Jehovah’s Witnesses flourish during Covid

Cindy Duke is a true people person. On any given week, you could find Duke knocking on doors or standing near a mobile literature display — any place where people were. That abruptly changed in the spring of 2020 when Jehovah’s Witnesses suspended their in-person ministry, meetings and large conventions.

While Duke, who lives in Sonoma, may not be sharing the Bible’s message in the same way, she has kept herself busy the last two years. Now, she spends much of her time connecting with other Sonoma residents by phone or letter. 

“Community is really important here,” said Duke. “I am so happy to be able to contribute to that and share something positive.” 

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.”

Duke feels this pivot has had other benefits as well. “Now people can sit down at the end of the day and read a nice letter or go on the website,” said Duke.

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.

Like many octogenarians, Sarah Fuoco, 88, deals with memory loss and diminished energy. Yet she and her 81-year-old husband, Joseph, have been given the nickname “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 emails. 

“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 1,050 languages, has also leveraged the organization’s outreach.