Reflections on Growth
Here is the newsletter I promised you. Reflections on GrowthNumber 1 March 2004Intensive Growth in Advanced ClustersDuring the past year in a number of countries, greater attention was given to expansionin advanced clusters. The most systematic approach to date is emerging in Asia, where theCounsellors decided to place emphasis on large-scale expansion during their consultations andplanning with certain National Spiritual Assemblies and Regional Bah Councils. In the firstsix months of the year, through a focus on teaching projects in strong clusters, approximately16,000 new believers entered the Faith.Efforts are now being made to learn how to balance expansion and consolidation sothat growth can be sustained. The friends in some clusters have successfully establishedtheir training program and pyramid of human resources, helping a sizable number of believersto proceed through the entire sequence of courses, thereby creating a new dynamic in theactivities in the cluster. The energies of these newly trained believers have also been appliedto multiplying core activities, and to involving an increasing number of non-Bahs into thepattern of Bah community life. Finally, believers in these clusters have been able to takethe additional step of initiating systematic teaching activities. Many have had success in thisnew endeavor, managing to bring more than 100 new believers into the Faith in the cluster whileincorporating a percentage of them into the training courses. In doing so, they have completeda first cycle of activities for sustainable growth, and have set the stage for enlisting futurecontingents, as the cycle of training, multiplication of activities, and intensive teaching repeatsitself. In countries where substantial enrollments have traditionally been easy to achieve, theinstitute can grow in size to accommodate the influx of as many as 100 new believers in amonthover 1,000 new Bahs a year within a single cluster.Progress in establishing a cycle of activities for sustainable expansion and consolidationwill, of course, require that particular attention be paid to intensive teaching. From reportsreceived to date, it seems there are at least four different approaches that are emerging in differentsettings for accelerated expansion in strong clusters.Receptive Populations in Core Activities: The Adami Tulu Cluster in EthiopiaIn one emerging pattern for intensive growth, the three key core activities act as portalsto entry by troops among a receptive population. This was evident in recent developments inEthiopia. In reflecting upon who could be invited to participate in study circles, the Bahs inthe Adami Tulu cluster, drawing on the opportunities available to some Bah schoolteachers,decided to invite their secondary school students. Soon after Ri7vn 2003, one youth wasapproached and encouraged to invite some friends to a study circle. The students were instantlyattracted to Book 1 of the Ruhi Institute. Soon 20, 40, then almost 200 young people wereawaiting the opportunity to study the series of Ruhi Institute books, all as a result of friendsinviting friends. Bahs across the country rallied to support the groundswell of interest. Onegroup of the most capable students was taken to the national institute facility in Debra Zeit for anPrepared under the auspices of the International Teaching Centre for the institution of the Counsellors2intensive study program of almost two months during the summer break, in order to complete theentire sequence of courses. Other intensive courses were offered in the cluster to each contingentof students. Initially almost all of the participants were non-Bahs, but they soon embraced theFaith through the influence of the Word of God experienced during the study of Book 1. Theyoung people were fervent in their newfound love of Bahullh; many testified during thecourse of the program to their desire to teach their friends and family.By the end of the summer period, there were 392 declarants. Of these, 386 had completedBook 1; 282Book 2; 76Book 3 (due to the limited number of copies); 161Book 4;111Book 6; and 62Book 7. Over 600 Bahs, friends, and family gathered for the ceremonyhonoring those students who completed the entire sequence. According to a report received atthe Bah World Centre,Upon the graduation ceremony they were able to fascinate us with their deep andinsightfully composed poems, amazing dramas and moving songs. The delight they createdis such that that we cannot possibly portray it in words. If it were possible, all one wouldwish is that all those well-wishers and interested parties were physically present to witnessthe height of spiritual joy and happiness they managed to create.At a later point, a reflection meeting was held, consisting largely of the new believers, whoenthusiastically committed themselves to invite 1,067 non-Bahs to participate in core activitiesin the three months while
Re: Reflections on Growth
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RE: Reflections on Growth
Okay, let's try it again. Reflections on Growth Number 1 March 2004 Intensive Growth in Advanced Clusters During the past year in a number of countries, greater attention was given to expansion in advanced clusters. The most systematic approach to date is emerging in Asia, where the Counsellors decided to place emphasis on large-scale expansion during their consultations and planning with certain National Spiritual Assemblies and Regional Bah Councils. In the first six months of the year, through a focus on teaching projects in strong clusters, approximately 16,000 new believers entered the Faith. Efforts are now being made to learn how to balance expansion and consolidation so that growth can be sustained. The friends in some clusters have successfully established their training program and pyramid of human resources, helping a sizable number of believers to proceed through the entire sequence of courses, thereby creating a new dynamic in the activities in the cluster. The energies of these newly trained believers have also been applied to multiplying core activities, and to involving an increasing number of non-Bahs into the pattern of Bah community life. Finally, believers in these clusters have been able to take the additional step of initiating systematic teaching activities. Many have had success in this new endeavor, managing to bring more than 100 new believers into the Faith in the cluster while incorporating a percentage of them into the training courses. In doing so, they have completed a first cycle of activities for sustainable growth, and have set the stage for enlisting future contingents, as the cycle of training, multiplication of activities, and intensive teaching repeats itself. In countries where substantial enrollments have traditionally been easy to achieve, the institute can grow in size to accommodate the influx of as many as 100 new believers in a monthover 1,000 new Bahs a year within a single cluster. Progress in establishing a cycle of activities for sustainable expansion and consolidation will, of course, require that particular attention be paid to intensive teaching. From reports received to date, it seems there are at least four different approaches that are emerging in different settings for accelerated expansion in strong clusters. Receptive Populations in Core Activities: The Adami Tulu Cluster in Ethiopia In one emerging pattern for intensive growth, the three key core activities act as portals to entry by troops among a receptive population. This was evident in recent developments in Ethiopia. In reflecting upon who could be invited to participate in study circles, the Bahs in the Adami Tulu cluster, drawing on the opportunities available to some Bah schoolteachers, decided to invite their secondary school students. Soon after Ridvn 2003, one youth was approached and encouraged to invite some friends to a study circle. The students were instantly attracted to Book 1 of the Ruhi Institute. Soon 20, 40, then almost 200 young people were awaiting the opportunity to study the series of Ruhi Institute books, all as a result of friends inviting friends. Bahs across the country rallied to support the groundswell of interest. One group of the most capable students was taken to the national institute facility in Debra Zeit for an Prepared under the auspices of the International Teaching Centre for the institution of the Counsellors intensive study program of almost two months during the summer break, in order to complete the entire sequence of courses. Other intensive courses were offered in the cluster to each contingent of students. Initially almost all of the participants were non-Bahs, but they soon embraced the Faith through the influence of the Word of God experienced during the study of Book 1. The young people were fervent in their newfound love of Bahullh; many testified during the course of the program to their desire to teach their friends and family. By the end of the summer period, there were 392 declarants. Of these, 386 had completed Book 1; 282Book 2; 76Book 3 (due to the limited number of copies); 161Book 4; 111Book 6; and 62Book 7. Over 600 Bahs, friends, and family gathered for the ceremony honoring those students who completed the entire sequence. According to a report received at the Bah World Centre, Upon the graduation ceremony they were able to fascinate us with their deep and insightfully composed poems, amazing dramas and moving songs. The delight they created is such that that we cannot possibly portray it in words. If it were possible, all one would wish is that all those well-wishers and interested parties were physically present to witness the height of spiritual joy and happiness they managed to create. At a later point, a reflection meeting was held, consisting largely of the new believers, who enthusiastically committed themselves to invite 1,067 non-Bahs to participate in core
