Five Year Plan (2006-2011)

Five Year Plan (2006-2011)
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 for 2006 to 2011 was one of a series of Plans carried out under the guidance of the Universal House of Justice.

The overall aim of the Plan was advancing the process of Entry by Troops according to the systematic structures developed in the preceding Plan.

The Plan focused on the systematic establishment of the following four core activities in local Bahá’í communities and ensuring their sustainability:

• Study Circles
• Children's Classes
• Devotional Gatherings
• Junior Youth Groups

As with the previous Plan progress and activity was monitored on a manageable scale using the cluster model with the international numerical goal of the Plan being to increase the number of Intensive Programmes of Growth in clusters to 1,500 globally from the 296 established as of the completion of the previous Plan. The goal was accomplished one year early in 2010 and surpassed by at least 100.

During the Plan the Universal House of Justice provided further guidance on the purpose of the core activities and advice on the attitude the Bahá’í community should approach them with, an outline of the general pattern of a clusters development, and noted that in addition to increasing the number of core activities there were many qualitative aspects to the work of the Plan including developing Bahá’í administration and increasing the size of the Bahá’í community.

Background

Prelude to the Plan

In its December 27, 2005, message to the Counsellors Conference the Universal House of Justice announced that the elements required for a concerted effort to expand the influence of the Bahá’í Faith had crystallized into a framework of action over the course of the Five Year Plan for 2001 to 2006 which could be exploited in the upcoming Five Year Plan. Major elements of the framework outlined are a focus on the aim of the Plan on the part of individuals and institutions, and community activity being managed in cycles consisting of three months with phases devoted to expansion, consolidation, reflection, and planning.

The overall goal of the Plan set for the worldwide community was establishing intensive programs of growth in 1,500 clusters across the world with the House of Justice asking the Counsellors to consult with National Spiritual Assemblies and Regional Councils on the conditions in their communities to identify clusters where attention could be focused. In order to implement plans the Universal House of Justice recommended strengthening the Institute Process so that individuals were passing through the main sequence of the Ruhi Institute utilizing Institute campaigns to do so, steadily increasing the numbers of core activities being held, and holding regular reflection meetings to monitor progress and maintain unity of thought.

In March 2006 the Universal House of Justice released a message specifically for Iranian Bahá’ís living outside of Iran which contained the following recommendation:

"In the midst of this turbulence, the believers in Iran are giving their all for the Cause, and the institutions of the Faith in other countries are exerting every effort to defend them. The response each of you can make, wherever you reside, is to renew your determination to serve the manifold needs of the Cause and particularly rededicate yourselves to the major aim of the Five Year Plan. Through the core activities of the Plan you have the possibility to intimately engage receptive souls, including, as appropriate, those among your trusted compatriots, expose them to the Word of God, confirm them in the Faith, and guide their steps in initial acts of service. Consider how apt is the Blessed Beauty’s promise that should the progress of His Cause be restrained in one land, it would raise its head elsewhere to proclaim His life-giving Message."

Regarding goals of the Plan to be pursued at the World Centre the 2006 Ridvan message listed the following:

"Among these are the further development of the gardens surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, as well as the Ridván Garden and Mazra‘ih; the restoration of the International Archives Building; structural repairs to the Shrine of the Báb, the full extent of which are not yet clear; and the construction of the House of Worship in Chile as envisioned by the Guardian, the last of the continental Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs. As these endeavors advance, we will call on you from time to time for assistance, both in the form of financial support and specialized talents, mindful that the resources of the Faith should, to the greatest measure possible, be channeled to the requirements of the Plan."

Execution of the Plan

In a March 2007 message the Universal House of Justice noted that advancing the process of entry by troops was gathering momentum and recommended that the Bahá’í community give some focus to strengthening the election of National and Local Spiritual Assemblies by increasing participation in elections.

In the 2007 Ridvan message the Universal House of Justice noted that the clusters which were experiencing the most robust growth were those in which the community was strengthening the institute process, expanding the number of active supporters of the Faith by involving members of the wider community in activities, combining individual initiatives and collective endeavors, and analyzing pertinent information to plan future cycles of activity. The message advised the Bahá’í community to give attention to systematic action and avoiding distractions, to making decision-making a collective process at the grass roots, and encouraging universal participation particularly among children and junior youth.

In 2008 the Tenth International Convention was held in the Holy Land and the Universal House of Justice stated the following in an October 20 message that year:

"Since the conclusion of the Tenth International Bahá’í Convention a few months ago, there has been a rise in awareness of the efficacy of the framework governing the operation of the Five Year Plan as insights gained by the delegates have been widely diffused throughout the Bahá’í community. Scores of clusters around the globe are being primed for systematic expansion, and we expect to see a wave of intensive programmes of growth launched in the months leading up to Riḍván next year."

The message commented on the importance of the framework of the Plan and referred to dual goals of identifying receptive people to teach and developing human resources:

"The challenge facing the friends in these and all clusters continues to be twofold in character. While learning to identify receptive segments of society and share with responsive souls the message of the Faith—an aspiration generally not difficult to fulfil—they are striving to understand in practice how the diverse elements of a healthy pattern of growth, particularly the development of human resources, are to be integrated into a cohesive whole. How heartening it is to see that the moment the friends in a cluster begin to meet this dual challenge, immediate progress is achieved; the goal of launching an intensive programme of growth becomes imminently attainable."

The message also announced that forty-one regional conferences were to be held across the world to celebrate the achievements of the Plan as of its midpoint and to facilitate consultation on the current state of communities.

In 2009 the Universal House of Justice reported that the Plan had resulted in an improvement of the Nineteen Day Feast writing:

"The celebration of the Nineteen Day Feast has not remained unaffected by this growing dynamism. Everywhere the devotional portion of the Feast is enriched by the sense of reverence cultivated through personal prayer and regular devotional gatherings. The administrative portion is animated by reports on the progress of the Cause, as well as insights contributed by eager believers drawn from diverse populations, both newly enrolled and long-standing, engaged in Bahá’í activity. The social portion transcends polite formalities, becoming the joyous reunion of ardent lovers, of tested companions united in a common purpose, whose conversations are elevated by spiritual themes."

The message also directed for large communities to decentralize the Nineteen Day Feast into smaller gatherings rather than holding one large event, reporting that some communities had already done so, and advising that care should be taken not to segregate communities according to race, ethnicity, or economic conditions. It also advised that while the Feast should be held in the language of a locality there may be some areas where a population primarily speaks another language and that the decision for which language the Feast is held in should be left to Local Spiritual Assemblies with the guidance of their National Assembly.

Another aspect of the Feast discussed in the message was participation by non-Bahá’ís and the House of Justice noted that Bahá’ís are discouraged from inviting non-Bahá’ís to the Feasts but also stated the following:

"Now, with the Plan’s framework for action well established in so many places, growing numbers enjoy ready access to Bahá’í community life through the core activities, and there is greatly increased likelihood that those who are close to the Faith will learn about the Nineteen Day Feast and appear at its celebration. The House of Justice has decided that, in such instances, rather than eliminating the administrative portion completely or asking the visitors to withdraw, those conducting the programme can modify this part of the Feast to accommodate the guests. The sharing of local and national news and information about social events, as well as consultation on topics of general interest, such as the teaching work, service projects, the Fund, and so on, can take place as usual, while discussion of sensitive or problematic issues related to these or other topics can be set aside for another time when the friends can express themselves freely without being inhibited by the presence of visitors."

The 2010 Ridvan message contained a detailed analysis of the purpose of the core activities and cluster model of the Plan and the evolution of the Bahá’í community over the course of the Plans which had adopted them as their framework. An excerpt:

"In relationships among the friends, then, this development in culture finds expression in the quality of their interactions. Learning as a mode of operation requires that all assume a posture of humility, a condition in which one becomes forgetful of self, placing complete trust in God, reliant on His all-sustaining power and confident in His unfailing assistance, knowing that He, and He alone, can change the gnat into an eagle, the drop into a boundless sea. And in such a state souls labour together ceaselessly, delighting not so much in their own accomplishments but in the progress and services of others. So it is that their thoughts are centred at all times on helping one another scale the heights of service to His Cause and soar in the heaven of His knowledge. This is what we see in the present pattern of activity unfolding across the globe, propagated by young and old, by veteran and newly enrolled, working side by side."

In its message to the 2010 Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors the Universal House of Justice referred to the institute process as an "instrument of limitless potentialities". The message also provided an overview of the pattern which was expected to develop in a cluster referring to the following elements:

• A programme of growth: The establishment of core activities, an excerpt:

"Conditions may justify that one core activity be given precedence, multiplying at a rate faster than the others. It is equally possible that all four would advance at a comparable pace. Visiting teams may be called upon to provide impetus to the fledgling set of activities. But irrespective of the specifics, the outcome must be the same. Within every cluster, the level of cohesion achieved among the core activities must be such that, in their totality, a nascent programme for the sustained expansion and consolidation of the Faith can be perceived. That is to say, in whatever combination and however small in number, devotional gatherings, children’s classes and junior youth groups are being maintained by those progressing through the sequence of institute courses and committed to the vision of individual and collective transformation they foster. This initial flow of human resources into the field of systematic action marks the first of several milestones in a process of sustainable growth."

• Increasing intensity: Structure being given to the facilitation of core activities, an excerpt:

"Whatever level of organization served to channel the early manifestations of this spirit, the systematic, coordinated multiplication of core activities necessitates that higher levels soon be attained. Through various measures, greater structure is lent to activity, and initiative, shaped largely by individual volition before, is now given collective expression. A complement of coordinators appointed by the institute moves into place—those for study circles, for junior youth groups, and for children’s classes. Any order of appointment is potentially valid. Nothing less than an acute awareness of circumstances on the ground should make this determination, for what is at stake is not compliance with a set of procedures but the unfoldment of an educational process that has begun to show its potential to bring about the spiritual empowerment of large numbers."

• Advancing the frontiers of learning: Expanding the activity of a community and increasing the size of the Bahá’í community, an excerpt:

". . . we raised the call at the outset of the Four Year Plan for the Bahá’í world to systematize the teaching work on the basis of the experience it had gained through decades of difficult but invaluable learning. That the current approach to growth, effective as it is, must evolve still further in complexity and sophistication once it has taken root in a cluster, demonstrating ever more notably the “society-building power” inherent in the Faith, few would fail to recognize.
. . . What should be apparent is that, if the Administrative Order is to serve as a pattern for future society, then the community within which it is developing must not only acquire capacity to address increasingly complex material and spiritual requirements but also become larger and larger in size."

• Enhancing administrative capacity, an excerpt:

"Whatever the nature of the arrangements made at the cluster level for coordinating large-scale activity, continued progress will depend on the development of Local Spiritual Assemblies and on the increased capacity of Regional Bahá’í Councils and ultimately National Spiritual Assemblies.
. . . Without doubt, some attention will have to be given to certain basic administrative functions—for example, meeting with a degree of regularity, conducting the Nineteen Day Feast and planning Holy Day observances, establishing a local fund, and holding annual elections in accordance with Bahá’í principle."

• Service on Bahá’í institutions, an excerpt:

"It is our earnest hope that, in your efforts over the next Plan to promote the sound and harmonious development of Bahá’í administration at all levels, from the local to the national, you will do your utmost to help the friends carry out their functions in the context of the organic process of growth gathering momentum across the globe. The realization of this hope will hinge, to a large extent, on the degree to which those who have been called upon to render such service—whether elected to a Spiritual Assembly or named to one of its agencies, whether designated an institute coordinator or appointed one of your deputies—recognize the great privilege that is theirs and understand the boundaries which this privilege establishes for them."

The message also contained advice on the general attitude to be adopted by the Bahá’í community:

"To this end, they must remain acutely aware of the inadequacies of current modes of thinking and doing this, without feeling the least degree of superiority, without assuming an air of secrecy or aloofness, and without adopting an unnecessarily critical stance towards society."

The message also discouraged the Bahá’í community from focusing on isolated phrases and sentences from the Guidance of the Universal House of Justice, instead advising the community to study the Guidance with context:

"We cannot help noticing, however, that achievements tend to be more enduring in those regions where the friends strive to understand the totality of the vision conveyed in the messages, while difficulties often arise when phrases and sentences are taken out of context and viewed as isolated fragments. The institutions and agencies of the Faith should help the believers to analyse but not reduce, to ponder meaning but not dwell on words, to identify distinct areas of action but not compartmentalize. We realize that this is no small task. Society speaks more and more in slogans. We hope that the habits the friends are forming in study circles to work with full and complex thoughts and to achieve understanding will be extended to various spheres of activity.
. . . Closely related to the habit of reducing an entire theme into one or two appealing phrases is the tendency to perceive dichotomies, where, in fact, there are none. It is essential that ideas forming part of a cohesive whole not be held in opposition to one another."

Outcome of the Plan

The goal of establishing 1,500 intensive programmes of growth during the Five Year Plan was achieved before Ridvan 2010 and by December 2010 the number had increased to 1,600. In its message to the 2010 Conference of the Counsellors dated December 28 the Universal House of Justice noted the following numerical accomplishments:

• 350,000 people completing Ruhi Book 1
• 130,000 children's class teachers trained
• 70,000 Ruhi Tutors trained

The Universal House of Justice wrote the following in a January 2011 message:

"For the past five days, the Continental Counsellors have been gathered in conference in the Holy Land, engaged in earnest deliberation at once insightful and clear visioned, well grounded and confident, on the progress of the Divine Plan. The joy and wonder of this gathering, now entering its closing moments, has come from the vivid retelling of your numerous exploits, deeds which secured the astonishing attainment of the goal of the Five Year Plan one year early. It is hard to express in words how much love for you has been shown in these few, fleeting days. We praise God that He has raised up a community so accomplished and render thanks to Him for releasing your marvellous potentialities."