It is a rare sight for people of widely different nationalities and cultures to bond together with such warm affection, although total strangers to one another.

But such scenario was seen repeatedly in various places around the world from May to November this year. This marked the series of international conventions of the religious group Jehovah’s Witnesses with the theme “Love Never Fails.”

Delegates from 142 countries, most of whom were wearing their traditional national costumes, flew several thousand miles away from home to attend the conventions of their choice among 22 venues around the world.

Caucasians, Africans, Asians, Latin Americans and Europeans converged in every convention with a singular purpose — feast on three days of spiritual banquets made up of identical programs featuring Bible-based lectures, symposiums, interviews, and colorful video dramas, all designed to motivate the attenders to cultivate “love that never fails”, a concept lifted from the Bible at 1 Corinthians 13:8.

Most conspicuous in their colorful costumes were the Japanese, Koreans, Africans, and Mexicans, among others.

Spoken reaction from observers





Observers both Witnesses and non-Witnesses alike could not help but express wonder and appreciation over the three-day spectacle. With such a big crowd reaching several thousands, crowd control could have been quite a nightmare. But what the authorities and others saw surprised them.

Pasay City police chief Col. Bernard Yang personally dropped in at the convention area and said, “Your preparations are perfect. We of the police unit assigned here for crowd control had felt no stress. Your people are very disciplined and followed all pedestrian rules. They’re all smiles too.”

A local tourism officer, commenting on the arrangements the convention organizers had made to facilitate guided tours for the foreign delegates, said, “Your arrangements are highly organized in every detail. Your advanced planning is amazing. We had prepared instructions to guide your organizers, but now it appears we are learning more from you, instead.”

What makes ‘unfailing love’ a reality among Witnesses

It appears the convention’s theme “Love Never Fails” has proved not just a matter of faith, but a matter of personal conduct for Jehovah’s Witnesses, wherever they may be, in every aspect of their life.

This was observed in their conventions, particularly in their behavior as well as in the maintenance of the facilities they use.

Supported by more than 4,000 volunteers from selected congregations within 40 kilometers around the convention site, the Witnesses left no stone unturned in keeping the convention halls and surrounding areas spotless and clean even after the close of the three-day event.

Arrangements had also been made for dozens of nearby congregations to play hosts to groups of their foreign brothers and sisters before and after the convention, holding colorful entertainment programs featuring folk dances and songs, and treating them to buffets of Filipino foods and dishes too.Yet, the common spirit that prevail among Witnesses worldwide could be nothing short of the “unfailing love” they have been taught and trained to show all their life.

Mark Sanderson, a visiting member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses based in Warwick, New York, explained why they act the way they do:

“In the Bible, at John 13:34 Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples — if you have love among yourselves.” These conventions have been a living demonstration of that statement. Imagine, here in Manila the delegates came from 68 countries. Anyone watching saw that these are a united, happy people who met together in peace and unity. This is in contrast with the current world situation where there is so much division and disunity. Here we saw people of many different races, languages and cultures hugging and treating one another as if they were family, even though it was their first time to meet each other!

“This has served as a powerful testimony that when people really live by the teachings of the Bible, they identify themselves as real disciples of Christ Jesus.”