Scheduling the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting in New World Scheduler is quick and easy! The Coordinator of the Body of Elders and the Life and Ministry Meeting Overseer can both schedule the various parts of the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting.
To schedule the Christian Life and Ministry (CLM) Meeting, click Schedule > Life and Ministry Meeting
Schedule the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting
- Note: The Christian Life and Ministry meeting schedules update automatically. Please see Updating Christian Life and Ministry Meeting schedule for more information.
- Note: To add Congregation Events (e.g. CO Visit), please see Congregation Events
- Click Schedule > Life and Ministry Meeting
- On the left, select the Week you wish to Schedule.
- Note: Weeks with a Congregation Event are highlighted in blue
- Optionally: if you have added any Language Groups, either select Congregation or the Language Group name
- Optionally: Change or Edit Life and Ministry Meeting Information
- Select Persons to handle each Life and Ministry Meeting part
Change or Edit Life and Ministry Meeting Information
For flexibility, many parts of the Life and Ministry Meeting can be edited and adjusted to suit your local circumstances.
Songs
The opening, middle and concluding songs can be adjusted in the top-right corner.
Part Titles
- Treasures Talk
- Apply 1, 2, 3, 4
- Living 1, 2, 3
To adjust Part Titles for Apply parts, choose the type from the drop-down list.
To adjust Part Titles for the other parts, type in the new title in the textbox next to the Part.
Part Descriptions
- Spiritual Gems
- Apply 1, 2, 3, 4
- Congregation Bible Study
- Note: During the week of the Circuit Overseer visit, you should replace the Congregation Bible Study description with the CO Service Talk theme
To adjust Part Descriptions, click the small Description button next to each part.
Part Timing
- Treasures Talk
- Spiritual Gems
- Bible Reading
- Apply 1, 2, 3, 4
- Living 1, 2, 3
To edit the timing, change the minutes in the textbox next to the part.
The timing for the Congregation Bible Study will be automatically adjusted based on the combined timing of the Treasures Talk, Spiritual Gems and Living 1, 2, 3 parts.
Select a Person to handle a Life and Ministry Meeting part
- Select a Person to handle the part
- Note: Their History and Notes are shown on the right
- Optionally: If this part will be viewed via JW Stream, tick JW Stream
- Optionally: If this part will not be given by anyone, tick None
- Click OK to assign this person to the meeting part
List of persons
After selecting a meeting Part to Schedule, a list of Available Persons is then shown.
By default, the list is sorted by Recent. The yellow-highlighted person is the recommend person to give this part. It is also the same person Auto-Assign would choose.
- Note: Only Active persons who have the correct Assign value will show in this list, and if you are scheduling a Language Group, the person must be in that Language Group
Warnings
A grey warning symbol will be shown next to a persons name if they have been assigned a part with in the minimum specified time.
- Note: Adjust the Minimum time between CLM Parts in Schedule Settings.
A green warning symbol will be shown next to a persons name if they also have a Duty this meeting.
An orange warning symbol will be shown next to a persons name if they have another part this meeting. Hover over the warning to see what part they have.
A red warning will be shown next to a persons name if they are Away (or on holiday)
Add or Remove Schools
Adjust the Usual Number of schools to how many Life and Ministry meeting schools you usually have. This will ensure all future weeks have this amount of schools.
On the other hand, if you need to add a school for only a few weeks, click Add to add a School to that week.
You can also remove a school for a particular week by clicking Remove. E.G. The week of the Circuit Overseer.
Change or Remove an Assignment
To change an assignment, simply click on the Meeting Part you wish to change, then select a new person, then click OK
To remove an assignment, simply click on the Meeting part you wish to remove, click Clear, then click OK
Additional Scheduling Options
- As per S-38, Sample Conversation Videos are automatically assigned to the Chairman. This cannot be changed.
- ‘Video only’ Living parts should logically be assigned to whichever brother will announce the video and ask for it to be played, usually the Chairman.
Auto-Assign the Life and Ministry Meeting
Auto-Assign is a feature in New World Scheduler that allows the Coordinator of the Body of Elders and the Life and Ministry Meeting Overseer to automatically select which students will handle each part.
Auto-Assign can save time and also ensure students are evenly scheduled. However, Auto-Assign should please be used responsibly.
- Note: Please see Auto-Assign Help for more information about how Auto-Assign works, Auto-Assign limitations and how to best use Auto-Assign.
Click the Auto-Assign button up the top-left to use Auto-Assign.
Auto-Assign uses any Available Persons, as set in Assign Privileges and Duties
- Note: Tick All COBE Parts or All LMMO Parts to automatically select all COBE or LMMO parts.
Clear All
The Clear All button (top-left) will remove all scheduled persons from the CLM Schedule.
Reset Schedule
The Reset Schedule button (top-left) will clear all meeting parts and information, and use the currently available Midweek Meeting data to re-create the schedule.
- Note: If there is no midweek meeting data available, the Reset Schedule will remove this meeting.
Chairman Notes
Chairman Notes can be added to the schedule by clicking the small Notes button next to the Chairman.
These Notes will appear on the Chairmans Outline report.
Schedule a Language Group
Language Groups can schedule their own Christian Life and Ministry meeting.
First, see Groups and Families > Language Groups to add a Language Group and tick Midweek Meeting.
Now the Schedule Life and Ministry Meeting screen will allow you to chose between either the Congregation or Language Group scheduling.
- Important: Only persons who have been added to the Language Group under Groups and Families > Other Groups will be shown when selecting persons for Language Group scheduling.
Life and Ministry Meeting Reminders and Notifications
Quick Steps
The following Quick Steps are available:
- Send Life and Ministry Meeting Assignment Reminders
- Send Chairman Outlines to chairmen
- Send Assignment Slips to students
- Send School Worksheets to chairmen and auxiliary counsellors
NW Publisher app
Life and Ministry Meeting schedules and upcoming Life and Ministry Meeting assignments can be sent to and displayed on the NW Publisher app, along with Notifications and Reminders.
Common Questions and Problems
Schedule
Yes, please see Change or Edit Life and Ministry Meeting Parts
Please carefully re-read the section Schedule the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting above.
As per S-38, Sample Conversation Videos are automatically assigned to the Chairman. This cannot be changed.
‘Video only’ Living parts should logically be assigned to whichever brother will announce the video and ask for it to be played, usually the Chairman.
Sorry, this is not possible. After creating the schedule you should Send App Data to the NW Publisher app.
Generally, the language of the Life and Ministry meeting data comes from the Congregation Language. Please ensure this is set correctly.
Some display data comes from your Program Language. Please ensure this is also set correctly.
If you later change your Congregation Language or Program Language, this may affect the meeting data language.
Additionally, if multiple users are using a different Program languages, this may also affect the meeting data language.
Either manually change or Edit the Life and Ministry Meeting Parts or Reset the Schedule.
Either enter the data manually or Reset the Schedule
Yes, please see Select a Person to handle a Life and Ministry Meeting part.
If a part will not be given by anyone, tick None
Please see Congregation Information and ensure This Year and Next Year meeting Day and Time is correct.
8 weeks of Life and Ministry Meeting schedules, Weekend Meeting schedules, Field Service schedules and Public Witnessing schedules are shown in NW Publisher app. This cannot be changed.
Persons (Students)
Please carefully re-read the section Schedule the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting above.
Only Active persons who have the correct Assign value set will show in this list.
Please check the person is:
- Either Active or a CLM Student. See Person > Spiritual
- Assigned to that assignment or duty. See Persons > Assign
- If you are scheduling a Language Group, the person must be in that Language Group (see Groups and Families > Other Groups)
Yes, please see Select a Person to handle a Life and Ministry Meeting part.
If a part will not be given by anyone, tick None
No, not in NW Scheduler.
The Instructions for Our Christian Life and Ministry Meeting clearly state: “The ‘Record Your Progress’ section of the brochure is designed for student use and should not be marked by the chairman.”
The is no direction that the Study Points should be recorded or tracked. In fact, the Branch Privacy Policy makes it clear that only a minimal amount of personal data should be saved. NW Scheduler does not record or track Study Points.
It is up to you, but we recommend simply adjusting the schedule after the meeting to reflect what actually happened, and who actually gave each part. That way the Part History will be correct.
There is no way to track or record who “cancelled” or who “filled-in”, nor is this necessary.
The Branch Privacy Policy makes it clear that only a minimal amount of personal data should be saved.
Circuit Overseer Visit and Congregation Events
Please use the Change Meeting Day Congregation Event
During the week of the Circuit Overseer visit, you should replace the Congregation Bible Study description with the Circuit Overseer Service Talk Theme.
Please see Change or Edit Life and Ministry Meeting Information
This is not possible, and not necessary.
The Circuit Overseer already knows he is giving the Closing Prayer, so there is no need to schedule him to do so.
Simply leave the Closing Prayer field blank.
Please carefully re-read Schedule the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting above.
Local circumstances vary, and some congregations may still have certain parts during the week. Additionally, sometimes brothers set the wrong week as a Congregation Event.
Therefore, New World Scheduler will not automatically clear or remove any assignments for Special Event weeks. If need, you can do this manually. Additionally assignments can still be scheduled on these weeks if needed.
Language Groups
History
No, not in NW Scheduler.
The Instructions for Our Christian Life and Ministry Meeting clearly state: “The ‘Record Your Progress’ section of the brochure is designed for student use and should not be marked by the chairman.”
The is no direction that the Study Points should be recorded or tracked. In fact, the Branch Privacy Policy makes it clear that only a minimal amount of personal data should be saved. NW Scheduler does not record or track Study Points.
NW Scheduler strictly follows the Branch Data Retention Policy, which limits how much data and history may be kept.
NW Scheduler will keep 9 months of student history, which is more than enough. This cannot be changed.
8 weeks of Life and Ministry Meeting schedules, Weekend Meeting schedules, Field Service schedules and Public Witnessing schedules are shown in NW Publisher app. This cannot be changed.
Additional Help
- Schedule the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting
- Schedule Local Public Talks
- Schedule Away Public Talks
- Public Speaker Sharing
- Schedule Field Service
- Schedule Public Witnessing Carts
- Schedule Congregation Duties
- Schedule Kingdom Hall Cleaning
- Schedule Lawn & Garden Care
- Schedule Maintenance Tasks (LDC)
- Schedule Circuit Overseer Visit
- Auto-Assign
- Language Groups