Already known for their willingness to knock on doors to spread their message, Jehovah’s Witnesses are now delivering personal invitations to their district convention in Belton.

The annual gathering at the Bell County Expo Center will run six weekends beginning this weekend. Organizers said they expect each session to attract 6,000 people to the host city.

“We believe this will create an injection into the economies of Waco, Temple and Belton, even beyond,” said David W. Murray, who works for the Jehovah’s Witnesses news service in San Antonio.

Belton lies 39 miles southwest of Waco, but Murray said he’s confident some attending the event “will stay in your hotels and eat in your restaurants” as the six-weekend conference progresses.

The theme this year is “Let God’s Kingdom Come,” which is a request that Jesus Christ instructs believers to make in the model prayer he discusses in Matthew 6:9-13.

Those attending the event are members of the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They include 6,200 delegates from congregations stretching from San Antonio to Waco.

Murray said the theme comes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where he taught his followers to pray for God’s kingdom to come. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus Christ will oversee this kingdom, which they envision as a glorious paradise.

Murray said many who follow biblical books of prophesy believe the kingdom will arrive soon. Those who attend the session will hear about its nature and how someone qualifies to live there.

A colorful brochure printed for the convention said, “Violence, immorality and global warming, along with oil spills and other environmental disasters — all these problems have led concerned people to ask, ‘Will humans ruin this earth?’ You are warmly invited to come and listen to the answer.”

Attendees also will see skits and baptisms.

Volunteers will try to contact each household in Belton during the event, either with a flier, a personal visit, a mailer or a phone call. Sessions will be held in English and Spanish.

Murray said Jehovah’s Witnesses who visit neighborhoods around the country to talk about their faith and pass out fliers sometimes meet resistance from people who do not want to be disturbed.

“But we believe it is God’s will for us to spread his message,” Murray said.

The district convention in Belton is one of 381 Jehovah’s Witnesses will hold in 98 U.S. cities.

There are more than 7.5 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in more than 107,000 congregations worldwide.

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