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Hierarchical structure of Christian denomination

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. Each congregation is served by a group of locally recommended male elders and ministerial servants, appointed by the circuit overseer. Elders take responsibility for congregational governance, pastoral work, setting meeting times, selecting speakers, conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work, and forming judicial committees to investigate and decide disciplinary action in cases where members are believed to have committed serious sins. Ministerial servants fulfil clerical and attendant duties, but may also teach and conduct meetings.—based in the Watchtower Society's Warwick, New York headquarters. Each of the Governing Body members claims to be of the "anointed class" with a hope of heavenly life (whereas most Jehovah's Witnesses hope to be resurrected in an earthly paradise). There are no elections for membership; new members are selected by the existing body. Each of its members serves as chairman, with the position rotating among members alphabetically each year. Until late 2012, the Governing Body described itself as the representative and "spokesman" of God's "faithful and discreet slave class" (approximately 11,000 Jehovah's Witnesses who in 2010 professed to be "anointed"), providing "spiritual food" for Witnesses worldwide on behalf of the "faithful and discreet slave class". In practice it sought neither advice nor approval from other "anointed" Witnesses when formulating policies and doctrines, or when producing material for publications and conventions. At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Society, the "faithful and discreet slave" was re defined as referring to the Governing Body only. From 1944, Watch Tower publications had made occasional references to a governing body, identifying it with the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. In October 1971, four additional men joined the seven members of the society's board of directors on what became known as a separate, expanded Governing Body. The Governing Body was then for the first time formally defined, indicating that it provided Jehovah's Witnesses with direction, guidance and regulation. All doctrinal and publishing decisions continued to be made by, or were subject to, the approval of the society's president. Organizational changes at the highest levels of the Watchtower Society in 1976 significantly increased the powers and authority of the Governing Body and reduced those of the Watch Tower Society president. The Governing Body directs six committees comprising its members along with its "helpers". The six committees are responsible for various administrative functions including personnel, publishing, evangelizing activity, school and assembly programs, writing, and coordination. Only branch committee members and traveling overseers are referred to as "representatives of the Governing Body". In the last decade, the Governing Body has reiterated its overall oversight role but has delegated other Witnesses, typically branch committee members, to serve as corporate executives and directors of Watch Tower and other incorporated entities.

Jehovah's Witnesses use the term traveling overseer to refer to headquarters representatives and circuit overseers, all of whom are elders. All traveling overseers are directly appointed by the Governing Body. A branch may appoint qualified local elders as "substitute" circuit overseers. Additional training is provided at their School for Traveling Overseers, and ongoing pastoral care and instruction is provided to them by senior branch office representatives. In 1995, Witnesses reported that 4374 traveling overseers cared for 78,620 congregations, an average of about 18 congregations each. The majority of traveling overseers are circuit overseers; they oversee circuits of about twenty congregations, performing twice yearly week long visits with each. During his visit, the circuit overseer delivers talks to the congregation and meets with the elders, ministerial servants and pioneers. He is responsible for appointing new elders and ministerial servants, based on recommendations by elders. He typically works with various members of the congregation in the house to house preaching work, and may also conduct personal Bible studies and pastoral calls. Jehovah's Witnesses are instructed to "participate in a joyful interchange of encouragement" with traveling overseers, and to render them "double honor", a biblical term they believe includes cooperation and hospitality. Traveling overseers are generally members of a religious order who have taken a vow of poverty; they are provided with vehicles, healthcare, and lodging, and their basic expenses are reimbursed by the congregations they visit.

Congregations are usually based on geographical area or language spoken, and may have as few as ten or as many as two hundred members. Congregations meet for religious services at Kingdom Halls, which may be shared by two or more congregations. If a small group of Witnesses is isolated by geography or language, it may have some or all of its meetings at a different time and place to the rest of the congregation, under the supervision of that congregation's body of elders. If a group intends to become a new congregation, the area's circuit overseer submits an application to the branch office. Each congregation is assigned a territory; members are requested to attend the congregation of the territory in which they reside. Witnesses are instructed to devote as much time as possible to preaching activities ("witnessing" or "field service"), and to provide a monthly report to their congregation summarizing their preaching activity. Jehovah's Witnesses consider all baptized Witnesses to be ministers. Participants in organized preaching activity are referred to as publishers. Only individuals who are approved and active as publishers are officially counted as members. Congregations are governed by local elders, who are assisted by ministerial servants. Elders and ministerial servants are appointed in each congregation for handling various religious and administrative duties. Only male members may serve in the capacity of elder or ministerial servant. In smaller congregations, one man may handle multiple positions until another qualified candidate is available. Baptized female members may perform some of their duties only if a baptized male is unavailable; female Witnesses leading in prayer or teaching are required to wear a head covering.

Ministerial servants, equivalent to deacons, are appointed to assist the elders with routine work, including the supply of literature to the congregation, accounts, maintaining the Kingdom Hall, and operating audiovisual equipment. They also present various parts at the meetings. Ministerial servants are appointed in a similar manner to elders. coordinates and schedules others to run microphones, handle the stage and podium and operate audio equipment; in large congregations, a separate Platform Servant may also be assigned. Literature Servant: distributes literature in stock, takes requests for special items, or yearly items for use by congregation members. May place special request orders for publishers in their own Kingdom Hall. Literature Coordinator: orders and receives stock and bulk literature for multiple congregations meeting at a single Kingdom Hall. Magazine Servant: arranges orders of study, simplified, foreign language, and non print editions of The Watchtower and Awake! magazines. Magazine Coordinator: orders and receives all magazines for congregations meeting at a single Kingdom Hall, and stocks them in a designated magazine pickup area. Territory Servant: distributes territory maps for preaching and keeps records of all territories within the local congregation's area. Attendant Servant: greets visitors, seats latecomers, takes attendance count, and is responsible for climate control of the Kingdom Hall and parking lot security. Group Servant: assumes role of Group Overseer when a sufficient number of elders is not available, under supervision of the body of elders.

When accompanied by adults, children of baptized Witnesses may participate in organized preaching without formally qualifying. However, only those recognized as publishers are counted in the denomination's official membership statistics. Children of Witness parents may be asked to participate in demonstrations at congregation meetings and assemblies, or as models and actors in materials published by the Watch Tower Society.

Unbaptized publishers are persons who are not yet baptized, but who have requested and been granted approval to join in the congregation's formal ministry. They must demonstrate a basic knowledge of Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrines to the elders, state their desire to be a Jehovah's Witness, and conform to the organization's moral standards. To qualify as an unbaptized publisher, an individual must already be "an active associate of Jehovah's Witnesses", regularly attending congregation meetings. Prior to 1988, unbaptized publishers were referred to as "approved associates", "unbaptized associates" or "regularly associating". The terms were discontinued on the basis that meeting attendance on its own does not constitute approval of or commitment to the faith.

The term Bible student, sometimes informally referred to as a "Bible study", is generally used by Witnesses to refer to an individual who takes part in their religious study program. The purpose of the Bible study program is for the student to become baptized as a Jehovah's Witness. Students usually have their study with the same Witness for the duration of the study program, often being the member who first encounters them while preaching. Interested individuals initially contacted by a member of the opposite sex are typically assigned a study conductor of their own gender. A student typically meets with his or her study conductor once each week at the student's home or other suitable location. The study program involves consideration of a Bible based publication that addresses Jehovah's Witnesses' core beliefs. Each paragraph is read aloud by the conductor or student, and the student answers pre printed questions from the material in the paragraph. Students are encouraged to look up cited scriptures in the Bible and include them in their responses. Each Bible study is typically conducted with an individual or family, though in some cases many people may take part. Students are invited to attend and even comment at congregation meetings. Students may also attend reading improvement or literacy classes in congregations where these additional courses are held.

Individuals who attend meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses but are not involved in preaching are occasionally referred to in Watch Tower Society publications as "associates" or as being "associated with the congregation". Attendance figures for Witness events include "Jehovah's Witnesses and associates"; such statistics may be cited for comparison of Witness numbers with membership figures of other denominations, but only those sharing in their ministry are counted by Jehovah's Witnesses when reporting their official statistics. Unbaptized individuals who attend meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses are not subject to congregation discipline, though elders may privately warn members of the congregation about individuals considered to constitute "an unusual threat to the flock."