Area Teaching Committee (ATC)

Definitions & Goals

The mobilization of individuals to ensure steady progress of the program of growth is the principal focus of the Area Teaching Committee. It fosters the process of reflection and planning by organizing the reflection meeting, the Area Teaching Committee can encourage and support many individuals to carry out other acts of service, such as hosting devotional gatherings, undertaking home visits, and teaching the Faith. UHJ, to the NSA of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 5 January 2015
Cluster Development Facilitator (CDF)
It will be up to each CDF to develop a few simple lines of action based on the reality of the cluster that will lead to the multiplication of core activities. Guidelines for CDF, 12/30/2023
Program of Growth
A new program of growth begins as two nascent capacities develop. First, one or more friends in a cluster must be able to help individuals study the institute’s sequence of courses and accompany them as they initiate core activities. Then, these individuals must be able to attract others to participate in the core activities. International Teaching Center, April 2013, “Insights from the Frontiers of Learning”

Core Activities
Devotionals
Home Visits
Study Circles
Children Classes
Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program (JYSEP)

(Cluster) Reflection Gathering
“Key to the progress of an intensive program of growth is the phase dedicated to reflection, in which the lessons learned in action are articulated and incorporated into plans for the next cycle of activity. Its principal feature is the reflection meeting — as much a time of joyous celebration as it is of serious consultation.” Message to the Conference of the Continental Board of Counsellors, 27 December 2005
The Expansion Phase of perhaps two weeks, in which the Bahá'ís in the cluster are concentrating on reaching out to new people, launching new activities, etc.
The Consolidation Phase of perhaps two months, during which the Bahá'ís are ensuring that such new people as have been reached in the Expansion Phase are now more involved - perhaps enrolled in a study circle, or children's classes.
Reflection - of which, obviously the Reflection Meeting is a major part. The resulting planning for the next cycle could be seen as a fourth stage.

Nine Year Plan (excerpts)

Baha’u’llah states that “the purpose for which mortal men have, from utter nothingness,

stepped into the realm of being, is that they may work for the betterment of the world and live

together in concord and harmony.” He has revealed teachings that make this possible. Building

a society that consciously pursues this collective purpose is the work of not only this

generation, but of many generations to come, and Baha’u’llah’s followers welcome all who

labour alongside them in this undertaking. (2)

(what can we do to bring the Teachings of Baha’u’llah to our communities; GC?)

The series of global Plans that began at Riḍván will last a full twenty-five years. It will

carry the ark of the Cause into the third century of the Bahá’í Era and conclude at Riḍván 2046.

During this period, the Bahá’í world will be focused on a single aim: the release of the society

building power of the Faith in ever-greater measures. The pursuit of this overall aim will

require a further rise in the capacity of the individual believer, the local community, and the

institutions of the Faith. (3)

The enkindled souls being raised up through the processes of the Plan are seeking to gain

an ever more profound understanding of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings—“the sovereign remedy for

every disease”—and to apply them to the needs of their society. They are committed to the

prosperity of all, recognizing that the welfare of individuals rests in the welfare of society at

large. (4)

The goal that the community of the Greatest Name must aspire to fulfil during the current series of

global Plans is to establish intensive programmes of growth in all the clusters in the world. This

formidable objective implies a broadening and intensification of activity on a scale never

witnessed. Rapid progress towards this goal must be achieved in the course of the Nine Year Plan. (5)

Naturally, prevalence of Bahá’í activity on this scale is not a prospect everywhere. It is

necessary to appreciate the difference that is made by the conditions in a cluster or in parts of a

cluster and by the characteristics of a people—that is, by the reality of circumstances.

Accordingly, the ways in which the society-building power of the Faith will find expression in

different settings will vary. But regardless of the extent to which Bahá’í community life

embraces those who reside in a particular area—regardless, even, of the intensity of a

programme of growth in a cluster or the level of activity in a neighbourhood or village—the

challenge facing the friends serving at the grassroots is essentially the same in every place.

They must be able to read their own reality and ask: what, in light of the possibilities and

requirements at hand, would be fitting objectives to pursue in the coming cycle or series of

cycles? (15)

(discourses of society)

Closely connected with the capacity for engaging in social action is a capacity for

contributing to the discourses of society. At heart, this is simply a capacity for participating in a

conversation about a matter that affects people’s lives and offering a perspective grounded in

Bahá’í principles and Bahá’í experience. (19)

We wish to stress that, historically and now, social action and efforts to participate in the

prevalent discourses of society have emerged not only in the context of growth, but also as a

result of individual Bahá’ís striving to contribute to society’s progress in ways available to

them. As a personal response to Bahá’u’lláh’s summons to work for the betterment of the

world, believers have variously chosen to adopt certain vocations and have sought out

opportunities to support the activities of like-minded groups and organizations. (20)

(Training Institute)

The importance of education to a Bahá’í conception of spiritual and social transformation

can hardly be overestimated. “Consider”, Bahá’u’lláh states, “the revelation of the light of the

Name of God, the Educator. Behold, how in all things the evidences of such a revelation are

manifest, how the betterment of all beings dependeth upon it.” The significance of education in

the work of community building is unmistakable, and in the field of social action the provision

of education remains the signature contribution of Bahá’ís in most parts of the world.

Pre-eminent among the structures and agencies created by the Bahá’í world to offer education

is, of course, the training institute. Indeed, the network of national and regional training

institutes operating with such proficiency around the globe is among the choicest fruits of the

previous series of global Plans. Building capacity for service within communities by enabling

ever-increasing numbers of individuals to benefit from the institute process will continue to be a

central feature of the Plans in the present series. The capacity for community development that

has already emerged, represented by hundreds of thousands of individuals who are able to serve

as tutors, animators, or children’s class teachers, is a resource of historic consequence. (21)

When we first introduced the concept of the training institute, it was in the context of the

need to raise up human resources to take on the tasks of expansion and consolidation. At this

juncture, when a new series of Plans has just begun, we invite you to take a more expansive

view. Increasingly, participation in institute courses is preparing the friends of God for an

everdeeper engagement in the life of the wider community; it is endowing them with the

knowledge, insights, and skills that enable them to contribute not only to the process of

developing their own community, but to the progress of society. In short, the institute is a

potent means for the society-building power of the Faith to find release. (22)

Appreciating the effectiveness of the institute process, every follower of Bahá’u’lláh will feel a

desire to contribute to its advancement in some way—not least, the Bahá’í youth. Institutes know

well that releasing the potential possessed by young people is, for them, a sacred charge; we now

ask that Bahá’í youth view the future development of the institute in the very same light. (24)

Over the last series of Plans, the community’s capacity to maintain focus on the Faith’s

most pressing needs emerged as one of its most important strengths. However, this sense of

focus has to accommodate many lines of action, all of which must advance without being in

competition. This calls for an expanded vision, a nuanced understanding of coexisting

imperatives, added flexibility, and heightened institutional collaboration. We are conscious that

the Faith’s resources are finite, and individuals experience many demands on their time. But as

the Plan unfolds in a given place and the ranks of those who are willing to serve swell, the

varied aspects of a rich and vibrant Bahá’í community life will advance in step, and the society-

building power of the Faith shine forth. (37)

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