Five Year Plan (2001-2006)

Five Year Plan (2001-2006)
Epoch	Fifth Epoch
Coordinator	Universal House of Justice
Protagonists	All National Spiritual Assemblies

Divine Plan

Shoghi Effendi

First Epoch (1937-1963)

1st Seven Year Plan (1937-1944) Indian Six Year Plan (1938-1944) British Six Year Plan (1944-1950) 2nd Seven Year Plan (1946-1953) Indian 4½ Year Plan (1946-1950) Persian 45 Month Plan (1946-1950) Persian Women's Four Year Plan (1946-1950) Australian Six Year Plan (1947-1953) Canadian Five Year Plan (1948-1953) Egyptian Five Year Plan (1948-1953) German Five Year Plan (1948-1953) African Campaign (1950-1953) Iraqi Three Year Plan (1950-1953) British Two Year Plan (1951-1953) Indian Nineteen Month Plan (1951-1953) South American Two Year Plan (1951-1953) Central American One Year Plan (1952-1953) Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963) Northeast Asian Six Year Plan (1957-1963)

Universal House of Justice

Second Epoch (1964-2021)

Nine Year Plan (1964-1973) Five Year Plan (1974-1979) Seven Year Plan (1979-1986) Six Year Plan (1986-1992) Three Year Plan (1993-1996) Four Year Plan (1996-2000) Twelve Month Plan (2000-2001) Five Year Plan (2001-2006) Five Year Plan (2006-2011) Five Year Plan (2011-2016) Five Year Plan (2016-2021)

Third Epoch (2021-)

Twelve Month Plan (2021-2022) Nine Year Plan (2022-2031)

The Five Year Plan from 2001 to 2006 was one of a series of Plans carried out under the guidance of the Universal House of Justice.

The overall goal of the Plan was advancing the process of Entry by Troops through systematic activity and the processes by which this was pursued became more structured throughout the Plan.

Notable developments of the Bahá’í commmunity during the Plan were:

• The establishment of clusters in all Bahá’í communities as a means of allowing for manageable localized plans to be formulated
• The introduction of the following four core activities as a means of stimulating and monitoring growth
  • Study Circles
  • Devotional Meetings
  • Children's Classes
  • Junior Youth Groups
• The adoption of the materials developed by the Ruhi Institute as the standard curriculum for all Bahá’í training institutes worldwide.
• The introduction of the concept of the intensive program of growth as a means of managing community activity.

A major accomplishment of the Plan was the establishment of intensive programmes of growth in 296 clusters worldwide which served as a basis for the goal of the following Five Year Plan. The model of systematically organizing Bahá’í activities through the cluster model and pursuing community development through the core activities has remained a major aspect of subsequent Plans and Bahá’í community life.

Prelude to the Plan

In its 26 November 1999 message the Universal House of Justice announced that in 2001 a series of Plans spanning twenty-five years would begin with a Five Year Plan. The message made the following comment on the conditions expected at the opening of the Plan:

"National communities should enter the Five Year Plan confident that the acquisition of knowledge, qualities and skills of service by large contingents of believers, with the aid of a sequence of courses, will proceed unhindered."

On 9 January 2001 the Universal House of Justice released a message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counselors on the launch of the Plan and made the following observation on it:

"Advancing the process of entry by troops will continue as the aim of the Five Year Plan—indeed the aim of the series of Plans that will carry the community to the end of the first century of the Formative Age. The acceleration of this vital process will be achieved through systematic activity on the part of the three participants in the Plan: the individual believer, the institutions, and the community."

The message included observations and advice on the following means by which the Plan could be pursued:

• The Training Institute
• Individual Initiative in Teaching
• Systematic Programs of Growth

While including advice based on detailed analysis of learnings accumulated the message also included the following passage:

"Clearly, the scheme described here, while suitable to many national communities, cannot be applied in every situation. We count on the ability of the Bahá’í institutions to create plans which, if not reflecting the total scheme above, will incorporate elements of its vision, according to the circumstances of each national community. Bahá’í communities are, of course, engaged in a range of indispensable endeavors such as public information activity, proclamation efforts, external affairs work, production of literature, and complex social and economic development projects. Most certainly, as plans are devised, they will also address these challenges."

The 9 January 2001 message also notably introduced the concept of a cluster advising the Counselors to assist all national communities in dividing their jurisdictions into clusters to allow for plans for growth and development to be formulated on a manageable scale based on the size and composition of communities in small geographical areas. It advised that plans for clusters should be formulated for a timeframe of a few months at a time and along one or two lines of action before gradually growing in complexity.

In the 2001 Ridvan message the Universal House of Justice announced that a goal of the Plan was to begin constructing a House of Worship for South America in Santiago, Chile, and that at the World Centre developing the Centre for the Study of the Texts, producing English translations of the Bahá’í writings, and undertaking efforts to increase the capacity for pilgrims would be pursued as goals. The message also included the following comment on the Plan:

"There is a general awareness by now that efforts will be made to effect a deeper penetration of the Faith into more and more regions within countries. For example, where circumstances permit, local communities that exist in close proximity to each other will be mobilized to participate in intensive programs of growth. Other approaches will require methodical opening of new areas for which homefront pioneers must be raised up in the same consecrated spirit that prompted those who scattered abroad at earlier times to open virgin territories across continents and seas. Suffice it to say that the process animating this divinely driven enterprise will eventually expand as related features are gradually introduced and systematically integrated into its operation."

Execution of the Plan

In its 17 January 2002 message to the Brazil Youth Congress the Universal House of Justice emphasized the importance of training institutes and increasing the number of study circles in communities to advancing goals set for clusters:

"You know well that the driving force behind growth in every cluster is the training institute. An enormous task lies ahead of these centres of learning as they strive to help large contingents of people pass through the sequence of courses they offer. Participating in their programmes must rank high among the endeavours you undertake for the Faith. Your contribution to the efforts to multiply the number of study circles will be significant if you constantly seek out receptive souls in your schools, at your universities, and in the workplace and invite them to join you in your exploration of the Writings."

In the 2002 Ridvan message the Universal House of Justice noted that clusters had been established by the Institutions of the Faith in 150 countries and that institute campaigns held throughout 2001 had allowed for training institutes to become well established in some clusters resulting in the following three core activities being established and multiplied:

• Study Circles
• Devotional Meetings
• Children's Classes

Regarding the core activities the Universal House of Justice made the following comment:

"Indeed, the increasing participation of seekers in these activities, at the invitation of their Bahá’í friends, has lent a new dimension to their purposes, consequently effecting new enrollments. Here, surely, is a direction of great promise for the teaching work. These core activities, which at the outset were devised principally to benefit the believers themselves, are naturally becoming portals for entry by troops. By combining study circles, devotional meetings and children’s classes within the framework of clusters, a model of coherence in lines of action has been put in place and is already producing welcome results. Worldwide application of this model, we feel confident, holds immense possibilities for the progress of the Cause in the years ahead."

The 2002 Ridvan message also noted that sixteen Regional Conferences on the theme Training Institutes and Systematic Growth were going to be held across the world at the end of the year at the direction of the International Teaching Center.

Some expressed concerns about the potential for uniformity to develop in the Faith as a result of the focus on training institutes and the following was written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice in a 26 June 2002 reply to an individual:

"… the House of Justice feels that it would be beneficial for you to separate in your mind the training institute process, so intimately connected with the promotion of large-scale expansion and consolidation, from the many deepening classes, workshops and summer school courses that form a fundamental part of Bahá’í community life. Their number and diversity actually seem to be on the rise as a result of the institute process. Indeed, you will be reassured to know that, as the believers gain confidence in their capacity to serve through the institute process, a much richer expression of the diverse talents of the friends is beginning to appear in the Bahá’í world—a richness that bodes well for the future progress of the Cause."

The message to an individual also emphasized that despite the emphasis placed upon it under the Five Year Plan the institute process was not mandatory:

"It is natural that any given educational program would not appeal to everyone, and clearly participating in the courses of an institute is not a requirement to be fulfilled by all believers. In no way, then, should those who do not wish to take part feel that they are disobeying the directives of the Universal House of Justice. It does ask, however, that everyone, even those not involved, support the institute process and not impede its steady progress."

In a 17 January 2003 message to the Bahá’í world the Universal House of Justice reported that 17,000 clusters had been established worldwide and were beginning to be categorized by the institutions allowing for growth to be more systematically planned and monitored. Regarding successful patterns of activity for the purposes of advancing a cluster the message provided the following advice:

"Devotional meetings begin to flourish as consciousness of the spiritual dimension of human existence is raised among the believers in an area through institute courses. Children’s classes, too, are a natural outgrowth of the training received early in the study of the main sequence. As both activities are made open to the wider community through a variety of well-conceived and imaginative means, they attract a growing number of seekers, who, more often than not, are eager to attend firesides and join study circles. Many go on subsequently to declare their faith in Bahá’u’lláh and, from the outset, view their role in the community as that of active participants in a dynamic process of growth. Individual and collective exertions in the teaching field intensify correspondingly, further fuelling the process. Established communities are revitalized, and newly formed ones soon gain the privilege of electing their Local Spiritual Assemblies.

The coherence thus achieved through the establishment of study circles, devotional meetings and children’s classes provides the initial impulse for growth in a cluster, an impulse that gathers strength as these core activities multiply in number. Campaigns that help a sizeable group of believers advance far enough in the main sequence of courses to perform the necessary acts of service lend impetus to this multiplication of activity.

It is evident, then, that a systematic approach to training has created a way for Bahá’ís to reach out to the surrounding society, share Bahá’u’lláh’s message with friends, family, neighbours and coworkers, and expose them to the richness of His teachings. This outward-looking orientation is one of the finest fruits of the grassroots learning taking place. The pattern of activity that is being established in clusters around the globe constitutes a proven means of accelerating expansion and consolidation. Yet this is only a beginning."

In the 2003 Ridvan message the Universal House of Justice announced that goals at the World Centre had been accomplished with the Tablet Javáhiru’l-Asrár being translated and published under the title Gems of Divine Mysteries and the number of pilgrims in a pilgrim group was being increased from 150 to 200 starting from October. The message also announced that a World Centre Endowment Fund had been established to maintain the upkeep of the buildings and gardens of the World Centre and 185 design concepts for the Santiago House of Worship had been received.

In the 2004 Ridvan message the Universal House of Justice observed that most National Spiritual Assemblies had adopted the courses of the Ruhi Institute for their training institutes due to finding them the most responsive to the needs of the Plan, and in the 2005 Ridvan message it reported that 200,000 people had completed Book 1 of the Ruhi Institute with 10,000 people qualified to serve as study circle tutors.

The 2005 Ridvan message reported that there were 100,000 seekers engaged in core activities and 150 clusters had established an intensive program of growth. Intensive institute campaigns were identified as a feature of clusters experiencing growth.

In its 27 December 2005 message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counselors the Universal House of Justice reviewed the outcomes and implications of the plan for the individual, the community, and the institutions. It also outlined the concept of an intensive program of growth:

"As currently conceived, an intensive program of growth is straightforward, simple and effective, but implies a level of exertion that tests the resolve of the friends. Conforming well to the vision we presented five years ago, it employs a few measures that have proven to be indispensable to large-scale expansion and consolidation. It consists of cycles of activity, in general of three months’ duration each, which proceed according to distinct phases of expansion, consolidation, reflection and planning.
The expansion phase, often a period of two weeks, demands the highest level of intensity. Its objective is to widen the circle of those interested in the Faith, to find receptive souls and to teach them. Although this phase might include some element of proclamation, it should not be seen as a time to hold a few events for this purpose or to undertake a set of activities that merely convey information. Experience suggests that the more closely teaching approaches and methods are aligned with the capacity acquired from the study of the institute courses the more rewarding the results."

The message also announced that Junior Youth Groups were to be considered a fourth core activity.

In a 28 December 2005 message to all National Spiritual Assemblies the Universal House of Justice announced that all training institutes were to adopt the Ruhi Institutes curriculum identifying the introduction of Book 7 of the curriculum at the start of the Plan as being central to the progress of hundreds of clusters. Regarding the decision the message included the following:

"To select one curriculum to be used by training institutes worldwide for a certain period of time is not to ignore the variety of needs and interests of the friends as they endeavor to better equip themselves to understand and apply the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Nor does it in any way diminish the value of the efforts made to develop courses and materials to respond to these needs. It is not intended to suggest, either, that one curriculum should necessarily appeal to everyone. What this decision does imply, however, is that the present demands of the growth of the Faith are such that, for some years to come, training institutes should not attempt to meet all of the needs and interests of the friends.
The institutions of the Faith will continue to respect the wishes of those who, for whatever reason, do not feel inclined to participate in the study of the books of the Ruhi Institute. Those not so disposed should recognize that there are many avenues of service open to them, including, above all, individual teaching which is the paramount duty of every Bahá’í. Local deepening classes and summer and winter schools, which remain an important feature of Bahá’í community life, will provide ample opportunities for them to deepen their knowledge of the teachings. What we ask of such friends, as we have in the past, is that they not allow their personal preferences to hamper in any way the unfoldment of an educational process that has shown the potential to embrace millions of souls from divers backgrounds. Regarding the materials that have been developed in other contexts over the years, and which will continue to emerge, these surely have their proper place in the Bahá’í community. Some, for example, form the basis for deepening classes at the grassroots, while others, with the necessary modifications, can be situated along one of the branches of courses stemming out from the Ruhi Institute’s main sequence."

Outcomes of the Plan

The numerical accomplishments of the Plan were as follows:

• 150,000 individuals entered the Institute Process.
• 36,000 study circle tutors trained.
• 75,000 children's class teachers trained.
• Devotional gatherings increased sixfold.
• Children's classes increased threefold.
• 296 intensive programmes of growth launched.