page_title: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
section_title: Branch offices
hierarchical_section_title: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses / Branch offices
caption_attribution_description: Dansk: Hovedkontor af Vagttårnets Bibel og Traktat Selskab, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. English: World headquarters of the Watch Tower Bible &amp; Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Deutsch: Weltzentrale der Wachtturm Bibel- und Traktat-Gesellschaft, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Italiano: Sede centrale mondiale della Società Torre di Guardia, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Nederlands: 1Hoofdkantoor van het Wachttoren-, Bijbel- en Traktaatgenootschap van Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Subtly modified by Fiorellino with the permission of the author.
context_page_description: Jehovah's Witnesses are organized hierarchically, and are led by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Watch Tower Society's headquarters in Warwick, New York. The Governing Body, along with other "helpers", are organized into six committees responsible for various administrative functions within the global Witness community, including publication, assembly programs and evangelizing activity.
  The Governing Body and its committees supervise operations of nearly one hundred branch offices worldwide. Each branch office oversees the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in a particular country or region, and may include facilities for the publication and distribution of Watch Tower Society literature. Directly appointed by the Governing Body, branch committees supervise administrative functions for congregations in their jurisdiction. Congregations are further organized into circuits of about twenty congregations each. The Governing Body directly appoints circuit overseers as its representatives to supervise activities within circuits. Headquarters representatives visit groups of branch offices to provide instruction and report the branch's activities to the Governing Body.
context_section_description: Jehovah's Witnesses operate 87 branch offices worldwide, under the oversight of headquarters representatives who visit each of their assigned branches every few years, auditing operations, counseling branch committee members, department heads and missionaries, and reporting back to the Governing Body. Each branch office is referred to as Bethel. The United States branch office, spread across three New York State locations with a staff of more than 5000, also serves as the international headquarters.
  Branch offices, operated by Witness volunteers known as Bethel families, produce and distribute Bible-based literature and communicate with congregations within their jurisdiction. Full-time staff at branch offices take a vow of poverty and are members of a religious order. Each branch is overseen by a committee of three or more elders, which is appointed by the Governing Body. A Service Department in each branch corresponds with congregations and supervises the work of traveling overseers. Branch offices may also have departments responsible for printing, translation and legal representation.
  Each branch office appoints various committees in its jurisdiction's communities, with local elders as members. Committees may include:
  Hospital Liaison Committee
  Patient Visitation Group
  Regional Building Committee
  Assembly Hall Committee
  District Convention Committee
  Disaster Relief Committee
caption: Former headquarters of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in New York
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