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01 Dec 20 ITC Us BC Americas Clusters
International Teaching Center
(c) 2006 Bahá’í World Centre
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CONTINENTAL BOARD OF COUNSELLORS for the 
Protection and Propagation of the Bahá’í Faith in the Americas 
20 December 2001  

To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States  

Dearly loved Friends,  
Now that the first six months of the Five Year Plan have elapsed, and based on the experiences of Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies on all continents, the International Teaching Centre has provided us with insights on some o f the practical issues that have arisen in implementing the concepts and provisions of the Plan. We would like to share these insights with you.  In addition, the Universal House of Justice in recent letters to National Spiritual Assemblies has amplified its guidance on elements of the Five Year Plan, and we hope that you will find these clarifications helpful.  
1.  The Clustering Process  
 As anticipated, in many cases a large city and its suburbs, generally under the jurisdiction of a single Local Spiritual Assembly, were identified as one cluster.  Some of these clusters have millions of inhabitants.  To implement effectively programs for growth in such an urban cluster, the Universal House of Justice gave the following advice to a National Assembly that inquired whether the city cluster could be divided into smaller units. 
          It is quite permissible for a Local Assembly to consider its area of jurisdiction as being composed of groupings of believers living in close proximity to each other, when that area is large.   
          To avoid confusion, it would be helpful if a new term, such as sector, were used to distinguish each such segment.  There is nothing to prevent a Spiritual Assembly from encouraging a systematic approach to growth in these sectors, along lines similar to those used elsewhere with clusters.  
  
  In categorizing the clusters in a country, a focus was placed on assessing the capacity of the communities to promote and sustain growth.   A key factor in determining a cluster's stage of development was the strength of the institute process in the area.  An important lesson learned was that the purpose of categorizing clusters was not to assign labels to areas but to assist the institutions to decide on the most appropriate strategy to enable a cluster to advance along a continuum of growth.  The Universal House of Justice provided this clarification to a National Assembly: 
         "Clusters" are only a construct--albeit a highly useful one--that enables the friends to think about the growth of the Faith on a manageable scale and to design and implement plans close to the grassroots of the community.

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2.  The Development of Institutes and Strategies for Growth  
  
  Early in the planning process it became clear that there were very few clusters in the world where Bahá’í communities had achieved the stage of development necessary to launch intensive programs of growth.  Whereas the training institutes were gradually increasing human resources, in most cases they had not been able to advance beyond the first few courses.  
  
  As the House of Justice stated in its message dated 9 January 2001, "institutes will have to provide their communities with a constant stream of human resources to serve the process of entry by troops."  Therefore, advancing the institute process has served as a major strategy for moving a cluster from one stage of development to another.  Not only are more believers to be involved in institute courses bu t also a greater number need to proceed through a full sequence.  Furthermore, it has become clear that to reinforce the link between the institute process and systematic growth, efforts to train more tutors and to have an increasing number of friends complete higher courses in the sequence should be concentrated in the more advanced clusters in a country.  This strategy generates enthusiasm and creates a sizable group of capable believers who understand "the prerequisites for sustainable growth."  
  
  The experience of the past several months in promoting strategies for growth within advanced clusters in a country has centered on the following measures:  
Institute campaigns.   In order to give a boost to the process of human resource development and prepare m ore well-established clusters for launching intensive growth programs, the International Teaching Centre has encouraged a number of Counsellors to promote institute campaigns in selected clusters.  The aim of these campaigns is to enable the believers who have already completed the first few books of the institute's sequence of courses, and preferably have served as tutors, to move rapidly through the remaining courses so that they can develop the capacity to serve as tutors for all of the books in the 
sequence.  
  
Multiplication of activities.  Through strengthening the institute process in well -developed communities, a growing pool of human resources is being generated that may be likened to a pyramid.  As a result of the encouragement of the institutions within a cluster, these highly motivated friends are initiating an increasing number of study circles, devotional meetings, and children's classes.  The gradual multiplication of these lines of action -- "measures that have proven ... to be indispensable to l arge-scale expansion and consolidation"--has moved forward with ease and growing momentum.  
  
Reflection meetings.  An effective vehicle for the multiplication of these lines of action has been reflection meetings at the cluster level.  In these gatherings  the institutions consult with the believers, many of whom are involved in the institute process, on the achievements and strengths within the cluster.  They also discuss the nature and scope of activities to be undertaken in the next phase of their plan.  A simple, short-term plan is devised that reflects the pledges of individuals as well as the collective activities proposed by the Local Assemblies.  This plan is incorporated into a calendar of activities that becomes the framework for the subsequent three- to four-month period.  
  
As a result of such reflection meetings, the plan for a cluster is based on the human resources available rather than, as has often been the practice in the past, on the minimum 

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needs of the Bahá’í communities themselves.  In this way, a community is able to offer services--for example, children's classes --beyond its small circle of believers, to the 
community at large.  
3.  Administration within a Cluster  
  
Questions have arisen about the most suitable administrative arrangement s at the cluster level.  Generally the type of structure needed depends on the stage of development of a particular cluster and the kind of activities to be carried out.  For example:   
  
In a cluster where only a few isolated believers and groups exist,  much of the planning can continue to be carried out by the Regional Council or their committees.  
  
As growth proceeds in a cluster, a task force of a few active believers may provide an adequate structure.  
  
Similarly, the regional institute area coordinator may be able to assist with some of the needs for coordination.  

At some stage of development, when the activities within the cluster become more complex, the communities would benefit from having an Area Teaching Committee, or some such coordinating entity, to stimulate and coordinate activities at the cluster level.   This would be especially useful in clusters without Local Assemblies or Assemblies that are not functioning.  

In clusters with well -established local institutions, a coordinating committee with representatives from the Local Assemblies in the cluster might be an appropriate structure.
  
4.  Steady Expansion and Systematic Growth  
  
It is important to keep in mind that advancing the institute process and multiplying the three lines of action identified in the 9 January message do not in themselves represent intensive growth.  Ultimately these endeavors must lead to a steady and significant increase in the number of new enrollments.  As the House of Justice has pointed out in reference to systematic programs of growth:   
  
At the core of the program must lie a sound and steady process of expansion, matched by an equally strong process of human resource development.  A range of teaching efforts needs to be carried out, involving both activities undertaken by the individual and campaigns promoted by the institutions.  
  
In order to achieve this expansion, the believers and institutions need to be alert to new opportunities as they devise their approaches to teaching.  In many cases, teaching campaigns have focused on inviting a large number of interested individuals to participate in the institute courses, thereby using the institute itself as an instrument of teaching.  In some instances, the arts have been used with marvelous efficacy.  Other approaches include an emphasis on teaching families of believers, while in many rural clusters increasing attention is being given to reaching junior youth.


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We look forward to our continuing collaboration in prosecuting your Five Year Plan and pray that the unity we have achieved will further galvanize the American Bahá’í community to advance the process of entry by troops. 
With loving Bahá’í greetings,                                    
Eugene S. Andrews 
On behalf of the Counsellors serving the United States   
Cc:  The International Teaching Centre (by email) 
        Board of Counsellors in the Americas (by email) 
        Counsellors Stephen Birkland, Angelica Huerta 
             and Rebequa Murphy (by email)
