• Follow the prescribed 10-week plan and syllabus and keep your sponsee on track to: complete Steps 1-3, find an accountability buddy, and begin looking for a new sponsor
• Purchase and become familiar with all the items on the required materials list (chances are, you already own many of these items!)
• Meet with your sponsee weekly for an hour and do the reading assignments

• Order and read the Secular Sponsor Kit (mailing includes OA’s “A Guide for Sponsors” and a print copy of Secular Sponsoring Resources) for lots of tips
• Be a compassionate listener
• Be a good role model by having a healthy program (for instance, attending several meetings a week, being abstinent and following a food plan, having a sponsor, working the Steps, doing service, etc.,) 
• Set boundaries and think about how to handle issues before they come up (e.g., what to do if a sponsee is chronically late, misses meetings, or doesn’t do the homework)
• Use your own sponsor as a mentor

You can make announcements at secular meetings and post an ad in the Zoom Chat. 

Be sure to include your: Name, Contact info (phone and/or email), Time zone, Best time to reach you and What you’re offering.

Example of Sponsor Ad
I’m Maria (USA East Coast), and I’m available to be a temporary Step sponsor for a newcomer. Contact me by email (maria@gmail.com) or by text (123-456-7890).

Download or Print These Out

• OA’s Where Do I Start brochure (free, pdf)
• SO’s Welcome Secular OA Newcomers! (free, pdf, 4 pages)

Note: You can get hard copies of both of the above at: https://bit.ly/SOnewcomer

• Secular Translations of the “God” Questions in The Twelve Step Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous (free pdf, 4 pages, print this out and keep it in your OA workbook)
• Freethinker Alternative 12 Steps for Overeaters (free pdf, 1 page, print this out and keep it in your OA workbook)

Purchase (If You Don’t Own Already)

• OA’s The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition ($16.50, available in print, digital or audible versions)
• OA’s The Twelve Step Workbook of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition ($15 print, $9 digital)
• Secular 12-Step guide (choose one): The Alternative 12 Steps: A Secular Guide to Recovery (Martha Cleveland, 2014, $12.95 print or $5.99 Kindle) or Staying Sober Without God (Jeffrey Munn, 2019, $12.79 print or $5.99 Kindle) or The Proactive Twelve Steps (Serge Prengel, 2021, $9.99 print or $5.99 Kindle) or your favorite secular 12-Step book.

Notes: Consult with each other about your secular book of choice. Prices may change!

Alternative Steps
Discussion of Alternative Versions of Step 1 | 33 min recording
Discussion of Alternative Versions of Step 2 | 39 min recording
Discussion of Alternative Versions of Step 3 | 34 min recording
Alternative 12 Step Discussion Guide for Secular Overeaters | 8 versions of each Step with insights by secular 12 Step authors, pdf, 27 pages

Accountability Buddies
Accountability Buddy Workshop | 28 min recording
Accountability Buddies in Secular Overeaters | tips handout, pdf, 1 page

OA does not allow “outside” resources to be used at their meetings, but non-OA secular 12-Step literature is essential for many seculars’ recovery. In fact some secular OA meetings have chosen to be “unregistered” in order to use outside literature and alternative Steps during meetings. While OA can mandate rules for registered meetings, they cannot control what happens between a sponsor and sponsee.