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Universal House of Justice, Haifa, Israel

Nine Year Plan

Historical Context

At the beginning of the last Five Year Plan, the Heartland Region had ## clusters that were sustaining ## or more core activities.  Quickly, we set out to ensure that every grouping in each sub-region had such a cluster, one that could serve as a reservoir of human resources and experience.

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As the work in neighborhoods became the focus of attention, the next horizon became increasingly clear: to increase the number of centers of intense activity.  Every cluster past the Second Milestone would need to establish such a center, and all clusters past the Third Milestone would have to develop the capacity to sustain multiple centers. 

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The National Spiritual Assembly’s call for every household to establish a regular devotional gathering appear to have stimulated greater focus and attention among the generality of the friends on the exigencies of the Plan, significantly increasing the number of devotional gatherings and their corresponding participation.  The next step is to build the capacity of those involved in every devotional space to invite others into the Training Institute, drawing on a sequence of capacities described in the 3 May 2018 letter of the International Teaching Center. 

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Framework Guiding the current Nine-Year Plan

In light of our collective consultations around the 30 December 2021 and Ridván 2022 messages of the Universal House of Justice, we can view our goals in the table below in context of the following among the aims of the Nine Year Plan in the Heartland Region:

  • The movement of all clusters along the continuum of development.

  • An increase in the number of clusters with at least one center of intense activity, as well as in the number of clusters past the Third Milestone with multiple such centers.

  • The engagement of large numbers of youth, many of whom will dedicate periods of time to the service of the Cause, whether they are formally enrolled or not.

  • The existence of a basic junior youth program emerging in each cluster past the Second Milestone, and of a junior youth group in each cluster moving from the first to the Second Milestone.  This will require dedicated human resources to closely follow this line of action and how the Training Institute pursues it. 

  • A doubling of the number of core activities, and participation in them, by Ridván 2024.

  • A process of learning about enrollment in one, two or a handful of centers of intense activity, as well as in a few expanding nuclei among the generality of friends.

Much could be written about the geographic spread of the conferences, the extraordinary  impetus they imparted to the new Plan, or the heartfelt expressions of joy and enthusiasm they  evoked from those who attended. But in these few lines we wish to draw attention to what they  signified about the development of the Cause. They were a reflection of a Bahá’í community  that sees kinship, not difference. This outlook made it natural to explore the Nine Year Plan at  gatherings to which all were welcome. The friends considered the Plan’s implications for their  societies in the company of not only individuals and families, but local leaders and authority  figures as well. Bringing together so many people in one place created the conditions for a  transformative conversation about spiritual and social progress, one that is unfolding the world  over. The special contribution that such gatherings—at once open, uplifting, and purposeful— can make to an expanding pattern of community development in a cluster is a valuable lesson  for Bahá’í institutions to bear in mind for the future.

Riḍván 2023, THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

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