| ←342 | Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1986-2001 Continental Pioneer Committees |
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| 29 SEPTEMBER 2000 |
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
343.1 Over recent months the Universal House of Justice has been consulting with the International Teaching Center regarding the role of the Continental Pioneer Committees in facilitating the movement of pioneers and traveling teachers. In the light of these discussions, the Teaching Center has suggested that certain changes be made to the responsibilities of the Committees. The enclosed statements of the present-day purpose and character of the Committees and of their responsibilities have been prepared by the Teaching Center to reflect these changes. The Universal House of Justice has approved that these documents now supersede the ones dated January 1990. We have been instructed to share them with all National Spiritual Assemblies.
- With loving Bahá’í greetings,
- FOR DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARIAT
CONTINENTAL PIONEER COMMITTEES
A Statement on Their Present-Day Purpose and Character
5 September 2000
Prepared by the International Teaching Center
343.2 The launching of the Three Year Plan in 1993 marked the beginning of a new stage in the promotion of international pioneering and travel-teaching. The pioneer call raised by the Universal House of Justice at that time, which encouraged the friends to arise from any part of the globe to pioneer or travel-teach in any other part in need of assistance, resulted in a massive movement of believers in the international field. No longer was a distinction made between sending and receiving national communities, rather the entire Bahá’í world was asked to contribute to the expanding pool of pioneers and traveling teachers. Homefront pioneering, too, has witnessed a dramatic upsurge in recent years. As the human resources of each national community have grown through the instrumentality of the training institute, those eager to serve on the home front have increasingly arisen. Simultaneous to these developments, the responsibilities of the Continental Pioneer Committees have evolved. This statement of their present-day purpose and character and the attached document, describing their responsibilities in some detail, have been prepared to reflect their current role and in anticipation of still greater accomplishments.
343.3 The members of the Continental Pioneer Committees are invited to serve in that capacity by the Universal House of Justice for a term of three years. While some of the Committees are responsible for an entire continental area, others are zonally based within a continent. All Committees operate under the supervision of the International Teaching Center and serve primarily as executive agencies that facilitate the movement of pioneers and traveling teachers. This they achieve through the efficient management of information and by acting as channels for the disbursement of the International Deputization Fund.
343.4 The Continental Pioneer Committees obtain their information from a number of sources, among them the National Spiritual Assemblies and their committees, individual believers, reference materials containing general information on various countries, as well as reports from pioneers and traveling teachers in the field. However, the Continental Counselors, with whom the Committees have a close relationship, constitute their principal source of information. Through consultation with the Counselors, the Committees not only gain access to extensive experience and knowledge of the needs and potentialities of each country, but are also able to evaluate the information collected from various sources, set priorities, propose action, and obtain a more accurate understanding of their role as facilitators of pioneer and traveling teacher movement across the continent. It is hoped that serious attention will continue to be given to maintaining efficient lines of communication between the Pioneer Committees and the Continental Boards of Counselors. With this aim in mind, the full membership of each Continental Pioneer Committee, or at least the Secretary, should meet from time to time with the respective Board of Counselors for consultation regarding the needs and opportunities in the continent.
343.5 In general, the Continental Pioneer Committees are concerned with facilitating the movement of individual pioneers and traveling teachers. In doing so, they can go far in seeing that those entering this field of service are directed towards a destination where their services can best be utilized, thus ensuring that the needs of the Cause are adequately and swiftly met. There will, however, be occasions when the institutions of the Faith in a region or country rich in human resources initiate projects designed to mobilize the believers and deploy them for service in other areas where opportunities are waiting to be optimized. Here the Committees will also have a vital role to play in helping to maintain the steady flow of the friends from one area to another.
343.6 In all that they do, the Continental Pioneer Committees are expected to be keen and alert. The institutions of the Faith and individual believers should be able to depend on the reliability, experience, and knowledge of the Committees. Pioneers and traveling teachers will continue to make a valuable contribution to the advancement of the Faith in the years ahead, and the Continental Pioneer Committees are one of the instruments placed at the disposition of the Bahá’í world to assist the believers who wish to serve the Cause in this field of endeavor.
