In order to reinforce the overall global vision of the BaháüàFaith a systematic sequence of plans was established by Shoghi Effendi, beginning with two local plans involving the North American BaháüÃÂs between 1926 and 1933, and expanding to national plans from 1937 onwards. These national plans culminated with the global Ten Year Crusade from 1953 to 1963, and following the establishment of the Universal House of Justice in 1963 the pattern of regular plans continued. With time frames lasting between one and ten years, the plans aim to equip the Baháüàcommunity in bringing about the betterment of humanity through the promotion of individual spiritual development and social and individual transformation.
Written during 1916 and 1917, and announced during a ceremony in New York in April 1919,àûAbdu'l-Bahá's fourteen letters known as the Tablets of the Divine Plan were addressed to the BaháüÃÂs of North America and Canada, instructing them to teach the Faith systematically in areas where there were few believers, to establish it in Latin America, and to spread it across the world.àThese letters were addressed to BaháüÃÂs in specific areas: eight to the BaháüÃÂs in the Northeastern, Southern, Central, and Western states, two to the BaháüÃÂs of Canada, and four jointly to the BaháüÃÂs of Canada and the United States. In addition to specific instructions regarding the different countries and regions to which BaháüÃÂs were to travel, the letters advocate the spiritual qualities which they needed to acquire in order to teach. ûAbdu'l-Bahá's successor,àShoghi Effendi, refers to the Tablets of the Divine Plan as ûAbdu'l-Bahá's mandate, and the 'supreme charter for teaching'. All subsequent teaching plans designed by Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice have been based around the Tablets of the Divine Plan.
A cable to American BaháüÃÂs was sent by Shoghi Effendi on 19 May 1936 calling for permanent pioneers to be established in all the countries of Latin America. The BaháüàNational Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada was appointed the Inter-America Committee to take charge of the preparations. During the 1937 BaháüàNorth American Convention, Shoghi Effendi cabled advising the convention to prolong their deliberations to permit the delegates and the National Assembly to consult on a plan that would enable BaháüÃÂs to go to Latin America. In 1937 the First Seven Year Plan (1937âÂÂ44), which was an international plan designed by Shoghi Effendi, gave the American BaháüÃÂs the goal of establishing the BaháüàFaith in every country in Latin America. With the spread of American BaháüÃÂs in Latin American, Baháüàcommunities and Local Spiritual Assemblies began to form in 1938 across the region. The first pioneer to Chile arrived in 1940 when her ship docked at Arica. After arriving in Panama in 1940, the first GuaymàBaháüàconverted in the 1960s. In 1985-6 the "Camino del Sol" project included indigenous GuaymàBaháüÃÂs of Panama traveling with the Venezuelan indigenous Carib speaking and Guajira BaháüÃÂs through the Venezuelan states of BolÃÂvar, Amazonas and Zulia sharing their religion.
In 1944, a pioneering movement began with sixty per cent of the British Baháüàcommunity eventually relocating. Internationally this effort would take the BaháüàFaith to Scotland, Wales, and Ireland and raising the numbers of Local Assemblies in the British Isles.
In 1950-1 the Baha'is of the British Isles pioneered to Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya. On August 3, 1951, pioneers arrived in Kampala from which pioneers went to French Equatorial Africa, and Cameroon and so on.
In 1953, Shoghi Effendi launched the first worldwide, coordinated effort to expand the BaháüàFaith, termed the Ten Year Crusade. The four primary goals of the Ten Year Crusade were outlined as follows by Shoghi Effendi:
This effort was launched in order to form Local Spiritual Assemblies and National Spiritual Assemblies all over the world so that the Universal House of Justice could be elected that would be representative of a worldwide Baháüàmembership. From 1953 to 1963, some 250 Americans and Persians moved to many locations around the world as part of the Ten Year Crusade. Almost every country in the world which had no BaháüÃÂs was at least visited by a travelling teacher.
Following Shoghi Effendi's death in 1957, the Hands of the Cause continued the Ten Year Crusade following his instructions until the formation of the Universal House of Justice, which remains the highest elected body of the BaháüàFaith, in 1963. After its election, the Universal House of Justice wrote:
The efforts of the Ten Year Crusade were followed by large enrollments to the BaháüàFaith in some parts of the world. For example, wide-scale growth in the religion was observed across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The title Knight of Baháüu'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the BaháüàFaith in the period, to BaháüÃÂs who arose to open new territories to the Faith starting in the Ten Year Crusade.
Shoghi Effendi kept a Roll of Honour of all the Knights of Baháüu'lláh. While inaugurated during the Ten Year Crusade, local restrictions caused some of the goals to remain unfilled. The final Knight of Baháüu'lláh arrived at Sakhalin Island in December 1990. There were 254 total Knights of Baháüu'lláh that settled in 121 localities, they had been sent to open 131 nations and territories of which 10 had already been opened. On 28 May 1992, during the commemoration of the centenary of the ascension of Baháüu'lláh, the Roll of Honour was deposited by RúhÃÂyyih Khanum at the entrance door of the Shrine of Baháüu'lláh. See a list here.
The House of Justice, which was elected after the conclusion of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963, has continued Shoghi Effendi's practice of drawing up international plans. Since its first election in 1963, the Universal House of Justice has overseen a series of international Baháüàteaching plans.
The term pioneer is used among BaháüÃÂs to describe someone who moves to a new area or country for the purpose of teaching the BaháüàFaith. The first pioneer to enter a country or region mentioned in ûAbdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan is given the title of Knight of Baháüu'lláh.
The following is a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual regarding the term missionary:
BaháüÃÂs do not consider pioneering to be proselytism, a term which often implies the use of coercion to convert someone to a different religion. However, sociologist Margit Warburg writes that Baháüàpioneering is a form of organized proselytism similar to systems of organized proselytism in other religions.
Declaration is a term used in the BaháüàFaith to describe an adult's conversion as a member of the religion. Warburg described the declaration process as "the Baháüàprofession of faith, ritualised in the form of an administrative act."
In 1925, in a letter addressed to the National Spiritual Assemblies in the United States and Canada, Shoghi Effendi noted that defining the qualifications of a "true believer" was a nuanced and intricate matter. However, he outlined what he considered to be the essential elements of membership in the Baháüàcommunity. These included complete acknowledgment of the roles of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá; wholehearted acceptance of their writings; loyal and consistent commitment to Will and Testament of ûAbdu'l-Bahá; and active engagement with both the spirit and structure of the contemporary Baháüàadministration. As World War II approached and Shoghi Effendi emphasized that Bahá'ÃÂs should seek non-combatant status if drafted, it became essential to provide a registration certificate for those wishing to join the Bahá'àFaith. In fact, many long-time believers were also asked to sign this card, often mistakenly indicating when they officially became Bahá'ÃÂs. With the introduction of these new, more formal requirements, it became common for individuals who had previously had a casual association with the Bahá'àcommunity to completely abandon their affiliation.
Entry by troops is a term used in the BaháüàFaith to describe a process of expansion when the religion would emerge from relative obscurity as a "steady flow of reinforcements" of "troops of peoples of divers nations and races" would embrace it. It first appeared in Baháüu'lláh's Súriy-i-Haykal.
Entry by troops is seen as a process, not a singular event. It is seen as foreshadowing of a large-scale embracing of the Baha'i Faith, when a majority of the world will recognize and accept the teachings of Baha'u'llah. As Shoghi Effendi wrote,
A letter written to a Baháüàon behalf of Shoghi Effendi has a section that gives a clear perspective of the Baháüàattitude toward mass conversion.