© 2023 Enrique Traver
© 2023 International Urantia Association (IUA)
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¶ Our Long-Range Plan
Students of The Urantia Book, and especially the people at Urantia Association International, have a mission clearly defined by the teachings of the fifth epochal revelation, as well as in our first Bylaws amendment, which was recently approved by our International Representative Council (IRC).
“The mission of Urantia Association and its Constituent Associations is to foster study of The Urantia Book and to disseminate its teachings.”
All those who find God can embrace this mission by recognizing our affiliation to the Universal Father and, consequently, by accepting the brotherhood of all mortals on the planet. Although it is a mission that can be carried out individually, we can also come together as a group of students who are passionate about the revelation. Together, we can coordinate our efforts to fulfill this mission. This is how the Urantia Association came into being, beginning with the challenge of formulating a plan that can unite its members as a team in order to work objectively and harmoniously in this direction.
Having a Long-Range Plan (LRP) to guide our work serves multiple purposes, such as helping us to stay focused on where we want to go, what we need to do, and how we should do it:
- Where We Want to Go – The LRP gives direction; it places the entire team on the same page moving to a known and clear target, allowing us to identify deviations and to apply corrections when and where needed.
- What We Need to Do – The LRP requires team integration to define a plan and execute the strategies to achieve a specific objective.
- How We Should Do It – The LRP requires planning and resources, a clear identification of who, how, where, when and how much.
Over the last 18 months, we have worked actively to define the Long-Range Plan to guide our efforts so that we have common goals and work together to fulfill this important role of service and love for our Father and our brothers and sisters.
Creating a long-range plan involves several steps, including understanding our organization’s current position and defining our VISION and our MISSION, as well as asking WHY, HOW and WHAT we should do, which has been summarized as follows:
- OUR VISION – The establishment of the era of “light and life” on Urantia (Paper 55)
- OUR MISSION – To foster study of The Urantia Book and to disseminate its teachings.
- WHY WE DO IT – – We believe the teachings of The Urantia Book have the potential to rejuvenate spirituality in the world and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well-being of every person.
- HOW WE DO IT – We help others to connect to God by sharing the teachings of The Urantia Book. And we build a network of people with the same desire to disseminate these teachings.
- WHAT WE DO – We help Urantia Book students around the world to study, to apply the teachings in daily life, and to share these lessons with truth seekers in countries where no association exists.
The LRP was evolved by a team of eight volunteers who are either members of the IRC, the International Service Board (ISB), or a Continental Coordinator (CC). We thank them all for their effort and dedication to complete this important task. These volunteers are Fernando Maldonado – Mexico (ISB), Gabriel Rymberg – Israel (ISB), Jeannie Vazquez – Uruguay (ISB), Karmo Kalda – Estonia (Europe CC), Katrina Glavan-Heise – USA (UAUS president – IRC), Phillip Marriot – Australia (AZURA President – IRC), Willem Jeths – Brazil (ISB), and Enrique Traver – Brazil (ISB). This group formed a special committee, which established and approved the resolution on November 16, 2022.
The LRP defines our objectives on two fronts:
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Serving new truth seekers in new countries – Here, the objective of Urantia Association International is to serve areas, countries, and regions where we do not have a National Association. The idea is that the Association will operate in every corner of the planet by playing the role of a National Association.
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Serving a global audience of Urantia Book students in existing countries – The objectives are to identify the needs of our National, or Local Associations, and to provide the necessary support to help them fulfill their mission.
Having been approved by the IRC, the LRP now goes to the ISB to define the strategies to achieve each of the established objectives. In this step, we will identify what is needed as per our guidelines above. These strategies will then be put to the IRC for approval and implementation.
Implementing these strategies will depend on the education and training of new leaders to fulfill specific roles in order to build up the required teams to serve the revelation. Soon, we will be calling volunteers for this purpose, and we will certainly need your participation.
I am looking forward to seeing this plan duly and fully implemented. I am convinced it will be an opportunity to spread the revelation in a more effective and efficient way.
Your generous support as either a volunteer or a donor is more important than ever if we are to reach our goals.
¶ References
| Tidings — December 2023 — Content | Tidings — December 2023 — Index | 2024 Urantia Association International Conference Update |