> I don't know about what is the priority but it seems to me that teaching
> should bring in converts to the Faith. Most Baha'is I know are teaching
in
> some fa****on but as far as being successful in terms of increasing our
> numbers it is obvious we need to change our way of thinking and
teaching.
> Apparently there are some changes being made because we are showing some
> improvement in enrollments.
Dear Doug,
We have known for quite some time how to get enrollments. The problem
has been how to consolidate those enrolled into the Baha'i community.
And the reason our consolidation efforts went so poorly is that we did
not have the infrastructure to sup****t large scale enrollments. What
we have been doing over the last decade or so is building that
infrastructure in the form of the core activities which as you known
includes regular devotional meetings, children and junior youth
cl*****, and adult study circles which ideally are held at the
neighborhood level. That way when people enroll we are not faced with
the logistical nightmare of trying to get these people to meetings.
The meetings are held in their own neighborhoods, preferably in
walking distance. Among the skills taught in these study circles is
how to conduct home visits to seekers, new believers or even inactive
ones. Until these activities were in place Baha'is were not really
encouraged to engage in the kind of teaching that would lead to large
scale enrollments. We did, of course, continue to teach our friends
and neighbors whenever possible, but we did not have the kind of
"teaching projects" which might attract complete strangers to the
Cause.
At present communities which have implemented the core activities,
even if they are two small to be considered an "A" or "B" cluster are
encouraged to develop and implement plans of intensive growth. But
this time, unlike previous efforts, each community decides at the
outset how much growth they can currently manage given their present
resources. They therefore set goals which reflect this. When they meet
that goal their direct teaching efforts are often halted an attention
is then giving to integrating their new contacts, whether new
declarants or simply interested persons into the core activities. As
these people learn the skills taught in these study circles their
capacity to lead such activities grow and the number of core
activities expands. This makes possible the initiation of new cycle of
growth. In this way we insure that our expansion does not exceed our
capacity to consolidate.
One of the most fertile areas of growth has been junior youth
empowerment circles. The curriculum focuses primarily on the
acquisition of virtues and reading skills. The Baha'i content is not
all that overt. I would describe the program as spiritual but not
religious in any confessional sense. Still it brings Baha'is in
contact with parents and young people and in communities like Savanah,
Georgia this has led to quite a few enrollments. Last Feast there was
a DVD presented on this.
>
> The Beloved Master in the following quote appears to be saying "to adopt
a
> combination of all possible measures to raise up the Word of God,
increase
> the number of believers, promote the Faith of God and exalt it and make
it
> victorious over other religions."
Doug, that passage is addressed to the Muslim 'ulama, not to
Baha'is. And He is pretty specific about the measures He has in mind.
You make it sound more like 'any ole way will do so long as it
increases our numbers.'
warmest, Susan
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