Apply Yourself to the Field Ministry — Week of August 24-30, 2026

START CONVERSATIONS

Duration: 4 minutes
Setting: House to house
Objective: To start a conversation on the theme of the September campaign and to offer a Bible course
Lesson: Kindness
Bible text: Psalm 37:29
Publication: Enjoy Life Forever!

Situation: A woman listens to the publisher and expresses concern about her children’s future.

Publisher: Good morning. We won’t take up much of your time. During September, Jehovah’s Witnesses will be sharing in a worldwide campaign to raise a question: Do you think it will ever be possible to enjoy a life that is truly happy and free from fear about the future?

Person: Honestly, no. With the wars, the prices, and everything that’s going on, it’s all we can do to get by.

Publisher: I understand. When problems pile up, talking about a happy life can seem unrealistic. Is there anything that worries you in particular?

Person: My children. They’re young, and they don’t know whether they’ll be able to find a good job or have a home. I try to encourage them, but I don’t really know what to tell them.

Publisher: It must be hard to want to give them security and feel that so many things are beyond your control.

Person: Exactly. That’s why I don’t like it when people promise me easy solutions.

Publisher: And you are right to be cautious. We don’t want to make you an empty promise either. This brochure is titled Enjoy Life, and it presents what the Bible promises along with reasons to check whether it is trustworthy. Look at this statement in Psalm 37:29: “The righteous will possess the earth, and they will live forever on it.” What detail stands out to you?

Person: That it says they will live on the earth, not in heaven.

Publisher: Yes. The Bible speaks of a stable and peaceful future here on earth.

Person: But it’s one thing for it to be written and another for it to actually happen.

Publisher: That’s a very reasonable objection. In fact, one of the lessons in the brochure examines whether the Bible can be trusted. We’re also offering a free Bible course with this publication. In each session, a question is considered, a scripture is read, and you can freely say what you think.

Person: The truth is, I don’t have time to commit to a course.

Publisher: I understand. You decide the length and the pace. We could try just a ten-minute conversation whenever it suits you, and afterward you decide whether you’d like to continue.

Person: And would I have to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Publisher: No. There is no obligation to change your religion. You can use your own Bible and ask all the questions you want. Our aim is to help you get to know what the Bible says, not to pressure you.

Person: What is covered in the first lesson?

Publisher: It begins with a very practical question: “How can the Bible help you?” It considers how it can guide us now and what hope it offers for the future. If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

Person: I would ask him why he allows people who have done nothing wrong to suffer.

Publisher: That is a very important question. The course answers it directly from the Bible. If you like, you can keep the brochure, and on Thursday we could spend about ten minutes seeing how it presents the answer.

Person: On Thursday afternoon I’m usually at home. It could be around six.

Publisher: Perfect. I’ll come by at that time. And if you can’t that day, don’t worry; we’ll adjust. Thank you for telling me what concerns you about your children. I hope this information can give them a solid hope.

START CONVERSATIONS

Duration: 3 minutes
Setting: Public witnessing, at a display near a hospital
Objective: To start a conversation on the theme of the September campaign
Lesson: Genuine interest
Bible text: Psalm 22:26
Publication: Enjoy Life Forever!

Situation: A health-care worker who has just finished a shift notices the title of the brochure while waiting for the bus.

Publisher: Good morning. I noticed you were looking at the title of the brochure.

Person: Yes, Enjoy Life. Today of all days it doesn’t seem written for me.

Publisher: It seems you’ve had a difficult morning.

Person: I’ve been working all night at the hospital, and now I have to wait for the bus. I’m exhausted.

Publisher: I’m sorry. After caring for others for so many hours, you also need someone to be concerned about how you are doing.

Person: Thank you. The truth is that lately I just work, sleep, and go back to work.

Publisher: That must be very draining. Have you been like this for long?

Person: Several months. We’re short-staffed. I like my job, but sometimes I think you can’t spend your whole life rushing around.

Publisher: I understand. During September we will be sharing in a worldwide campaign with this brochure. It raises exactly that question — whether life can become something more than just enduring one day after another.

Person: The title sounds nice, but enjoying life forever seems impossible.

Publisher: It’s understandable that you see it that way. May I show you a very brief statement? Psalm 22:26 promises: “The meek will eat and be satisfied; those seeking Jehovah will praise him. May you enjoy life forever.” What stands out to you?

Person: That it doesn’t just talk about living many years, but about being satisfied.

Publisher: Exactly. God does not simply promise to prolong a life full of weariness. The Bible presents a future in which people will be able to live secure and satisfied. This brochure also shows how it can help us now.

Person: That interests me more, because the future seems very far off to me.

Publisher: Of course. Right now, what do you think you would need more: to cope with the exhaustion or to regain a little hope?

Person: Probably to regain hope. When you’re this tired, everything looks bleak.

Publisher: Thank you for telling me. The second lesson is titled “The Bible Gives Us Hope,” and it explains why that hope is not simply positive thinking. You can take the brochure and read it once you’ve rested.

Person: Yes, I’ll take it. My bus is coming.

Publisher: Of course, I won’t keep you. You can also read or listen to it on jw.org. I hope you can rest today. If you come by here another day, I’d like to know what you thought of it.

Person: All right. Thank you for listening to me.

Publisher: Thank you. Have a good rest.

TALK

Duration: 5 minutes
Setting: Auditorium
Title: What Does Jeremiah 29:11 Mean?
Lesson: Make a good introduction
Main text: Jeremiah 29:11

Imagine that someone loses their job. A friend sends them Jeremiah 29:11 and says: “Don’t worry. God has a better job ready for you.” The intention is good, and the verse conveys hope. But does it really mean that God has designed a specific plan for every decision and every circumstance of our life? To receive the true comfort of this text, we first have to understand whom it was addressed to and what Jehovah promised.

Let us read Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward you,’ declares Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’”

These words were part of a letter. Jeremiah did not send it to a single person who was deciding what to do with their life, but to the whole group of Israelites exiled in Babylon. They had lost their home, they were living far from Jerusalem, and they might have wondered whether Jehovah had forgotten them.

The context helps us to understand the promise better. In verses 4 to 9, Jehovah told them to build houses, plant gardens, and raise families. Why? Because the exile would not end right away. According to verse 10, they would remain in Babylon for 70 years.

Therefore, Jeremiah 29:11 did not promise an immediate solution to every personal problem. Jehovah was assuring his people that, in spite of that long test, he had not forgotten them.

What did the future and the hope he had in mind consist of? When the 70 years were fulfilled, Jehovah would turn his attention to them and bring them back to Jerusalem. He wanted them to have peace, not calamity.

Some translations use the word “prosperity,” but the original term does not necessarily refer to riches. It conveys the idea of peace, health, and well-being. Jehovah was guaranteeing them that they would continue to exist as a nation and that one day they would be able to return to their land.

Now, that did not mean either that each Israelite had his future decided in advance. Verses 12 and 13 show that they had to call on Jehovah, pray to him, and search for him with all their heart. Each one could decide whether he wanted to draw close to God and benefit from his promise.

So this passage does not teach that God controls all our decisions or that he has written an individual script for our life.

History confirmed that this hope had a solid basis. Just as Jehovah had announced, the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylon. He then allowed the Jews to return, and when the 70 years of exile ended, they were back in Jerusalem. Jehovah did not merely give them comforting words; he fulfilled what he had promised.

So what does Jeremiah 29:11 mean for us?

It is not a guarantee that all our personal projects will turn out well, that we will achieve material prosperity, or that our problems will quickly disappear. But it does reveal something very valuable about Jehovah: he desires peace for his servants, he does not forget them during trials, and he always fulfills his promises.

Romans 15:4 says that the things written beforehand serve so that “we might have hope.” The fulfillment of Jeremiah 29:11 gives us reasons to trust in the promises that are still to be realized.

By means of the Kingdom ruled by Jesus Christ, Jehovah will bring peace to the entire earth. Psalm 37:10, 11, and 29 assures us that the wicked will cease to exist, that the meek will enjoy abundant peace, and that the righteous will live forever on the earth.

That is why, when we go through a difficult stage, we do not have to interpret Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise of immediate success or as proof that God has decided every detail of our life. We can see it as something far more solid: a promise that Jehovah made, that he fulfilled, and that shows what kind of God he is.

The exiled Israelites could look to the future with hope because Jehovah had not forgotten them. We can do so too. The God who gave them “a future and a hope” is still “the God who gives hope,” and none of his promises will go unfulfilled.