The junior youth spiritual empowerment program implemented by the training institute seeks to release the intellectual and spiritual powers of young adolescents and direct them towards service to humanity. Currently tens of thousands of young people around the world are in the program, which typically lasts three years. Junior youth are young people ages 12 to 15, the members of a distinct age group. They are no longer children and have immense potentialities that can be directed toward the improvement of themselves and society. The following chart summarizes each junior youth text currently available, as well as the components of the program.

Normally, a junior youth group participating in the program meets weekly and studies materials with the aid of a facilitator called an animator. Animators do not “teach” the junior youth. Rather, they create an environment of mutual learning and support where the junior youth’s capacities are brought to life. The series of books explore material and spiritual themes, but not in the mode of religious instruction, so that individuals from any background can apply them to their own lives. During the rest of the time, the group engages in artistic activities, consult on and plan service projects and participate in healthy recreation. In addition to these weekly meetings, the group attends special events and comes together to perform acts of service.

The materials of the program are designed as stories about junior youth from around the world. Every book emphasizes the power of expression through the development of language skills as well as seek to prepare young people to approach the investigation of physical, social and spiritual reality in a scientific manner. Though the moral concepts in the materials are drawn from the Bahá’í teachings, they are not religious in nature, nor do they treat subjects that are specifically Bahá’í. Many kinds of organizations, including academic institutions, will therefore find them useful for their educational programs with junior youth. The current titles are:

• Breezes of Confirmation
• Wellspring of Joy 
• Habits of an Orderly Mind
• Glimmerings of Hope 
• Walking the Straight Path
• Learning About Excellence 
• Thinking About Numbers
• Observation and Insight
• The Human Temple
• Drawing on the Power of the Word

At the heart of the program lies the concept of spiritual empowerment. There are many interpretations for the word spiritual, in the context of the program it refers to the attributes that make us fundamentally human. True spirituality–cultivates thirst for knowledge, it promotes empathy, it provides for the control of selfish impulses, it emphasizes oneness, it fosters generosity and humility, and it nurtures appreciation for diversity and attraction to beauty, The conception of power employed here differs greatly from prevalent definitions that associate it with the intention to dominate or to induce others to acquiesce to one’s wishes and demands. The aim is, instead, to become channels for the flow of the powers of the human spirit: the power of unity, of love, of humble service, of pure deeds.

The Dallas City cluster was designated a learning site for the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment program in 2017. The purpose of a learning site in the region is to pursue the frontiers of learning related to the program. The network of learning sites in North America includes San Diego, East Valley, the Triangle, and Toronto.