Registrant Training IMS
Welcome!
Guidance - Universal House of Justice 12/31/2021
“Over time, many such souls begin to identify themselves with the Bahá’í community, especially as they gain the confidence to participate in community life through service. Of course, the community welcomes any degree of association that a person would like to maintain, great or small. Yet to recognize Bahá’u’lláh as a Manifestation of God and accept the privileges and responsibilities that are uniquely associated with membership in the Bahá’í community is a singular moment in a person’s spiritual development, quite distinct from regular involvement in Bahá’í activities or voicing support for Bahá’í principles.”
Guidance - Universal House of Justice 12/31/2021
Experience has shown that the environment created by community-building endeavours in a locality enables anyone who wishes to take this step to do so with relative ease. Wherever these endeavours are under way, it is important for the friends to remain mindful that the doors of the Faith are wide open and to give encouragement to those who stand at the threshold. And in areas where such endeavours have been well established for some time, many believers are discovering that a vibrant, expanding pattern of activity can naturally lead to families, groups of friends, and even clusters of households being ready to enter the Cause. For in spaces where the possibility of joining the community can be discussed openly and inclusively among those who share a sense of collective identity, souls can more easily feel emboldened to take this step together. Bahá’í institutions, especially Local Spiritual Assemblies, must adopt a mindset that allows for such developments, and ensure that any obstacles are removed.
Registrant handling in IMS
Role of Seeker Coordinator regarding Registrants in a community with an LSA:
The role of the Council appointed Coordinator (Regional, Subregional or Cluster) that handles registrant records is to follow up with and accompany the Local Spiritual Assembly, to make sure they received the (automated) notification, to share guidance about the process, to encourage a very prompt response to the registrant (within 24 hours), and to help with questions about how to enroll in eMembership2 or who to contact if they need help or have questions.
If an LSA Secretary does not respond to the coordinator in a short amount of time, calling other members of the Assembly is encouraged.
Background: There is only 1 form online that people who wish to register as a Baha'i member can fill out. It is part of the Bahai.us website, and is called “Become a Baha’i”
The online form is one way to register. Registering locally through the Assembly by signing a declaration card is still a viable option.
The preferred path to enrollment as per the National Spiritual Assembly is through the Local Spiritual Assembly when a registrants lives in an LSA community. (Registered Groups cannot enroll new members.)
For those places that do not have Local Assemblies, there is an on-line process which will be explained to enroll a new member directly through the National office of Membership and Records after being verified.
The registrant process starts for coordinators when they receive an email notification:
Congratulations!
You have a new registrant!
The Verification Conversation: A person becomes a Bahá’í by recognizing Bahá’u’lláh as the Messenger of God for this age and informing the Bahá’í community of their desire to join the Bahá’í Faith. A representative will contact you to confirm your decision.-Become a Baha’i form
Confirming a new declarant’s belief is an important part of the enrollment process. It should not be a rigorous or lengthy procedure, but should ensure that the individual is sincere in his or her declaration of faith. Reviewing with the declarant a basic overview of the fundamental verities of the Faith is, in most cases, sufficient to ascertain this. Such confirmation can be carried out by any individual that the Assembly trusts to perform this service. As growth accelerates, close collaboration with the cluster agencies, particularly the Area Teaching Committee, is crucial.
"…Those who declare themselves as Bahá’ís should become enchanted with the beauty of the Teachings, and touched by the love of Bahá’u’lláh. The declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws, and principles of the Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must, in addition to catching the spark of faith, become basically informed about the Central Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an administration they must obey."
(From a message from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, July 13, 1964: Teaching the Masses, p. 2)
The doors are open for all of humanity to enter the Bahá’í community, irrespective of their present circumstance. Associated with this invitation is the expectation that all those who accept Bahá’u’lláh as a Manifestation of God will make a sincere and persistent effort to modify those aspects of their conduct which are not in conformity with His Law.
Spiritual Assemblies should, to a certain extent, be forbearing in the matter of people’s moral conduct, in view of the terrible deterioration of society in general. It would be a profound contradiction, however, for someone to profess the intention to be a Bahá’í, yet consciously reject, disregard or contend with aspects of belief or practice ordained by Bahá’u’lláh. It would only be reasonable, therefore, for a Local Assembly to request that a person with such views wait until this contradiction is resolved before enrolling in the Bahá’í community.
- Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated January 20, 2009, to a Local Spiritual Assembly-glsa
Need a reader:
Who is Authorized to Verify a Registrant?
When a representative of a Local Spiritual Assembly or other authorized Bahá’í institution is satisfied that the declarant’s belief has been confirmed, he/she approves and countersigns the declarant’s registration. Those authorized to do this are:
(glsa all above)
As per the National Assembly, outreach to the Registrant should occur within 24 hours from the receipt of their request.
How to Forward a Registrant Record in IMS: What you do for now…
The INQ Inquiry status will be ‘New,’ type: Become a Baha’i.-on your dashboard.
The Registrant’s RQS Requester record, will be type ‘Registrant,’ the statuses: ‘Needs Verification,’ and ‘New.’
It can be forwarded to:
Note: Registrants can no longer be forwarded to an alternate LSA in the cluster of the Registrant.
RQS Status changes cause Transfers for Registrants:
Specific statuses on Requester records facilitate the transfer of information:
How to Forward to National Membership Office
FYI: You can’t edit RQS record after ‘Pending enrollment with LSA’ or ‘Enrolled’
Who is notified about the newly enrolled?
This is a work in progress.
Currently: Local Spiritual Assemblies that enroll registrant through eMembership2 receive a notification by email to their Secretary.
Inquiry Services is starting to engage in conversation with the National offices to request that Membership and Records send an automated notification when any new member is enrolled (through LSA, or otherwise) to the Area Teaching Committee in addition to the Auxiliary Board Members.
Pulling back a Registrant in IMS
Registrant records can be pulled back from a LSA in the locality of the Registrant
If this Registrant can still be enrolled, once verified the Registrant record can then be forwarded to the Assembly or Membership Office.
LSA Removal Reason options
NZ
When the Assembly has reservations about an enrollment:
If the Local Assembly has significant concerns or recommends denying the enrollment, it should consult with its member of the Auxiliary Board for Protection and, after incorporating the guidance received, send a report to the Office of Community Administration (community@usbnc.org) and copy the Office of Inquiry Services (bahai-info@bahai.us), attaching copies of all documents associated with the application for enrollment, including the original completed Bahá’í Registration card, if one was used. If a card used, the Assembly should also keep a photocopy of the card in its permanent records. The National Assembly will decide if the enrollment can be accepted.
glsa
How LSA can Enroll or Remove from Pending Members–blue vs. red buttons
LSA can Remove a Pending Member
A forwarded Registrant record can now be sent back by the LSA in the locality of the Registrant.
Membership packet and ID cards
Once an enrollment has been approved and recognized, the new believer may then attend Bahá’í functions, vote (if 18+), and be elected to administrative bodies (if 21+).
When the enrollment is recorded in UnityWeb, the new believer is issued a virtual Bahá’í identification card and receives instructions (normally by email) on how to access his/her card after setting up a Bahá’í Online Services account (BOSA). New believers also receive an electronic copy of a welcome letter from the National Spiritual Assembly together with some basic information about the Bahá’í Faith and the American Bahá’í community.
Prior to gaining access to his/her virtual Bahá’í ID card, if a new believer wishes to attend an event that requires him/her to show a Bahá’í membership card, the local community may endorse the new Bahá’í until he/she is able to access his/her Bahá’í ID.
Sending welcome packets and physical Bahá’í ID cards are resuming as a standard practice for adult and 15 year old new believers. Physical membership cards can be requested from the Office of Membership and Records, which can be contacted by email at membership@usbnc.org or by phone at (847) 733-3445. M-F, 8:30-5:30 Central Time.
Note: Membership packets from National and the physical ID cards are being redesigned and will begin to be sent out as new believers are enrolled 2025-2026. Please encourage new memebrs to set up access to their virtual ID cards through their Bahai.us accounts.
In IMS: Tip to see all Registrants needing follow-up at a glance
Link to a training video available on the Inquiry Services Resource site for online registrations:
Whosoever ariseth to aid Our Cause", is Bahá’u’lláh's Own emphatic promise, "God will render him victorious over ten times ten thousand souls, and, should he wax in his love for Me, him will We cause to triumph over all that is in heaven and all that is on earth." "
Custodians, Ministry of the Custodians, p. 157
Today, as never before, the magnet which attracts the blessings from on high is teaching the Faith of God. The Hosts of Heaven are poised between heaven and earth, just waiting, and patiently, for the Bahá’í to step forth, with pure devotion and consecration, to teach the Cause of God, so they may rush to his aid and assistance.
Shoghi Effendi, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 223
Need a reader: