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Welcome to our program.
To begin, here are a few updates
about our relief efforts
following a number of major disasters
that have affected our brothers and sisters.
In early January 2025,
wildfires erupted
in southern California, United States,
and displaced over 1,100 publishers.
As of January 23,
the wildfires have destroyed
91 homes of our brothers
and damaged 48 more.
A Disaster Relief Committee
has been appointed
to coordinate the relief efforts.
And local elders and circuit overseers
are shepherding those affected
and assisting with practical needs.
In recent months, Cuba has faced
not only hurricanes but also earthquakes.
These disasters damaged or destroyed
nearly 500 homes of our brothers.
The Cuba branch has appointed
Disaster Relief Committees
to coordinate the response.
The brothers
are providing humanitarian aid
and needed items
as well as repairing homes.
On the island of Mayotte,
located off the coast of eastern Africa,
there are some 130 publishers.
These brothers and sisters
have been dealing with various crises,
including water shortages,
inflation, and unrest.
Then in December 2024,
Cyclone Chido struck the island,
damaging roads, power lines,
and communications.
The cyclone also damaged or destroyed
36 homes of our brothers
and heavily damaged
the two Kingdom Halls on the island.
The France branch
is coordinating relief efforts.
On December 26,
a team of eight brothers and sisters
—including the circuit overseer
and a Witness doctor—
arrived in Mayotte
with essential supplies for our brothers.
Sadly, though, on January 13, 2025,
Mayotte was struck again,
this time by a tropical storm.
Mozambique was also affected
by Cyclone Chido in December.
The cyclone damaged or destroyed
28 homes of our brothers
as well as two of our meeting places.
At the same time,
various parts of the country
have been facing severe droughts and unrest.
Please continue to pray
for our brothers and sisters
in these areas
and many other places
as they contend with various disasters.
We appreciate the hard work
of the local branches
as well as all of you
dear brothers and sisters
who are supporting the relief efforts.
Thank you for your generous donations
to the worldwide work,
which allow us to help
our brothers and sisters
during these times of need.
On December 6, 2024,
a court in Russia
sentenced four of our sisters
to forced labor for “extremist” behavior.
What was this so-called extremist behavior?
Peacefully meeting together
to discuss the Bible.
These sisters were all given sentences
of more than two years.
They are, however, appealing the decision.
These sentences are the culmination
of over six years of criminal prosecution
of these Christian families.
The husbands of three of these sisters
are already serving unjust prison sentences.
On December 18, 2024, in Turkmenistan,
21-year-old Brother Arslan Vepayev
was sentenced to two years in prison
because of his personal
conscientious objection to military service.
On January 8, 2025,
an appeals court upheld
Arslan’s criminal conviction
but amended his sentence
to two years of correctional labor.
Thus, we’re pleased to inform you
that Arslan was released from prison
and welcomed home by his family.
In Eritrea, you’ll recall
that 23 brothers and sisters
were arrested while meeting together
in September 2024.
This included Sister Mizan Gebreyesus,
who is 82 years old.
We’re pleased to inform you
that on January 15, 2025,
Sister Mizan was released from prison.
She is now receiving
the medical care she needs.
As reported in our last update,
Sister Saron Ghebru
was released from prison
on December 7, 2024.
We’re very happy to report
that she has since given birth,
and she and her daughter are doing well.
Please continue to pray
for these dear brothers and sisters
as well as the over 235
others around the world
who are currently
imprisoned for their faith.
Despite disasters and persecution,
Jehovah’s organization
continues to move forward.
It’s as 2 Timothy 4:5 says:
“You, though,
keep your senses in all things,
“endure hardship,
do the work of an evangelizer,
fully accomplish your ministry.”
Paul’s words to Timothy encourage us
to endure the hardships of the last days,
but we remain focused
on ‘fully accomplishing our ministry.’
With this in mind, here are a few recent
initiatives that help us to do just that.
Around the world,
classes of the 2025 Kingdom Ministry School
are being held.
This school provides further training
to circuit overseers,
elders, and ministerial servants.
The objective of the school is to enhance
the brothers’ abilities as shepherds
and to help them further imitate Jehovah
in caring for the congregation.
As a special feature of this year’s school,
the baptized wives of elders
and ministerial servants
have been invited
to attend the final two talks
along with their husbands.
Another blessing for Jehovah’s people
is a new series of seminars
designed to train
Hospital Information Departments
located at branch offices around the world.
In turn, these branch offices
will provide training
to their local Hospital Liaison Committees.
The seminar will help these brothers
become even more skillful
in providing comfort
and in assisting brothers and sisters
to obtain high-quality medical care
when facing issues involving blood.
We are grateful for the hard work
of more than 50,000 brothers earth wide
who serve on Hospital Liaison Committees
or Patient Visitation Groups.
Something we can all enjoy
is a recent enhancement
to our JW Library® app.
This enhancement will make it easier
to use the study pane features in the Bible.
How does it work?
Let’s watch.
In a recent update to JW Library,
some new features were added
to help with doing research in the Bible.
For example, in Luke chapter 2,
the study pane initially shows
all the study content for the entire chapter.
This is good for getting an overview
of everything
that is available for a chapter.
If you want to focus on a single verse,
tap on the verse, then tap the gem button
to see study content for that verse.
The study pane displays
your own personal notes first,
followed by the Study Bible
notes and pictures,
video excerpts,
then the marginal references and footnotes.
Additionally, the Research Guide
references are listed individually.
This gives an overview
of the available references,
which can be useful when you already know
the type of information you are looking for.
Is it a point from one of the article series
or personal application
from a Watchtower study article
or perhaps information
from Insight on the Scriptures?
The Research Guide includes references
all the way back to 1986.
So whenever you do research,
start with the most recent references
to ensure that you have up-to-date
and accurate information.
Use the study pane
to enhance your personal Bible reading
and to help you
prepare to comment at meetings.
We’re grateful for these helpful study tools
and for the many ways
that Jehovah is helping us
to ‘fully accomplish our ministry.’
Another excellent tool that we have
is the brochure
Love People—Make Disciples.
This brochure has helped us
become more effective in the ministry.
It teaches us how to show
personal interest in others
and to be adaptable,
which can help us to start conversations.
Why is learning
how to start a conversation so important?
Because we want so much to help people
to become disciples
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We want to teach them
about our wonderful God, Jehovah.
But with our new approach,
have you ever felt that you just aren’t sure
what you should say
to begin a conversation?
Maybe this is even more the case
when we’re going door to door.
What can help us
to have something meaningful to say?
The Love People brochure
has an excellent appendix
called “Truths We Love to Teach.”
These are the basic truths
that we all know and love
—for example, “God has a name,”
“God cares about your suffering,”
and “Dead loved ones will be resurrected.”
How can we use these truths
to start conversations?
Note what the appendix mentions.
It says: “Try introducing a truth
by asking: ‘Did you know that . . . ?’
“or ‘Have you ever heard that . . . ?’
Then use the related scripture(s)
to explain that truth.”
So how would you do that?
Well, here’s an example.
In some places,
after introducing ourselves,
we could open up a conversation
by saying to a person at the door,
“Have you ever heard
that God has a name?”
and then share the scriptures listed
under the truth that we love to teach.
So that’s the basic method we could use.
But, of course, we need to consider
the person we are speaking to
and then choose the truth
that we think would most interest them.
The appendix lists 34 of these truths
we love to teach.
To be effective, I think you’d agree
that we need to spend time
learning each of these truths
and the scriptures that support them.
If we have them well in mind,
then we are well-prepared
with something meaningful from the Bible
to share with all those whom we meet.
So how might we work
at learning these truths?
Perhaps we could make it
a family project.
After all, our children
need to learn these truths too.
That way they can learn
to defend their faith.
Would you like to see
how a family might do this?
Very good!
You remembered the scripture
from last week.
OK, our goal is to learn all of these.
So let’s add another truth
we love to teach.
Which scriptures show
that God has a name?
Ophelia.
Psalm 83 . . .
83 . . .
That’s OK.
You can use the brochure.
Look here under the heading “God.”
Eighteen!
I knew it!
Psalm 83:18.
Yeah, very good.
Now, what does it say?
“May people know
“that you,
“whose name is Jehovah,
“you alone are the Most High
over all the earth.”
Excellent.
You did very well in emphasizing
the key points from that scripture.
Alba.
There’s also Jeremiah 10:10.
Very good.
What’s the key phrase from that verse
that teaches us the truth?
It says: “Jehovah is truly God.”
You got it!
Now, girls, how can we use
these scriptures to teach this truth,
God has a name?
Alba, what are you thinking?
I could ask the person,
“Have you ever heard
that God has a name?”
That’s perfect.
And then what could you do?
I could show them Psalm 83:18.
Great job!
You girls are doing so well
at learning the truths that we love to teach
and the scriptures that go with them.
I think all of us,
young and not-so-young, would enjoy that.
Why not try it
when we’re together with our friends?
The point is, the more we can learn
these truths and practice using them,
the more effective we will be
in starting simple conversations
and teaching Bible truths.
Something else we can do
to prepare for the ministry
is highlighted in lesson 1
of the Love People brochure.
Point 3 encourages us
to think about what’s on the minds
of people in the community.
For example, we could ask ourselves:
‘What is in the news?’
or ‘What are my neighbors, coworkers,
or classmates talking about?’
Then we can ask ourselves:
‘Which one of these truths
would fit that situation?’
Being adaptable, we imitate
the apostle Paul’s approach to the ministry.
You’ll recall that
at 1 Corinthians 9:22, 23, he said:
“I have become all things
to people of all sorts,
“so that I might
by all possible means save some.
“But I do all things
for the sake of the good news,
in order to share it with others.”
And that’s our goal too
—to start conversations with people
using topics that will interest them.
In that way, we “become
all things to people of all sorts,
so that [we] might
by all possible means save some.”
May Jehovah continue to bless all of us
as we support one another
and work “shoulder to shoulder”
in his service.
Dear brothers and sisters,
we love you all very much.
From the World Headquarters
of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
this is JW Broadcasting®.

2025 Governing Body Update #1