The Regional Council is a Bahá’í administrative institution “between the local and national levels”. The Council of the Midwestern States administer affairs in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Contact: secretary@midwestbahai.org.
… we have reached the conclusion that the time has arrived for us to formalize a new element of Bahá’í administration, between the local and national levels, comprising institutions of a special kind, to be designated as “Regional Bahá’í Councils”.
Regional Bahá’í Councils partake of some, but not all, the characteristics of Spiritual Assemblies, and thus provide a means of carrying forward the teaching work and administering related affairs of a rapidly growing Bahá’í community in a number of situations.
In November, 2023 in a message to the Bahá’ís of the world, the Universal House of Justice elaborated:
Regional Bahá’í Councils … help address the growing complexity of the issues facing National Spiritual Assemblies while maintaining the balance between centralization and decentralization in a community’s administrative affairs.
And then in March, 2023, in a message to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States:
The current series of Plans will place increasing demands on this decentralized system.
Current Councils in the United States
There are 13 Regional Councils in the continental United States:
9-member Councils are directly elected by LSA members in that region
5 or 7-member Councils are appointed by the NSA considering input from LSA voting
The Regional Bahá’í Council of the Midwestern States provides a means of carrying forward the teaching work and administering related affairs in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
The House of Justice expresses the hope in the message that the institutions of the Faith will exert their utmost to reinforce the mode of learning that has become a prominent feature of the community’s functioning.
From a letter dated 24 June 2010 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly.
Nine Year Plan goals of the Regional Council
Goal 1 – Increase the number and intensity of Programs of Growth by the end of the 9-year plan. Goal 2 – Strengthen collaboration and Support of the Regional Training Institute with both the educational aspects and the three-month cycles of growth. Goal 3 – Raise capacity for administration at all levels (including internal RBC operations).
Learning groups and objects of learning
Learning groups typically consist of 3-6 individuals who learn about specific topics on behalf of the Council. The Council has been focusing on 3 learning groups:
Movement of Clusters learning group – “What is being learned (from experience in light of the guidance) about the advancement of clusters from the 2nd to the 3rd milestone of growth?”
Local Spiritual Assembly learning group – “How are Local Spiritual Assemblies learning to best advance the community-building work within their jurisdictions?”
Area Teaching Committee learning group – “What is being learned about ATC’s mobilizing individuals to carry out acts of service?”
“The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.”
