![]() ![]() Followers take their name from Jehovah, or God and Creator, and they help spread what they refer to as “the good news” of Jehovah’s Kingdom. Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians who believe in the Bible as the word of God. The Guam branch also serves the greater Micronesia area as the Barrigada facility prints bible study materials in 11 languages for distribution throughout the region. To keep pace with Guam’s diverse population, missionaries speak several languages including Japanese, Chuukese, Tagalog, Iloko, Korean and Chinese. Today, the Watch Tower’s Guam Branch office in Barrigada continues to serve as the center for Jehovah’s Witnesses on the island. Currently, the Guam Branch Committee consists of four members – Arthur White, Salvador Soriano, Roger Konno and Barak Bowman. Arthur White took over the coordinator position in 1987, and under his term, the Guam branch expanded to include a total of four Kingdom Halls, and additional office and factory space. Later, the Guam Branch Committee would be established, with Miller named as coordinator. In 1969, Guam and Micronesia became part of the Hawai`i branch. Miller toured Guam and Micronesia and made several recommendations, including increasing the number of missionaries in Guam to four and creating a missionary home in the southern part of the island. More growth would later follow after a visit from Nathaniel Miller of Hawai`i. Knorr assigned six missionaries throughout Micronesia and increased their travels throughout the area. Knorr, proved critical to the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the region. In 1964, a visit to Guam by the president of the Watch Tower Society, N.H. Merle Lowmaster succeeded the Wigers, and he became the first missionary to spread the message of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Saipan, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Belau and Yap. The Wigers consequently set up the first Kingdom Hall in a vacated military mess hall. They were Sam and Virginia Wiger, and their congregation had grown to warrant a larger meeting place. In the mid-1950s, Salcedo was hosting meetings at his home and spending weekends preaching throughout the island.īy 1954, the first missionaries assigned to Guam had arrived. Unlike his colleagues, Salcedo was able to remain on the island even after their construction company folded because he had married a Chamorro. Salcedo, a Filipino and former boxer, helped establish a foundation for future Witnesses on the island. While in Guam, they organized the first Micronesian congregation in 1951, as well as introduced the teachings of the Bible to fellow worker Tony Salcedo. These first Witnesses were contract workers assigned to assist with post-World War II reconstruction. ![]() The first Jehovah’s Witnesses in Guam arrived from the Philippines in the 1940s. ![]()
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