In Tamil Nadu state of India, friends who had completed Book 2 were systematically deployed to carry out home visits and excellent results were achieved:

During the recent cycle of growth in the Sivakasi and Thiruvannamalai clusters, it was found that there still remained a good number of new believers who had to be enrolled for the institute courses and we felt the need to systematize the home visit campaigns. The following measures were therefore undertaken:

(1) Compiling village-wise lists of the new believers who were yet to be enrolled for the institute courses;

(2) Compiling a list of the graduates of Ruhi Institute Book 2 in the areas where the new believers were enrolled; and

(3) Organizing a program to study the seven deepening themes once again with these graduates, followed by detailed planning on who would visit which new believers, the dates for the visit, and the sharing of each deepening theme.

In Ramalingapuram (Sivakasi), one believer who was conducting a study circle on Book 2 in a nearby village, took the participants along with him to visit four new believers and they shared with them the deepening theme on the Covenant and part of the second theme on the Life of Bahá’u’lláh. This resulted in all the four believers joining the institute course on Book 1. Similarly two other friends took three graduates of Book 2 to visit eight believers and shared with them the first deepening theme. All eight believers have expressed eagerness to study Book 1 and these friends will soon establish a study circle for them. In another part of Sivakasi, Alamarathupatti, three friends have shared the first deepening theme on the Covenant with 12 new believers, who became very happy and interested. While seven of them have been enrolled for the study of Book 1, five others have started attending devotional meetings.

A similar program for home visits was organized in the Thiruvannamalai cluster during the recent consolidation phase of its intensive program of growth. Following a refresher course on the first three deepening themes of Book 2, eight graduates of Book 2 devised a plan to visit the 60 new believers in Pandithapattu village, each of them planning to visit four to nine new believers with whom they would share the first three deepening themes during three visits. So far they have met 40 new believers and have shared with them the deepening themes. Twenty-five of these new believers are now ready to study Book 1 and their names have been given to the institute coordinator. Similarly, in Nallavanpalayam village, five graduates of Book 2 met 25 believers and have so far shared with them three deepening themes. Fifteen of these new believers are now ready to study Book 1.

REFLECTIONS ON GROWTH
Number 14, October 2006

1 comments:

John Snow said...

I do remember some pages from the Ruhi 3 book (teaching children's classes) which were only aimed at sowing the seeds of Baha'ism in innocent minds. I threw all my old Ruhi books away. I saw a few children's classes in a few neighborhoods with neighborhood kids. Bahais explained to parents that they were giving a "service" in their community. I took Ruhi 3 thinking I'd teach to actual Baha'i children (which I did on a few occasion). However there was always that push to get outsiders into some sort of classes and to go teach in the community.

Now that I look back, children's classes and feasts I saw in my "community" were pretty small and pitiful. Only cluster-wide events were really ever well-attended. They rarely got up and fully-established. Only the nicest people let them into their homes or neighborhoods to offer the "service." I remember they'd show clips during feast of Baha'i children's classes. It was always some story about some joyful community in the middle of nowhere, whose group grew from nothing and the kids all benefitted and it was happily ever after. The videos provided by NSA during feast were always intended to keep the masses motivated. This practice of going into neighborhoods and trying to promote children's classes was so uncomfortable, I'm glad I'll never feel forced into doing that again.

On a side note, junior youth animator groups are sometimes advertised on Facebook and places of that nature. Again, I really didn't see much progress with that where I lived...the bahais were assuming all people lived in safe neighborhoods and be able to walk around and teach the faith...they didn't consider the people might live in communities that are not safe to walk around, let alone walk into a stranger's home. The bahais assumed that random people would just hand over their children to random hipsters and old people who wanted to provide virtues teaching! I also remember the junior youth animator books that they have kids complete in those jr youth groups are very religious and morals-based, much like Ruhi.

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