Starting a Face To Face Meeting

Anyone can start a meeting - here are tips to help your new meeting have the best possible chance of succeeding. Have Questions? Need Help? You can call Debra B. 415-518-4501.

1-GET YOUR CREW TOGETHER

A new meeting has the best chance of success if you have 4–5 people committed to do service while it grows. At least for the first 6 months.

2-FIND A SPACE

Meetings can be anywhere. To be listed on oasf.org or oa.org, the space must be accessible to the public. If you don’t have a space in mind, see where other 12 step meetings are held:
oasf.org/meetings
aasfmarin.org/meetings
al-anonsf.org/meetings

3-DECIDE ON A FORMAT

You’ll need to decide what the format of your meeting will be. Will it be a speaker meeting? Literature meeting? Special topic? Something else? Go to a bunch of different meetings and decide together what you would like to include in your meeting. Here are some resources that may also help:

4-NEED STARTUP FUNDS?

  • San Francisco Intergroup has money to help new meetings get started. Get your venue, format and service crew together and either come to an Intergroup meeting or send a request to vicechair@oasf.org. SF Intergroup meets on the Second Saturday of every month at 9:30am. Email emedia@oasf.org to ask for time on the agenda and location specifics.

  • There is also currently money available from Region 2 to start a meeting. Email chair@oar2.org to find out more.

  • Region 2 has a FREE New Group Starter Kit. For info email vicechair@oar2.org.

5-SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT YOUR MEETING

  • Attend other meetings both in-person and San Francisco virtual meetings. Announce your meeting, let people know if you need support or if there are service opportunities.

  • Make a flier/poster. Hang them in places where other 12-Step groups meet or anywhere you can think of. To make sure your poster is in keeping with our traditions, use words you find on posters on the oa.org website. Go to the OA Documents Library and search for the word “poster” to see lots of options.

  • Get added to the intergroup website, oasf.org, by sending details to emedia@oasf.org

  • After your meeting has been solid for a few months, get added to the oa.org meeting directory by going to their Add a Meeting page.

6-WELCOME YOUR NEWCOMERS

Welcoming your newcomers is always a good idea, but when your meeting is new, newcomers are a crucial part of growing your meeting from a small starter meeting to one with a heathy and sustainable amount of participation. Make sure to welcome them. Have a service position to call them after the meeting to say hello or see how they are doing. The newcomer is the most important person in the room.