These guidelines have been developed through the experience of OA members and the Board of Trustees who have contributed to their creation. They reflect OA Traditions and Concepts of Service as reflected in our OA Conference-approved literature. These guidelines are strong suggestions based on those who have gone before. The guidelines do not replace the group conscience of local OA members, but we encourage OA groups and service bodies to consider carefully before acting contrary to these suggestions.
While most OA groups start small, meetings in small towns often face challenges different from those in larger cities. These guidelines share some of the experience, strength, and hope that other meetings have found useful in carrying the OA message in smaller communities. They are intended to be a companion to the OA Handbook for Members, Groups and Service Bodies (#120), also known as the OA Handbook, available at bookstore.oa.org. Additional resources are listed below.
Does Size Matter?
The size of a meeting does not determine its quality. Small meetings can be, and often are, successful. They may be more intimate and provide more time for members to share. Members may make personal connections more quickly, and it may be easier to see and hear fellow members in a small meeting.
Flourishing groups go out of the way to make everyone—newcomers, longtimers, and members in relapse—feel welcome. The group makes OA approved literature available at the meeting, takes time to reach out and encourage new members, and establishes service opportunities. Offering service roles for members in all stages of abstinence and rotating service positions strengthen a meeting. Giving service is an honor and a privilege.
Tradition Five makes clear that the primary purpose of every OA group is to carry the message of recovery through the Twelve Steps to those who still suffer. Meetings that grow and thrive stay focused on abstinence and recovery from compulsive eating and offer help to those who are struggling to get abstinent. Abstinent members are willing to serve as sponsors and have sponsors. Healthy meetings do strong Twelfth Step work, and members make a sincere effort to contact those who haven’t been at meetings for a while. Hope is the greatest gift we give to all members. The message is clear around the world: Together we can. You are not alone.
Those who consider their meetings to be strong frequently credit the presence of committed members who identify the meeting as their “home-group”; these members may have long-term abstinence and are at or working towards a healthy body weight and are working the Twelve Steps of OA. Their meetings follow a specific format, with an emphasis on working the Twelve Steps while honoring the Twelve Traditions of OA. Decisions are made by group conscience and not by an individual or individuals dictating policies and procedures.
Small Meeting Challenges and Solutions
One of the challenges of small meetings or meetings in a small town is that there may be few or no people with long-term experience in the OA program. There may not be many abstinent members who can share their experience, strength, and hope. Abstinent sponsors may also be hard to find, especially if sponsors avoid sponsoring personal friends. Such meetings can still prosper, and newcomers can still find inspiration if individual members focus their shares on how working the Twelve Steps can lead to recovery.
Fortunately, technology provides many ways for small meetings to reach out and plug into the abundance of abstinent experiences in OA. For example, abstinent speakers might be brought into a meeting via speakerphone or videoconferencing services.
Members might also supplement their regular face-to-face meetings with virtual (phone, online, or non-real-time) meetings. Lists of phone, online, and non-real-time meetings can be found on the Find a Meeting page on the OA website. Virtual meetings can provide an excellent means to find abstinent speakers for face-to-face meetings as well as experienced, abstinent sponsors. Going to “ninety meetings in ninety days,” which is one suggestion for accelerating recovery, is now something anyone can do via virtual meetings.
OA events, such as workshops, retreats, marathons, and conventions, are held frequently around the world. These are an excellent way to strengthen recovery and meet abstinent members who may make good speakers or sponsors. Gathering a group of OA members to travel together to these events can turn the journey itself into a valuable recovery experience, as members share their experience, strength, and hope along the way.
Email and social media are other methods for OA members in recovery to stay connected. Non-real-time meetings (meetings that do not meet in real time or meetings that do not occur immediately, taking place over a period of hours or days) can provide support for those in isolated areas. For a list of non-real-time meetings, see Find a Meeting on oa.org. Intergroups/service boards, regions, and the World Service Office also use email to share OA information, and members can sign up to receive news. Members might volunteer to serve as designated downloaders, responsible for passing on information from the WSO and OA service body websites, especially to those who might not have access to computers.
OA’s magazine, Lifeline, is “A Meeting on the Go” and back issues can be ordered from the OA bookstore at bookstore.oa.org. Using Lifeline is another way to bring the experience, strength, and hope of the worldwide Fellowship to a meeting. Many groups use past issues of Lifeline as a source for discussion topics at meetings.
Another way to keep a meeting connected to OA’s worldwide network of recovering compulsive overeaters is to elect a representative to serve at the local intergroup/service board level, even if attendance is only possible virtually. A representative attending intergroup/service board meetings may be selected to serve as a region representative or World Service Business Conference delegate. (If the meeting is not affiliated with an intergroup/service board, it may still be able to participate in region meetings and events.) In this way, group members contribute to the group conscience of OA as a whole and find out what is happening at the region and world service levels. Giving service as a representative provides excellent opportunities to strengthen recovery and meet abstinent members who may be available as speakers and/or sponsors.
Actions Abstinent OA Members Take
There are thousands of recovering OA members around the world who have access to only one or two small face-to-face meetings. In fact, many members have long-term recovery precisely because they have been willing to go to any length to get it. They:
Work OA’s Twelve Steps of recovery, one day at a time.
Assume the higher level of responsibility that comes with participation in smaller meetings.
Reach out to nonlocal OA members by phone, email, text, and social media, for example. There are meetings and members with strong recovery around the world.
Travel to visit other meetings and go to OA events, such as workshops, retreats, marathons, or conventions.
Sponsor to the level of their experience.
Search for sponsors outside their local area, if none are available nearby.
Study and practice the Traditions to strengthen their meetings.
Be the only person attending a meeting for weeks or months, to ensure that newcomers have a chance at recovery.
Listen to OA recordings or podcasts and attend virtual (phone, online, and non-real- time) meetings.
Set up a public information booth at community events.
Be the meeting treasurer, secretary, leader, or service body representative.
Start new meetings or an intergroup/service board.
Do service beyond the group level.
Visit an intergroup/service board meeting or a region assembly.
The challenges of a small town or a small meeting can be a positive incentive to strive for recovery. As has been said many times, OA is a simple program but not an easy one. These guidelines identify some of the challenges that small meetings or meetings in small towns might face. We hope this provides ideas and possible solutions. Know that you and your small meeting are not alone. Welcome to OA. Welcome home.
Recovery on oa.org:
To find the following resources on the OA website, go to oa.org/sitemap. You will find links to all of the pages named below on the Sitemap list.
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
Reprinted from Lifeline, Ask-It Basket, August 1999
Question
What is cross talk? Are all responses and comments to another person at a meeting cross talk? Is thanking someone for something he or she shared cross talk? Or is it cross talk only if the comments are negative?
Answer
OA literature does not specifically define cross talk. The Suggested Meeting Format states: “As you share your experience and strength in OA, please also share your hope. Please confine your sharing to your experience with the disease of compulsive eating, the solution offered by OA and your own recovery from the disease, rather than just the events of the day or week. If you are having difficulties, share how you use the program to deal with them. If you need to talk more about your difficulties and seek solutions, we suggest you speak to your sponsor and other members after the meeting.”
Discouraging cross talk provides the freedom in OA to say what is difficult to express elsewhere. Shares not focusing on your own experience may constitute cross talk, including comments in support of or opinions in response to another person’s share. Such responses are not sharing your experience; they are offering your view of others in the room.
However, members do frequently share situations or describe feelings common to the group. Members want to hear about others’ recovery, to see how others have dealt with similar situations and to know that they are not alone. Your intentions and tone determine whether responding to another’s situation is the best way to share your experience, strength and hope. Clearly this is a gray area, and since you never know how others will interpret your remarks, sometimes it is best not to comment.
It is especially difficult not to respond immediately to a member in pain. A loving hug, a pat on the shoulder or a talk with the person after the meeting is the best expression of support.
Interrupting is also considered cross talk. Interruptions may disrupt the meeting and deny the speaker adequate opportunity to share. To prevent this, many groups ask members to raise their hands for recognition before sharing.
If cross talk troubles your group, request a steering committee meeting to discuss the problem. Consider each member’s personal definition of cross talk. Ultimately, the group’s consensus on what constitutes cross talk in its meeting should apply.
—Members of the Board of Trustees provide answers to these questions
The following checklist for OA groups and service bodies is offered in the spirit of Overeaters Anonymous’ Third Tradition and the OA Unity with Diversity Policy statement. This checklist is not meant to be exhaustive, nor can it be. As we continue to grow, so does our understanding of diversity. These questions are only a starting point for reflection and discussion. We hope that newcomers who are used to “closed doors” can find not only a welcome in OA, but also a home if they wish. As OA’s Responsibility Pledge states: “Always to extend the hand and heart of OA to all who share my compulsion; for this, I am responsible.”
In what ways do we welcome all who share our compulsion, regardless of race, ethnicity, language, culture, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other attribute?
What measures do we take to provide meeting access to OA members who have challenges such as mental or physical disabilities or illnesses, or those who have allergies? What about those who have small children or those who rely on public transportation?
How do we welcome members such as anorexics, bulimics, or those who have had weight-loss procedures? Do we welcome OA members in relapse as authentically as we welcome newcomers or any other members?
Does our group meeting format use the Unity with Diversity statement included in OA’s current Suggested Meeting Format?
Do we avoid suggesting that all OA members have the same issues with food, such as an addiction to specific foods, a need to weigh and measure, and so on?
How do we communicate to newcomers—and reinforce to all members—that Higher Power means a God of our individual understanding and is not specific to any particular religion, faith, or concept?
Do we respect each member’s way of practicing the OA Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in a manner best suited to their own needs?
Do we emphasize all three aspects of recovery (spiritual, emotional, and physical) equally, or do we focus only on one or two?
Does our OA literature table stock items that highlight our common solution through diversity, such as:
How do we reflect diversity when we conduct business meetings, elect trusted servants, or choose speakers and workshop leaders?
In what ways do we carry the OA message to groups who are currently underrepresented in the rooms? Speakers? Workshops? Specific-focus meetings? Other methods of attraction?
Having completed this checklist, what other areas can we examine in order to better “extend the hand and heart of OA” to all who share our compulsion?
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
The Strong Meeting Checklist was part of OA’s 2008–2013 Strategic Plan. It is not enough to make the public aware that OA exists and can be a solution to compulsive eating; meetings have to be strong and must function effectively for people to “stay for the miracle” and for OA to continue to grow and be there for those who need it in the future. Consider doing an inventory of your OA meeting using this checklist.
1. Does our meeting start and end on time? 2. Are all attending, including newcomers, greeted and made to feel welcome and accepted? 3. Does our meeting focus on OA recovery through the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions? 4. Do we offer our own experience, strength, and hope, sharing the solution we have found? 5. Is the group contributing financially to all levels of OA service as per our Seventh Tradition? 6. Are sponsors available and identified at the meeting? 7. Does our group practice anonymity by reminding members not to repeat who is seen or what personal sharing is heard at a meeting? 8. Does our group follow a meeting format? 9. Is only OA-approved literature on display and for sale? 10. Does our group welcome and support individual members who use a variety of OA-approved literature? 11. Are group conscience meetings held regularly? 12. Are all service positions filled, and is rotation of service practiced? 13. Is our meeting information readily available, and is the World Service Office informed of all meeting details and changes so that newcomers and visitors can find our meeting? 14. Are cross talk and advice-giving avoided?
OA Responsibility Pledge
Always to extend the hand and heart of OA to all who share my compulsion; for this I am responsible.
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
The group secretary is a link in a chain that disseminates important information in two ways: from the World Service Office to group members and from the group to the World Service Office.
Sending current group information or changes to the World Service Office is a job that usually falls onto the broad shoulders of the group secretary. The secretary also has the responsibility to distribute information from the World Service Office and service body, such as newsletters, surveys, and other mail, to members of the group.
Has this two-way flow of information been running smoothly in your group? If not, the place to start is to make sure your meeting is registered correctly with the World Service Office. These are some important points to remember when registering or making changes:
Use the Group Registration/Change form to make any changes to your group information. On the OA website, click on Edit a Meeting to make changes to your meeting. Contact the World Service Office if you have any questions.
When your group chooses to affiliate with an intergroup or national service board, include the intergroup’s/national service board’s number or at least the correct name of the intergroup/national service board.
With ANY change it is important to give complete information. The critical areas to complete are those marked “*required.” Make sure all information is accurate, and check that apartment numbers are included, as these are often overlooked.
Use your group number on all correspondence to the World Service Office. Once a group is registered, its group number will remain the same, regardless of changes to the meeting information.
Update the World Service Office with meeting detail changes as soon as you can, no matter how small the change. It is the group’s responsibility to do this. Some groups assume the intergroup/national service board will pass changes on to the World Service Office, and this is not always the case.
The group secretary can work with other members to make sure pertinent OA information reaches everyone. For instance, the secretary can make sure someone reviews OA News from the OA website and makes it available to members in the meeting. A group may also receive mailings from the intergroup/national service board with information that needs to be distributed. Each OA group should be sure the secretary receives adequate help and materials to do their job. The smooth flow of information between the World Service Office and the group depends on the secretary.
Other tasks of group secretaries are outlined in the OA Handbook for Members, Groups, and Service Bodies. The secretary’s tasks may include presiding at group conscience and/or steering committee meetings or seeing that the meeting place is ready each week.
If you have any questions about registering or recording changes for your group, please call, write, or send an email to the World Service Office’s group registration coordinator (info@oa.org). We are interested in hearing your ideas on how we might improve the group registration process and on group registrations in general.
Revised March 2023
We of Overeaters Anonymous have made a discovery. At the very first meeting we attended, we learned that we were in the clutches of a dangerous illness, and that willpower, emotional health, and self-confidence, which some of us had once possessed, were no defense against it.
We have learned that the reasons for the illness are unimportant. What deserves the attention of the still-suffering compulsive overeater is this: There is a proven, workable method by which we can arrest our illness.
The OA recovery program is patterned after that of Alcoholics Anonymous. As our personal stories attest, the Twelve Step program of recovery works as well for compulsive eaters as it does for alcoholics.
Can we guarantee you this recovery? The answer is up to you. If you will honestly face the truth about yourself and the illness; if you will keep coming back to meetings to talk and listen to other recovering compulsive overeaters; if you will read our literature and that of Alcoholics Anonymous with an open mind; and, most important, if you are willing to rely on a Power greater than yourself for direction in your life and to take the Twelve Steps to the best of your ability, we believe you can indeed join the ranks of those who recover.
To remedy the emotional, physical, and spiritual illness of compulsive eating we offer several suggestions, but keep in mind that the basis of the program is spiritual, as evidenced by the Twelve Steps.
We are not a “diet” club. We do not endorse any particular plan of eating. In OA, abstinence is the action of refraining from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors while working towards or maintaining a healthy body weight. Once we become abstinent, the preoccupation with food diminishes and in many cases leaves us entirely. We then find that, to deal with our inner turmoil, we have to have a new way of thinking, of acting on life rather than reacting to it — in essence, a new way of living.
From this vantage point, we begin the Twelve Step program of recovery, moving beyond the food and the emotional havoc to a fuller living experience. As a result of practicing the Steps, the symptoms of compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors are removed on a daily basis, achieved through the process of surrendering to something greater than ourselves; the more total our surrender, the more fully realized our freedom from food obsession.
Here are the Steps as adapted for Overeaters Anonymous:
We admitted we were powerless over food — that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
“But I’m too weak. I’ll never make it!” Don’t worry, we have all thought and said the same thing. The amazing secret to the success of this program is just that: weakness. It is weakness, not strength, that binds us to each other and to a Higher Power and somehow gives us the ability to do what we cannot do alone.
If you decide you are one of us, we welcome you with open arms. Whatever your circumstances, we offer you the gift of acceptance. You are not alone anymore! Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. Welcome home!
Permission to use the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous for adaptation granted by AA World Services, Inc.
Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength, and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating.
We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues.
Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors and to carry the message of recovery through the Twelve Steps of OA to those who still suffer.
It is suggested that a neutral, experienced OA member facilitate an inventory for a group or service body. Region boards can assist with finding members who can provide this type of support.
Use an entire meeting for an honest and fearless discussion of the group’s weaknesses and strengths.
This inventory is divided into two parts. A is an inventory of the group as a whole; B is a personal inventory of a member’s behavior in the group.
A. Group Inventory*
Does our meeting start and end on time?
Are all attending, including newcomers, greeted and made to feel welcome and accepted?
Does our meeting focus on OA recovery through the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions?
Do we offer our own experience, strength, and hope, sharing the solution we have found?
Is the group contributing financially to all levels of OA service as per our Seventh Tradition?
Are sponsors available and identified at the meeting?
Does our group practice anonymity by reminding members not to repeat who is seen or what personal sharing is heard at a meeting?
Does our group follow a meeting format?
Is only OA-approved literature on display and for sale?
Does our group welcome and support individual members who use a variety of OA-approved literature?
Are group conscience meetings held regularly?
Are all service positions filled, and is rotation of service practiced?
Is our meeting information readily available, and is the World Service Office informed of all meeting details and changes so that newcomers and visitors can find our meeting?
Are cross talk and advice-giving avoided?
B. Determine your part in the group
Do I make a point to welcome new members, talk with them, and offer my phone number? Do I sponsor new members?
Do I interrupt speakers or other members who are sharing?
Do I give my full attention to the speakers, the secretary, and other group members?
Do I ever repeat anything personal I have heard at meetings or from another member?
Do I put pressure on the group to accept my ideas because I have been in the Fellowship a long time?
Do I take part in meetings, or do I sit and listen?
Do I volunteer or willingly accept a group office (e.g., secretary, treasurer)? Do I offer to help set up, clean, etc.?
Do I criticize others in the group or gossip about them?
Do I insist on requirements other than those in Tradition Three, including telling others that they should use only specific literature, or they can’t be in the Fellowship, or that they cannot use the services of health care professionals, such as psychologists or dietitians?
Do I try to give advice?
Is it difficult for me to realize that my point of view may not always be the group conscience? Can I accept disagreement?
Do I use the telephone or electronic communication to help myself and others, not just for complaints and gossip?
Do I make it a point to speak with newcomers who are having a difficult time in the program? Do I let them know they are welcome?
Do I monopolize the conversation and explain every Tool, Tradition, etc.?
Do I feel no one can lead a meeting as well as me?
Do I go to meetings to learn instead of teach?
Do I cross talk and cause meetings to go off on tangents?
Do I wait until announcement time to make proper OA announcements?
Do I have a topic so everyone can participate at meetings I chair?
Do I try to cause dissension?
Do I follow the meeting format completely?
Do I commit myself to the OA program?
Do I have a sponsor and work the Steps?
Do I give service to promote group growth and benefit my own growth as well?
Am I only interested in my own welfare, or am I concerned for my fellow OA members as well?
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
Starting an OA meeting in your area is easy.
The World Service Office is here to support you in your efforts to carry the message of hope and recovery. This form of service will add to your own program of recovery! All you need is a desire to stop eating compulsively and the willingness to start the meeting.
Order the “Starter Kit”, item #730 at US$20 (plus shipping and handling).
It contains items to help get your meeting off to a good start. The kit also includes Where Do I Start? and the Suggested Meeting Format. You will also receive a sampling of our pamphlets. (Note: Your service body may offer these materials for a lower cost.)
Purchase the OA Handbook for Members, Groups, and Service Bodies, item #120 at US$13 (plus shipping and handling).
The OA Handbook will come in handy with ideas for spreading the news in your community about the meeting and as a guide to your group as it grows. The OA Handbook is also available in e-book format. Visit bookstore.oa.org for more information.
Find a meeting space.
Be sure to check out churches, community centers, schools, and libraries, as well as the hospitals. Each group ought to be self supporting, so be sure that your group considers a donation, should the facility you choose not charge you rent. For virtual meetings, there are many audio and video conferencing platforms that offer services for free or at a nominal fee.
We suggest you do this as soon as you start your meeting so it can be listed in our Find a Meeting database and people searching for a meeting in your area can find you. Please be sure to keep the World Service Office informed of any changes that occur regarding your meeting. Contact name (first name only) and phone number are important. This is how the newcomer or traveling member gets more information about the meeting. Each meeting must have a contact name and number. If there is no one in your group who wants to be listed as the contact, you can use the intergroup or service board name and number should you choose to affiliate with one.
We strongly suggest that your group affiliate with an intergroup or national service board.
An intergroup/national service board is made up of several groups in a locality or a virtual community. Its purpose is to serve and represent the groups of which they are composed and act as the guardian of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts of OA Service. Affiliation gives the group access to this support. At some point, your group will need an intergroup/national service board representative to attend the intergroup/national service board meetings and be part of the OA community in your area. The intergroup/national service board can be helpful in supporting your meeting during this initial phase of your development. Please contact the World Service Office if you need assistance in locating an intergroup or national service board.
Check out other meetings!
If there are no OA meetings in your area and you are not very familiar with OA, you might want to consider taking a “field trip” with some other potential members to visit the meetings outside your area that are more established. It can be great fun traveling with a carload of compulsive overeaters and great for your recovery. It is also helpful for the groups that you visit. They may want to return the favor and bring members to your meeting once your group has started.
Get the word out!
A good idea is to investigate the Public Information and Professional Outreach Service Manual in the future. Its focus is on carrying the message in your community and offers several helpful suggestions and examples. It is item #765 and sells for US$20.
You are welcome to contact us at any time at info@oa.org or 1-505-891-2664. Thank you for carrying the message of recovery.
Our OA Responsibility Pledge states:
“Always to extend the hand and heart of OA to all who share my compulsion; for this I am responsible.”
Where are the people who were at your first meeting? How many of them are still coming to OA? There are many things that each of us and our groups can do to keep people coming back. In an effort to extend the hand and heart to those who share our compulsion, we offer the following suggestions for membership retention.
Welcome newcomers to your meetings. Have volunteers telephone newcomers to answer any questions they may have.
Hold newcomers’ meetings.
Start and support a recovery from relapse meeting based on the meeting format available in the Twelfth-Step-Within Handbook, p. 9, and as a free download on oa.org.
Have a regular group conscience meeting.
Have the service body sponsor a Service, Traditions, and Concepts Workshop.
Encourage your service body to regularly distribute a newsletter to keep all groups informed about area events.
Start and end your regular group meetings on time. Meet on holidays, too! Our disease never takes a holiday!
Have volunteers telephone, email, or text members who haven’t been at the meeting for a while. Build a network of support.
Create a phone chain for the entire group, especially during the holidays; put all members’ names in a hat and have each person draw one name to call.
Provide service opportunities that have no abstinence requirement at the group level so everyone can benefit from doing service!
Rotate service positions, no matter what.
List all meetings in both large and small local newspapers.
Encourage members to post information cards about meetings in grocery stores, libraries, and other public places.
Share that sponsoring and doing service are rewarding and exciting ways to benefit your recovery.
Hold sponsorship workshops so members aren’t afraid to sponsor.
Reach out to help a group member in trouble; remember-relapse is not contagious. Recovery is!
Work together to reach common goals.
Let go of expectations of yourself and others.
Most of all, do it with love and KEEP COMING BACK, NO MATTER WHAT!
These suggestions are not intended to be all-inclusive. We can take many other positive actions in order to encourage members to keep coming back. Share what works, and what doesn’t, with your fellow OA members around the world through OA newsletters, letters to your region or WSO, and Convention!
OA is a Fellowship in which thousands of compulsive overeaters find and share recovery. It is a program of attraction and a positive way of living. Together, we can recover, and together it works when we all keep coming back!
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
