Welcome to the COLOMBIA Branch Office of JEHOVAH S WITNESSES VISITING HOURS. Bethel location

Transcription

1 We sincerely hope that your visit to Bethel has been a rewarding one. No doubt it has helped you to become better acquainted with the work that Jehovah s Witnesses are doing to aid people who are searching for a better future through God s Kingdom. May your visit with us be an encouragement to you in your efforts to learn more about our loving Creator and to live by his righteous standards. VISITING HOURS Visitors are welcome to take a guided tour of our facilities. Tours are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Printed in Colombia All rights reserved. fo-e Co Bethel location Ecopetrol Jehovah s Witnesses High School Cafam Gas Station Kingdom Hall Arena From 80th Street, Bogot a Police Station Welcome to the COLOMBIA Branch Office of JEHOVAH S WITNESSES From Medell ın Main Park From 13th Street, Bogot a

2 INTRODUCTION It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Colombia branch office of Jehovah s Witnesses.Wehopeyourvisitwill be a pleasant one. This building complex is called Bethel, meaning House of God. This Biblical name is fitting, for the more than 310 volunteers who live and serve here are ordained ministers who have dedicated themselves to Jehovah God and who devote themselves full-time to supporting the worldwide work of Kingdom preaching. In some 236 lands, there are now over 7,000,000 Witnesses of Jehovah, who are carrying out the commission Jesus gave his followers to preach the good news of God s Kingdom. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) To organize this work, there are over 100 branch offices worldwide all working under the direction of the Governing Body of Jehovah s Witnesses. To keep up with the growth of the work in Colombia, in 1978 the branch operations in Barranquilla were relocated to a complex of newly constructed buildings in Bogot a. In 1992, the branch was moved to its current location in Facatativ a, and an expansion of these facilities was completed in early 2006.

3 SPIRITUAL PROGRAMS Those invited to serve at Bethel attend the Bethel Entrants School soon after their arrival. New members also read the entire Bible during their first year of Bethel service. Each workday morning the Bethel family comes together to consider a Bible text from the booklet Examining the Scriptures. A chairman presides over this 15-minute discussion, and members of the family are assigned to comment on the text. Following the discussion, the family is led in prayer, after which breakfast is served. On Monday evenings the entire Bethel family gathers to study the Bible with the help of The Watchtower. At times, there are special programs after the Watchtower Study. These morning and Monday evening Bible discussions are an important part of Bethel life. Each member of the Bethel family also makes time for personal Bible study and has access to a library containing the publications of Jehovah s Witnesses and other reference works. In addition, Bethel family members are assigned to serve with various nearby congregations of Jehovah s Witnesses. There they share in the Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work and other congregation activities. Many Bethel volunteers serve as elders and ministerial servants in the congregations. BETHEL HOME All Bethel family members are volunteers. They are furnished with room and board and a small monthly reimbursement to assist with their personal expenses. These volunteers are truly like a family because they unitedly worship their heavenly Father, Jehovah God. As a Bethel family, they serve together, enjoy their meals together, and study the Bible together. A number of necessary services are performed at Bethel. For example, some volunteers prepare food for the family in the kitchen or serve meals in a dining room. Other volunteers do cleaning, housekeeping, and maintenance. Still others do the laundry. On average, half a ton of clothes is washed each week. All these assignments contribute to the family s high standard of cleanliness.

4 Translation Department. Volunteers serving in this department help translate Bible literature into Wayuunaiki. Videotapes for the deaf are here produced in Colombian Sign Language. Hospital Information Services. This department provides some 29 Hospital Liaison Committees throughout the country with the latest information on bloodless medical procedures. In turn, the congregation elders serving on these committees make this information available to doctors who are willing to treat their Witness patients without the use of blood. OFFICES Service Department. Volunteers serving in this department support the Kingdom-preaching activity carried out in Colombia. They handle correspondence with traveling overseers, elders, pioneers, and publishers. In addition, the Service Department organizes special campaigns for field service, keeps records of congregation territories, and compiles reports of field service activity. This department also schedules district conventions, circuit assemblies, and special assembly days and assists in coordinating various schools, including the Ministerial Training School. Engineering Desk. Kingdom Hall construction is coordinated here. This department works with volunteers serving in Construction Groups, and ensures compliance with government-established construction codes.

5 PRINTERY Graphics Department. To help people to learn about God s Kingdom, Jehovah s Witnesses produce Bible literature in some 415 languages. In this branch office, we print the Watchtower and Awake! magazines for distribution in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Text and illustrations for the magazines are composed into pages. The completed pages are reproduced on printing plates for use on our presses. Sheetfed Presses. These presses produce convention badge cards, handbills, pamphlets for Hospital Information Services, and postcards as well as forms and letters for use in the congregations. Maintenance. Volunteers serving in different workshops care for mechanical, electrical, and other needs of the branch facilities, as well as for the upkeep of branch equipment. Shipping Department. Literature and magazine requests from a total of 5,848 congregations in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela are handled here. Each month, an average of 330 tons of literature is shipped out. Rotary Presses. Four-color high-speed presses print up to 40,000 magazines per hour. Most functions of these presses are electronically monitored and controlled.