; ministerial servants generally assist elders in a limited administrative capacity. Elders are unpaid, but Circuit and District overseers receive a small financial living allowance. All baptized Witnesses are considered to be ordained ministers and are expected to be able to provide religious instruction to others. Males are encouraged to qualify to become elders. Within local congregations, the role of women is minimal in terms of responsibility, but they carry out a large proportion of the preaching work.

The legal instruments of Jehovah's Witnesses include corporations that represent the denomination juridically. Most well known is the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. In 2000, three new non-profit corporations were organized:

Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses coordinates all service (i.e., proselytic) activities, including door-to-door proselytism, circuit and district conventions, etc.

Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses coordinates the activities of those involved in full-time service, including pioneers, missionaries, and circuit and district overseers.

Kingdom Support Services, Inc. controls construction of new Kingdom Halls and other facilities and holds the titles to Society-owned vehicles.


Publications
Main articles: List of Watchtower publications and Early Publications of Jehovah's Witnesses
The publishing arm of Jehovah's Witnesses, known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania engages in extensive publication work. In addition to their two magazines— 'The Watchtower' and 'Awake!' — they also publish many brochures, tracts and books including the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

The Watchtower has been published since 1879. This magazine is published twice a month and is now available in 158 languages. It is the Witnesses' main journal and its articles are considered authoritative. It features articles primarily dealing with Bible topics and interpretation. Organizational news and biographies of various members are also occasionally included.
Awake! is a general-interest magazine. (although in 2006, its focus was slightly altered to more biblical focus whilst still keeping some of its general interest articles) It is considered a companion magazine to The Watchtower which focuses mostly on Bible study and doctrine. Awake! has a wider scope than the Watchtower, publishing articles on science, nature, and geography, usually with a religious slant. Earlier titles for this magazine were The Golden Age (1919–1937) and Consolation (1937–1946). It is now published monthly and is available in 81 languages.
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is a translation of the Protestant canon. This Bible is distinct in its extensive use of the name Jehovah, an English version of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, also replacing the Greek word for "Lord" over 200 times in the New Testament. The translators have opted to remain anonymous but others have identified them as being prominent leaders of the movement.
 

Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses   Jehovah's Witnesses and blood     Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses

Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses