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Welcome!
We’re happy to share
some encouraging updates with you.
Since our last update,
two special conventions
were held in Harare, Zimbabwe,
and one was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The combined peak attendance
was over 64,600 at these locations,
and 1,330 were baptized.
More than 7,000 delegates
came from over 20 lands.
Beginning with the 2026 convention series,
the term “special conventions”
will be replaced
with “international conventions.”
We’ll have international conventions
of varying sizes each year.
As announced in our last update,
we’ll hold 19 international conventions
around the world in 2026.
Delegates will enjoy
sharing in the field ministry,
associating with local brothers and sisters,
and taking part in other activities.
In August 2025,
a new visitor center was opened
at the Central Europe branch office,
located in Selters, Germany.
Let’s take a look!
A highlight of the visitor center
is the new Bible museum,
featuring the theme
“And There Was Light
—The History of the Bible in German.”
This unique Bible museum
tells the story
of the rich history
and enduring impact of the German Bible.
Visitors can see rare and fascinating Bibles
produced during the very early years
of Bible printing.
Visitors will see how the Bible
was initially printed in Latin
but later began to be printed
in the German language.
The museum also shows
how the printing and distribution
of the German Bible
stimulated the production of the Bible
in other European languages.
Local news media
covered the museum opening
and highlighted
the museum’s educational value.
We invite you to visit this new museum
at the Central Europe branch office.
You can request a tour via jw.org.
As Jehovah’s people,
we view the Bible
as more than a vital piece of history.
It’s more than just a good book.
We need Jehovah’s direction
—just like we need food,
clothing, and shelter.
That’s how Jehovah created us.
Jesus highlighted this truth
in a simple but powerful statement
recorded at Matthew 5:3:
“Happy are those
conscious of their spiritual need,
since the Kingdom of the heavens
belongs to them.”
To be truly happy,
we must be aware of our spiritual need
and take steps to satisfy it.
But what does it mean
to be “conscious of [our] spiritual need”?
The original Greek expression
conveys the idea
of being a beggar for the spirit.
Picture a person in rags,
crouched on a street corner.
He’s weak from hunger
and exposed to the elements.
He begs for help to improve his lot in life.
Now, what’s the point?
A person who is conscious
of his spiritual need
knows that he needs Jehovah’s help,
and he eagerly seeks it.
What qualities must we have
in order to be conscious
of our spiritual need?
Let’s see what we learn
from the account of the Phoenician woman.
It’s described at Matthew 15:22-28.
Notice how she approached Jesus
and interacted with him.
It says:
“And look! a Phoenician woman
from that region came and cried out:
“‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.
“My daughter is cruelly demon possessed.’
“But he did not say a word in answer to her.
“So his disciples
came and began to urge him:
“‘Send her away,
because she keeps crying out after us.’
“He answered: ‘I was not sent to anyone
“except to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.’
“But the woman came
and did obeisance to him, saying:
“‘Lord, help me!’
“In answer he said: ‘It is not right
to take the bread of the children
“and throw it to the little dogs.’
“She said: ‘Yes, Lord,
but really the little dogs
“do eat of the crumbs falling
from the table of their masters.’
“Then Jesus replied to her:
“‘O woman, great is your faith;
“let it happen to you as you wish.’
And her daughter
was healed from that hour on.”
This woman was a Gentile, a Phoenician.
Yet, she approached Jesus
with a desperate plea:
“Have mercy on me.”
At first, Jesus didn’t respond.
Then he said he was ‘sent only
to the lost sheep of Israel.’
And finally, he used an illustration
that likened her to a little dog.
How would you have reacted?
Would you have felt insulted
or even given up?
This woman didn’t.
She showed three beautiful qualities
that can help us
to satisfy our spiritual need.
Now, here they are:
humility, persistence,
and faith.
Because she was humble,
she didn’t argue or take offense.
She accepted her position
and still appealed to Jesus’ mercy.
She was persistent.
She kept asking,
even when the disciples
urged Jesus to “send her away.”
And she had strong faith.
She believed Jesus could help her
—even if all she got
were “the crumbs” of his attention.
Jesus was so moved by her faith
that he did something remarkable.
He healed her daughter
even though she was not an Israelite.
This account teaches us
that Jehovah and Jesus are eager to help
those who are truly conscious
of their spiritual need.
Like the Phoenician woman,
we must develop humility,
persistence, and faith.
Earlier, we likened our spiritual need
to our physical needs
—things like food, clothing, and shelter.
But how can we gain
spiritual food, clothing, and shelter?
Let’s see how Jehovah
provides these for us.
First, let’s think about spiritual food.
Before Jesus ascended to heaven,
he told the apostle Peter:
“Feed my little sheep.”
Peter did just that.
Jehovah even used him to write two letters
that became part of the Bible.
But Peter also needed
to nourish himself
with spiritual food.
For example, he studied the inspired letters
that the apostle Paul wrote.
Peter acknowledged
that some of the things Paul wrote about
were “hard to understand.”
Amen!
But Peter didn’t give up.
He had faith that Jehovah
would help him
to understand and apply the “solid food”
in those inspired letters.
Like Peter, we must regularly feed
on the truths of God’s Word.
We must develop an appetite
for solid spiritual food
—truths that may be
hard to understand at first.
Of course, this takes time and effort,
but it’s worth it.
It strengthens our love for Jehovah,
and it motivates us to tell others about him.
What about spiritual clothing?
At Colossians 3:9, 10,
the apostle Paul wrote:
“Strip off the old personality
with its practices,
and clothe yourselves
with the new personality.”
Paul lived those words.
Before he was a Christian,
he had a hot temper.
Acts 9:1 says that he was so angry
with the disciples of Jesus
that he was “breathing
threat and murder” against them!
After Saul had a miraculous vision of Jesus,
he was moved to repent.
But his work didn’t end there.
Paul had to keep ‘pummeling his body’
—fighting his imperfections.
And with Jehovah’s help,
he stripped off his negative traits.
He clothed himself with the new personality.
We want to do the same!
No matter how long
we’ve been serving Jehovah,
we need to keep working at it.
At times, we might become discouraged.
We thought
we had already stripped it all off.
And then we notice
that some part
of that old personality has reappeared.
What do we do?
We keep stripping it off
and keep putting on the new personality.
That’s the wonderful spiritual clothing
that Jehovah supplies.
To be truly happy,
we need more than spiritual food
and spiritual clothing.
What do we need?
We also need spiritual shelter.
King David spoke about it at Psalm 27:5.
Speaking of Jehovah, David wrote:
“For he will hide me in his shelter
on the day of calamity;
“he will conceal me
“in the secret place of his tent;
high on a rock he will place me.”
When David obeyed Jehovah,
he was protected from the harm
that comes to those who willfully sin.
But when David ignored God’s standards,
Jehovah did not shelter him
from the consequences.
We can imitate David
by seeking Jehovah’s counsel
when we make decisions.
At times, we may suffer hardship,
not because Jehovah
has failed to shelter us,
but because we’ve made poor decisions.
At other times, we may face trials
through no fault of our own.
What do we do then?
We pour out our heart to Jehovah in prayer.
And what does Jehovah do?
He guards our hearts and our thoughts.
He will protect us from anything
that could permanently harm our faith.
We’re grateful that Jehovah provides
spiritual food, clothing, and shelter.
Thanks to Jehovah,
we have everything we need to survive
and to be truly happy!
Remember Jesus’ words at Matthew 5:3:
“Happy are those
conscious of their spiritual need.”
To help us remember this key to happiness,
Matthew 5:3 has been chosen
as the yeartext for 2026.
May we never forget these vital words:
“Happy are those conscious
of their spiritual need.”
We’re also excited to announce
a new original song based on Matthew 5:3.
It’s entitled “My Spiritual Need.”
This new song
beautifully expresses our desire
to keep feeding our faith
and walking with Jehovah.
We look forward
to singing this new song together
at the upcoming annual meeting.
It will become song 162 in our songbook.
It’s now available for download in English
and in a number of other languages.
Additional languages
will be added as they become available.
Remember, brothers:
To be conscious of our spiritual need,
we must remain humble,
be persistent,
and have strong faith in our God, Jehovah.
With the help of those wonderful qualities,
we will fill our spiritual need every day.
And what’s more, we’ll be truly happy.
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 #6