Jehovah's Witnesses reject a professional or ordained clergy class, teaching that all baptized members are ministers of the good news and are expected to engage in the preaching work. There is no distinction between clergy and laity in the traditional sense. The identity 'Jehovah's Witness' itself implies a ministry of witnessing. All publishers (those actively engaged in door-to-door ministry) are considered ministers regardless of gender or age.

At the congregational level, qualified male members serve as elders (overseers) and ministerial servants (deacons), appointed on the basis of spiritual qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Elders provide spiritual oversight, conduct meetings, deliver talks, and discipline members; ministerial servants assist with practical congregational tasks. These are volunteer roles—elders are not paid clergy and typically hold secular jobs. Women are not appointed as elders or ministerial servants and do not speak during formal congregation meetings when adult baptized men are present, though they engage fully in the door-to-door ministry.