The Five Year Plan 2001-2006 (Summary)/Introduction

INTRODUCTION

THE CONCLUSION of the Five Year

Plan at Riḍván 2006 marked “a decisive moment in the unfoldment of the historical enterprise on which the community of the Greatest Name is embarked”.' In 2001, three months before the launching of the Plan, the Universal House of Justice had announced the beginning ofa new epoch in the fortunes of the Faith—the fifth epoch of the Formative Age. The progress achieved in the Bahá’í world during the past five years has reflected the leap forward that the opening ofa new epoch portended. In this latest chapter in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan conceived by the Master, the followers of Bahá’u’lláh continued to concentrate their exertions on achieving a significant advance in the process of entry by troops.

Fortified by the successes of the Four Year Plan and Twelve Month Plan in developing the human resources of the Faith on a larger scale, the believers focused their efforts on implementing a “framework for action”2 that was born out ofdecades ofexperience and in a few short years proved universal in its efficacy. The systematization of the teaching work in the context ofgeographic clusters was a concept that enabled the believers to acquire a vision of systematic growth and to set priorities for action.

At the heart of this framework were “two complementary, reinforcing movements”,3 which guided and focused the efforts of the believers in systematically advancing the process of entry by troops. Through patient, sustained endeavour it became apparent that as more and

more friends completed the sequence of courses and arose to carry out the tasks of expansion and consolidation, an impetus was given to the development of the cluster and its capacity to achieve and sustain growth. Concentrated attention to these two movements was seen as essential to the progress of the Plan and became the standard by which progress was assessed.

Training institutes grew progressively more able “to provide their communities with a constant stream of human resources to serve the process of entry by troops”.4 By 2006, more than 36,000 tutors and nearly 75,000 children’s class teachers had been trained. The number of core activities rose correspondingly, showing a sixfold increase in devotional meetings and a threefold increase in children’s classes. The impact of the success in training and deploying human resources was reflected in a growing number of advanced clusters. After achieving a Vigorous institute process, the multiplication ofcore activities, and an increase in the tempo of teaching, the conditions were favourable for launching intensive programmes of growth in these clusters. By the end of the Five Year Plan, 296 such programmes had been initiated.

The learning about growth was the most intense in these vanguard clusters, as the believers gained new insights and experience about outreach, teaching, enrolment, and capacity building. The intensive programmes of growth proceeded in a succession of cycles. Each cycle involved distinct phases of

. . . thefollowers of Babd’u’lld/a continued to concentrate t/aeir exertions on achieving a significant advance in the process afentry by troops.

[Page 2]The Five Year Plan 200I—2006: Summary ofAclaz'ez/ement: and Learning

Most important, t/ae meamfor establishing a pattern ofactz'vz'zj/ with “equal emphasis on the twin processes ofexpansion and consolidation” became better understood.

expansion, consolidation, reflection, and planning. Through the experience gained in a cycle, the believers learned valuable lessons that improved the effectiveness of each phase. Most important, the means For establishing a pattern of activity with “equal emphasis on the twin processes of

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expansion and consolidation” better understood.

Reflection meetings were key to the progress of intensive programmes of growth by providing a cluster—wide arena for assessing progress, analysing experience, planning, and maintaining unity of vision. How to make reflection meetings more effective became an area of learning in itself and gradually it was evident that such gatherings needed to combine both “joyous celebration” and “serious consultation”.“

The process of growth “gather[ed] momentum in urban centres as well as rural areas”: The Change in urban communities represented a signal accomplishment. For many years, even in highly receptive countries, Bahá’í communities in cities had faced Challenges in creating dynamic, growing communities. However, armed now with new skills and greater confidence resulting from their participation in the institute courses, many more believers have been participating in the teaching work. Beginning With systematic efforts to reach out more vigorously to friends and family, the Bahá’ís in both urban and rural areas, in the West and in the East, have found their energetic commitment to teaching matched by an unexpected level of responsiveness. The core activities welcomed a growing number of seekers, souls who were increasingly attracted to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and vivified by its spiritual potency. In many highly receptive areas, the majority of guest participants in study circles became Bahá’í’s after studying the first book in the sequence, demonstrating their efficacy as “portals

for entry by troops”.8

Bahá’í community life was gradually transformed by an increasingly outwardlooking orientation, still incipient in many places but becoming customary in others. It became strikingly apparent to the believers as they opened their community life to the wider public that they were able “to see more readily the latent potentiality in people"," a pre—condition for effectively attracting these individuals to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. Moreover, the pattern ofactivity reflected in the coherent model For advancing systematic growth—the institute process coupled with devotional meetings, Children’s Classes, and study circles—was undeniably enriching the spiritual lives of the Bahá’ís themselves and contributing to the solidarity and spiritual character of their communities. Home visits, which are a natural means of connecting with hearts, proved to be the single most effective approach to both the expansion and consolidation work.

As the House of Justice indicated in earlier messages, the efforts to advance the process ofentry by troops would “act

”'0 the institutions of the Faith as

upon much as they would act upon this process. National Spiritual Assemblies and Regional Bahá’í Councils matured significantly over the five years as they became more systematic in promoting and monitoring the process of growth in their regions. It has become increasingly clear that the arena for action and learning about growth is the cluster and that this learning is fuelled by the experience of the most advanced clusters.

In addition to learning about the systematization of expansion and consolidation, there was a need to develop institutional capacity for managing the process ofgrowth at the grass roots. The House of Justice explained that this would depend upon the collaboration of three entities at the Cluster level: the training institute, the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, and an Area Teaching Committee. The institute

[Page 3]coordinators played a pivotal role in enabling over 150,000 more individuals to enter the institute process during the Five Year Plan, contributing to a growing pool of human resources for the tasks of expansion and consolidation. In the later years of the Plan, Area Teaching Committees, also referred to as Cluster Growth Committees, took form in advanced clusters and began to organize reflection meetings and administer several aspects of the process of systematic growth. The Auxiliary Board members worked on both Fronts to support human resource development and facilitate core activities and teaching endeavours. Taken together, these three agencies constituted a strong infrastructure, making it possible for many decisions related to the process of growth to be made by those most intimately involved in their execution. The support of Local Spiritual Assemblies to the institute process and their promotion and facilitation of the teaching work among the believers in their jurisdiction also played a Vital role in advancing the process of systematic growth, especially where the Assemblies were engaged in implementing intensive programmes of growth.

With each movement ofa cluster to a new stage of development, a change in the focus and dynamics of the cluster takes place. Nowhere was this more evident than in clusters where intensive programmes of growth were launched. The systematic planning in which the institutions and believers take part, the holding of a large reflection meeting for the launch, the mobilization of the friends into teaching teams and other activities, and the ongoing training of human resources that must take place, all combine to create a heightened motivation and enthusiasm for teaching and consolidation activities. Statistics from numerous intensive programmes of growth around the globe, in both urban and rural settings, revealed that

the number of new contacts or enrolments garnered during the expansion phase ofa single cycle often outstripped the results of the previous 12 months.

In all cases it was found that the key learning from the earlier stages of cluster development—establishing a strong institute process, carrying out the practice components of the courses, developing an outward—looking orientation, encouraging individual initiative, reaching out to special populations, and multiplying core activities—culminated in the actions required to launch and sustain an intensive programme of growth. All of these elements had to be integrated for a successful endeavour. At the same time the cycles of activity of a growth programme were so Clear and well defined that it became possible to see when one or more of these elements were not operating at an optimum level and these weaknesses could then be systematically addressed. This process of analysis and intervention in implementing intensive programmes of growth accounted for “the most significant advances in learning”“ during the Five Year Plan.

Along with reviewing the efforts of the believers in prosecuting the central tasks of the Plan, this summary will present achievements in the specialized work of social and economic development and external affairs. In addition to achieving their specific objectives, both of these areas of activity have effectively reinforced the outward orientation of the Bahá’í Community and secured the support of like—minded individuals in international circles. In the final section, the accomplishments associated with the Bahá’í World Centre will be presented. Their far—reaching character reflects the reality that “the evolution of the World Administrative Centre of the Faith . . .

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has crossed a crucial threshold . Che) QC) ‘23)

The learning about growth in the past five years has charted the course of the

INTRODUCTION

With each movement ofa cluster to a new stage ofdevelopmem‘, a change in t/vefocus and dynamics office cluster takes place.

[Page 4]T be Five Year Plan 2001—2006: Summary OfAc/Jz'evemmt: zma’ Learning

Bahá’í’ world For the next fifteen. The House of Justice explains that the experience with intensive programmes of growth has been universal and consistent. The aim of this review is above all to stimulate reflection on what has been achieved and to inspire confidence in the course ahead. All that is

needed now is For the believers to direct their wholehearted efforts to establishing intensive programmes of growth in increasing numbers on all continents, and in so doing, succeed in “spreading . . . the knowledge of the redemptive power

of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh’“ throughout

the body ofa stricken humanity.