Sharing, Caring, & Acting Golden Keys to unlocking hearts

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Sharing, Caring, ActingGolden Keys to
unlocking hearts

• By Shoaleh Young and Vahid Hedayati

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Challenges ?

• Who faces challenges in
• Teaching the Bahai Faith
• Inviting
• Starting a Core Activity
• Sustaining a Core Activity
• Involving others

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Purpose of our presentation

• Review the practical aspects for reaching and
  teaching the masses
• Share examples and methods for reaching and
  teaching, inviting, and initiating and sustaining
  core activities
• Share stories and ideas for action
• Share tools and resources for our assistance

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Building Relationships and Caring enough to Share

• Cary and Melanies Stories

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Ways to meet and share with the masses and get
them involved

• Pray
• Generate a Conversation
• Share an intro story or description of the Faith
• Share materials and follow-up
• Invite and follow-up
• Initiate core activities
• Sustain core activities

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How do we begin?

• PRAY daily
• Long Obligatory Prayer
• Tablet of Visitation
• Tablet of Ahmad
• Other
• Read the Writings daily
• Live our lives expecting to teach

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How do you generate a conversation?

•         SMILE

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Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look
upon him with a bright and friendly
face. (Baha'u'llah)
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When they ask

• "What is the Baha'i Faith?"

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Don't wonder what to say...
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• BE READY!!!

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SOME OPENING LINES

• What are some opening lines youve used?
• The Bahai Faith teaches that there is only one
  God, that we are children of that same God.
•  
• To be a Bahai simply means to love all the
  world, to love humanity and try to serve, to work
  for universal peace and universal brotherhood.

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Your Story- How to share why you are a Bahai

• Share Your Heartfelt Feelings
• What attracted me to the Bahai Faith?
• Why I am a Bahai
• Why I love Bahaullah
• What Bahaullah has brought humanity

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Let them respond Have a conversation

• Dont talk too much when you give an introduction
  or share your story. Maybe 30-60 seconds.
• If there is an interest, theyll ask questions.
• So after youve shared the introduction, STOP
  TALKING AND LISTEN!!!
• LISTEN to their needs and interests
• THEN

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Offer to share materials

• Would you like some more information?
• Would you prefer to watch a DVD, go to the
  website, read a pamphlet or a book?
• GREAT!
• I have short DVD that I think youd love.its
  about 20 minutes.

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Set up a time for them to review the information

• Keeps them acting (makes it a priority)
• Gets them to make an appointment with themselves
  to review the information and for you to
  follow-up
• Gives them a time-limit to return your materials
• I want to call you after youve watched it (or
  Visited the website) and its fresh in your mind
  to see what you think when do you think that
  might be?   

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How to Follow-up

• Call them on the appointed day/time
• Ask if it is a good time to talk and if so, if
  they had a chance to review the information
• If not, set a time in the next 2 days to call
  again.
• Get their feedback
• Invite to activity or to share more information
• Ask if they are ready to return the material or
  if they want to share with someone else

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Ways to Keep Track of your Sharing (Idea 1)

• Have a notebook to keep a list of people whom you
  have shared information
• What information they have received
• There contact information
• Their religious background and interests
• Their personal information
• Follow-up calls notes
• Invitation notes
• Home Visit notes
• Core activity notes

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Ways to Keep Track of your Sharing (Idea 2)

• Have an overall summary sheet

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Some Materials to share

• Books
• Bahaullah and the New Era
• Hidden Words
• Christian subject books
• Christs New Name
• Bahai Publishing books
• Prayer books
• Pamphlets
• Pattern of Community Life

• Audio CDs
• We are Bahais
• DVD
• The Light of Unity
• Cards
• Healing Cards
• Open Door
• Invitations
• Gift Cards

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Christian Subject Books
Intro Books
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CDs and DVDs
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Sharing materials with friends your already know

• Who do you want to share this great new book you
  read with?
• Who do you want to invite over to watch The
  Light of Unity DVD? (or send)
• Call them up
• Ask if they would like to read it
• Let them know youll check back with them to see
  how they liked it

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How to invite to fireside

• Know what interests them
• Remember a fireside can be just you and them
• Have a Bahai buddy do a joint fireside with
  their seekers and yours (Keeps it casual)
• If you have a meeting-type fireside
• Make a list of seekers/friends to invite
• Call Send Call to remind
• But Most important JUST ASK

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At the fireside

• Keep presentation simple and passionate (let your
  spirit and love shine)
• Sharing education
• Invite to future fireside or gathering
• Invite to core activity
• Share more materials
• Build relationships

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Fireside Follow-up

• Send an e-mail thanking them for coming and any
  information they requested or quote
• Call them the next day to thank them for coming
  and share how you were glad they came
• Do they have any questions or comments?
• Do they want to tap into the core activities?
• Guests who didnt come
• Call and tell them they were missed
• Offer to get-together and share a summary of what
  you learned
• Plant the seed for the next time to put it on
  their calendar

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How to initiate a core activity

• Get a Buddy
• Set a schedule
• Regular time based on participants schedule
• Beginning and end date for Study Circles
• Invite
• Follow-up (critical)

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How to sustain a core activity

• Have a positive attitude
• Have a buddy
• Finish in a timely manner
• Add new participants
• Be flexible to change schedule to fit the needs
  of the majority, if needed
• Do the activity and service components in groups
• Make it fun and interesting

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Ideas on how to invite your neighbor?

• Build relationship first (could take a couple
  months)
• Movie night
• Game night
• Dinner
• Walking around the block
• Offer idea to get a devotional or neighborhood
  virtues class started
• Set a good time to meet and together
• You have a team
• Then invite more neighbors and let them know what
  is happening and the purpose

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Devotions thoughts to say

• Im having prayers at my house, would you like
  to come?
• We are having monthly devotions at my home, this
  months prayer focus is on (Our Children). Id
  love for you to come pray with us. Can you?
• Would you like to come over and say some prayers
  for healing (or peace) together?
• Can I come over and share some prayers with
  you? (A home visit and prayers)
• ______
• Share invitation (if more formal invite)
• Follow-up (call to remind)

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Study circles thoughts to say

• Would like to come participate in a study class
  reflecting on the life of the spirit?
• The class is interactive. Well read from the
  Bahai Writings and discuss morality, purpose of
  life, prayer, and life after death.
• This curriculum is offered all over the world.
• I felt I understood my lifes purpose more
  fully!
• The perspective given by the Bahai Writings
  made sense to me. It answered many questions.
• You may enjoy and learn from it like I did.
• The group benefits with diversity. Your
  sharing
• Do you want to come and participate?

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Resource for Study Circles

• www.ruhiresources.org

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Virtues classes - thoughts to say

• Would you like your children come to a
  neighborhood virtues class?
• We teach children the importance and meaning of
  virtues using games, activities, and stories.
• Pause see response
• What virtues would be helpful to cover with your
  child?

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Sample invitations

• See notebook

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Resources for Virtues Classes

• There are so many keep it simple
• www.virtueoftheweek.org (free curricula)
• www.virtuesproject.com
• www.changing-times.net (coloring book)
• www.bahaibookstore.com (CDs, books, support
  materials)
• Hidden Gems from Magdalene Carney Bahai
  Institute mcbi_at_mcbiinstitute.org
• Ruhi Book 3 Childrens Classes

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Jr. Youth Classes - thoughts to say
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PRACTICE P

• Pray daily
• Plan
• Personal Touch
• Remember this is a Process
• POTENTIAL of what is POSSIBLE
• Develop a POSITIVE attitude and PASSION for your
  PURPOSE
• Patience
• Persistence
• Partner
• Power of attraction

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PRACTICE R

• Respect your fellow Bahais, yourself, and where
  people are at spiritually!
• Read the Writings everyday!
• Resolve!

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PRACTICE A

• Assist people!
• Assure people!
• Be Assertive!
• Be an Angel!
• Attend!
• Advance!
• Act systematically!

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PRACTICE C

• Care!
• Commit!

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PRACTICE T

• Trust in God!
• Train!
• TRY!!!!

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PRACTICE I

• Invite and keep inviting until they come or ask
  you to stop!
• Become Involved!

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PRACTICE C

• Have Courage!
• Have Confidence!
• Be Consistent!
• Believe that Confirmations will Come!

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PRACTICE E

• Have Energy and Enthusiasm!
• Engage yourself in service and action!
• Be an Example!
• Each one, teach one!

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Personal Teaching Plan

• What is my purpose in starting _______ core
  activity?
• What would I like to have happen?
• Who will I focus on?
• What am I willing to do to make that happen?
• In terms of time
• In terms of resources
• What obstacles will I need to overcome?

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Visualize Your Success

• See the end of things in the beginning
• Your plans become your Focusand What You
  Focus on Magnifies!
• These souls become your Focus to
• start the process to introduce the Bahai Faith
• They become your Focus Group To Invite to
  actitivies.
• They become your Focus for sharing your story,
  and planting the seeds
• They become your Focus to introduce more
  information (books, CDs, pamphlets, invitations
• These potential contacts will become Bahais or
  will know and respect the Faith.
• So lets start the process to make friends and
  share the message

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FOCUS

• So long as the thoughts of an individual are
  scattered he will achieve no results, but if his
  thinking be concentrated on a single point
  wonderful will be the fruits thereof.
• One cannot obtain the full force of the sunlight
  when it is cast on a flat mirror, but once the
  sun shineth upon a concave mirror, or on a lens
  that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated
  on a single point, and that one point will burn
  the hottest. Thus it is necessary to focus one's
  thinking on a single point so that it will become
  an effective force.
• -Selection from the Writings of Abdu-l-Bahá

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Our Lifes Passion

• Having grasped the significance of these words,
  having obtained a clear understanding of the true
  character of our missions, the methods to adopt,
  the course to pursue, and having attained
  sufficiently the individual regeneration the
  essential requisite of teaching let us arise to
  teach His Cause with righteousness, conviction,
  understanding, and vigor. Let this be the
  paramount and most urgent duty of every Bahai.
  Let us make it the dominating passion of our
  life.

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• Confidence is patiently built as the friends
  engage in progressively more complex and
  demanding acts of service. Yet, above all, it is
  reliance on God that sustains them in their
  endeavors. How abundant the accounts of
  believers who enter the teaching field with
  trepidation only to find themselves bolstered by
  confirmations on all sides. Seeing the
  possibilities and opportunities before them with
  new eyes, they witness first hand the power of
  Divine assistance, as they strive to put into
  practice what they are learning and achieve
  results far exceeding their expectations.
• (UHJ, Dec. 27, 2005)

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• A journey of 1,000 miles
• must begin with one step.
• Ancient Chinese Proverb
• To try, to persevere is to ensure complete and
  ultimate victory.
• Bahai Faith

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Act and have faith in the Holy Spirit to guide you

• Nothing Happens until YOU take Action
• As ye have faith, so shall your powers and
  blessings be. Abdul-Baha

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For You
to Make a Difference!