Jehovah’s Witnesses Money Exposed

Jehovah’s Witnesses, God’s supposed organization, receive donations like any other religion. How do they handle their finances? This isn’t an easy subject as money is always sensitive, those little paper devils we exchange goods and services are always front and center of every scam artist. You can tell a lot about someone based on what they do with their money. Sometimes it’s blatant, sometimes it’s subtle. Jesus often spoke on money, more than other subjects. He knew the impact, what it does to the heart and our desires. Money by itself isn’t evil, but the love for it is. Are they after your pocket books, or is everything on the up and up. Well, yes and no. It exposes who they are, but not in the way you think.

It’s estimated the Jehovah’s Witness organization receives about 2 billions dollars in tax free donations every year. Evaluated their worth is over $50 billion, making them far more wealthy than the majority of religions in the world. However, there’s nothing that screams overindulgence, and their governing body members live pretty average lives. The suits and watches are pricy, and there’s the occasional liquor binge, but being fair, there’s no upfront evidence they’re focused on stealing people’s wallets. Now this doesn’t give them a pass, or proof they’re the only truth, especially when you dig further.

First let me address tithing or giving in general. There’s obviously nothing unbiblical about tithing, and in most churches used a word for contributing to the church. While the actual tithe in the Old Testament is 10%. then New Testament doesn’t give a number or requirement. The Reason, Christians should not give out of obligation, but desire, cheerfulness, gratitude, embracing the spirit of the law, not the letter. Even Witnesses would agree, and donation are required since electricity doesn’t run on unicorn dreams. For any congregation to function it’s going to need some form or funding. 

Where’s it all come from?

Beginning with how JW’s acquire their funds. Witnesses start by saying,

“Jehovah’s Witnesses commonly meet in modest buildings called Kingdom Halls. How are expenses covered? They never pass collection plates, nor do they send out envelopes to solicit donations. Rather, any who appreciate the spiritual program can discreetly place a donation in a contribution box at the Kingdom Hall.” – The Watchtower, July 2013

Pay attention to the wording here. The watchtower is trying to make it appear witnesses are “holier than thou” in a very subtle manner. All donations by their very definition are, volunteered. Forced giving is called taxes. This is an attempt to stick it to Christendom, however most churches even pass a plate anymore. They too use buckets or website to receive donations. Even if they did pass a plate, who cares! If coercion isn’t present, it doesn’t matter where contributions go. Any religion can use a box, or a plate, or drywall bucket. Witnesses currently contribute via box, or credit card machines, or by Wills, Insurance Policies, Real Estate, Other Noncash Donations or airline Rewards Points….which is odd. That’s something must churches don’t offer. They continue..

“IN MANY lands, leaders of professed Christian religions and non-Christian religions charge a fee for religious services. These services may include baptisms, weddings, or funerals. The charge can run into hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.” – Watchtower, June 2010

Honestly, I have never encountered a church that charges for baptism. If you find one, leave. Do they exist? I’m sure, but they are far and few. Now weddings can be religions, and also not. They certainly have nothing to do with salvation. Marriage is optional, and biblically wedding’s don’t require a ceremony, someone with the appropriate licensing, rings, flower girl, a best man, maid of honor, that weird friend of your parents you had to invite after being pressured. My point, weddings and funeral are provided service that also require someone’s time. In a free society, one’s labor is not owed to anyone. There’s no sin in modestly charging for non-essential services in the church. However the Watchtower disagrees, writing.

But does the Bible support such customs of charging for religious services or even of making people feel obligated to pay?

Actually…yes! 

This means, as long as you aren’t paying to hear the gospel, those who’ve fully devoted their lives to the church, should be provided for.

Now witnesses still take issue, claiming they have no paid clergy, all their ministers and elders are fully volunteers. That can work in a Kingdom hall with a hundred people, and your lessons and talks are given by a corporate office. Volunteering should be pretty easy. However when you’re independent, like the majority of churches, with several hundred if not thousands of people, you’re going to require a fulltime staff member. For even moderately sized churches, you require quality and quantity a person’s full time, and therefore must provide for their basic needs of survival. How you do do, is up to the congregation. There are witnesses that have given such, working fulltime out of the Bethel headquarters. The Watchtower explains how they receive such aid.

“Those who are accepted for special full-time service at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses all subscribe to a vow of poverty, as have all the members of the Governing Body and all the other members of the Bethel family there. This does not mean that they live a drab life, without any comforts. But it does mean that they share, without partiality, the modest provisions of food, shelter, and expense reimbursement that are made for all in such service.” – Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom, 1993

I need to mention, Bethel isn’t exactly poverty, and most people would kill for good lodgings and three square meals a day. Point being, when supplementing the needs of those who’ve fully given their life for a ministry, you have options, either the congregation comes together, buys them housing, food, clothing and a weekly stipend like those at Bethel, or you just provide a salary, and they can buy all that themselves. The Bible doesn’t say which is better. Each comes with pros and cons, but one certainly offers more freedom.

What they do with the donations.

Let’s say a contribution is given, but will these funds be used, honestly, righteously or Biblically? NO!

The frauds known as the Faithful slave, have hoarded every single dollar. It doesn’t go to their personal bank accounts, but to their own personal invented religion. Though the organization technically falls under charitable religion, not one dollar is spent on charity. Let me repeat, nothing for the homeless, women’s shelters, orphanages, food banks, community outreach, medical clinics…not one penny. Where’s it all go? They they tell you.

“By fully addressing the root causes of human suffering, God will accomplish what is well beyond all humans, individually and collectively. Accordingly, rather than set up philanthropic organizations, Jehovah’s Witnesses, in imitation of Jesus Christ, prefer to devote their time and financial resources to announcing the “good news of [God’s] kingdom.”​– Awake!, May 2008

“People may also feel that we should build schools and hospitals as well as perform other charitable works. They are stumbled because we focus our efforts on the preaching work, not on solving the world’s immediate problems.” – The Watchtower—Study Edition, May 2021

Therefore, instead of helping people, they stand by carts and hand out magazines, on request. For the single mother starving to death, I don’t think a brochure will help feed her children. This is the same excuse any swindler fabricates. “Pft we could feed them, but that only fixes the immediate problem.” Yeah, that’s the whole point. That’s like a doctor telling their patient, “I know you’re suffering from this horrible illness, but one day they’ll be a cure. You might be begging for medication and fluids now, but that only solves the immediate problem. Take this magazine while you wait for the next ten years.”

Here’s a thought maybe, Witnesses could could help the less fortunate, and share the good news, all at the same time.  This isn’t done, because the leaders have turned a blind eye to suffering around them. Very contrary to the message of the Bible.

Now you might say mention their disaster relief, however there is little to no evidence they support non-Witnesses. When they claim they’re “helping”, it’s most likely referring to providing “life-saving good news” aka, the magazines. You can see from the following, when disaster relief is spoken of, it’s referring to helping JW’s.

Notice all people, and this especially here, does not say only. Those in the church shouldn’t be forgotten first, as the job of the congregation is to support each other. But any reasonable person can surmise, If you have a house that collapses with ten people residing, and only one was a fellow believer, you don’t send a single pack of supplies. Picking and choosing is called partiality, or conditional love.

Need I remind the Watchtower, of the good Samaritan? Apparently. In the parable found in Luke 10:25-37, Someone tested Jesus asking how to receive eternal life, Christ replies, asking what does the law of God say? Summarized, love God, and love your neighbor. When asked, “who is a neighbor,” Jesus gives this illustration. A Samaritan helped a stranger left for dead on the side of the road. He was suffering and in need, and the Samaritan didn’t care who they are, or what they’ve done. He didn’t preach, or verify his religion or ethnicity, he didn’t leave Watchtower magazine. This unnamed stranger loved the man, sacrificed his time and money, based solely on him being human being, an image bearer of God who was suffering. Jesus command’s, go an door likewise. However the JW organization, doesn’t. 

 The Unseen Problems.

Now regarding this annual 2 billion, if nothing is going to charity, and not mansions for the leaders, what happens to it all? For starters, upkeep of the 100,000 or so Kingdom halls, printing and publishing all those books, bible, magazine and pamphlets, shipping, building materials, providing for those at Bethel, the many millions in legal fees with all the recent lawsuits, all on the heels of losing tax free status in some countries like Norway. Basically, It costs a lot of money to run a high control group that prides itself on massive amounts off free printed given across the globed. The JW funds are tight, and honestly I don’t think they can keep this up much longer.

While they might be worth 50 billion, that’s not cash in hand, but assets tied up in real estate. Speaking of which, when JW.org says the religion is primarily financed by donations, they neglect to speak on the secondary, which is selling real estate. For instance, under the IBSA ( International Bible Students Association ) a JW corporate entity, particularly in the United Kingdom. They sold luxury apartments in London, going for over a million pounds.[ Link –> IBSA Properties ]

Even recently they received 14 million, after selling 16 condos in Tseung Kwan Hong Kong. The society had even purchased 30 flats back in 2013 according to local reports. [ Link –> myNews Article ]

These are just a few examples of the behind the scenes real estate endeavors the religion is peddling, yet the members are unaware. Think about the level of hypocrisy. They’ll shame others for having a bake sale, but selling luxury apartments, nah that’s fine.  You also need to consider the money made from selling Kingdom Halls, taking into account 60% of the cost came from free volunteer labor. 

So why are they doing this, is the whole religion a scam? Yeah, but they’re not in it for the money, but survival. When your membership in 1st world countries is dropping, leaving your support coming from the poorest nations, it’s going to hurt the bottom line. Not to mention, when you shame advanced degrees and promote working part-time, it’s no wonder you can’t make ends meet. This is why many Kingdom Halls are being sold off and consolidated, publishing is less frequent, and that promised media center is still just dirt. The writing is on the wall, the religion is trying to stay afloat.

All this to be said, the incoming funds from members aren’t going mansions for the faithful slave, the governing Body isn’t in it for the money, but something far worse. Power. Every donation goes to fuel the ego’s of the charlatans pretending their God’s channel in charge of the world. They’re motive isn’t stealing wallets, but souls, preying on the innocent to keep themselves in full control. The kidnapped have been tricked in feeding their captures. I could rant for hours about disgusting men who’ve twisted God’s word to line their pockets. Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Michael Murdock, Benny Hinn, these are human pieces of garbage, currently on their own gulfstream to hell where they belong. Televangelists or the Faithful slave, they’re two sides of the same coin, one after money, the other power, but both misleading their followers to satisfy their own vile lusts. 

All this to say, how Jehovah’s Witnesses handle money is the least of their issues. Even if their books were perfect, it doesn’t matter, their message is poison. Spotting a scam is easy, it lunges after our pride. You’re smart enough to invest, wise enough to see, awesome enough to accept, just hand over your reason and fulfil all desires. The message of Jesus was opposite, you’re not wise, you’ll never be good enough and you can’t earn your way to God, which is why God came to us, having himself sacrificed for us.

God saw his children in need, and sought to save them, giving us the free gift of salvation that comes only through trust in who he is, and what he did. We are one left for dead on the side of the road, and it’s only Christ who takes pity, and saves us from death when we were helpless. Thankfully God isn’t after your money. He doesn’t care what you’ll give him, but what he’s already given you.