Getting More Members to GSA

[WilnOkla]

I have been to every General Service Assembly and have seen a steady decline in attendance over the years and I ask myself why?

Traveling around the country I have also found that we are not the only Region or Area service committee who has watched their numbers decline. Back in 1989 there were only seven groups in my area and they held 28 H&I meetings. Now that we have nearly 40 groups and we only have about 12 or so H&I meetings. So you have to ask yourself what where we doing then that we are not doing now, and what are we doing now that we weren't doing back then?

There was such a big need back then. In otherwords we were hungry and would go to any lengths to find recovery even if it meant a road trip. Now days we have more meetings and the search for a meeting is not as hard as it once was. Another thing was, I wasn't asked if I wanted to get involved in service - my sponsor told me it was part of my recovery program and he took me to my first H&I meeting at the VA hospital.

The only workshops we had then were all service related - either H&I or PI were the two main ones. So I got a double barrel approach to service -- 1. My sponsor did service and 2. I got training on how to do that service in accordance with NA Traditions and Handbooks or Guides.

Lastly we went out and did the work. We just didn't sit around and discuss it and chew on the material and talk about it --we did the deal. Sure we didn't do it perfectly but we learned from our mistakes as well.

In times of troube we all come together to help. Maybe when things get so bad NA is close to dying in our Region, folks will wake up. You don't know what you have until its gone. But I hope it doesn't come to that. Hopefully we can educate and excite the members to get involved so they can discover the rewards we have experience by being involved.

What does it take to be a NA member? The simple answer is - "Have a desire not to use". If you go to IT WORKS HOW & WHY and read that Traditon it goes further, cause there are addicts out there tonight who don't know what NA is who may have a moment where they have a desire not to use anymore, but don't know how. Does that make them a member of NA? Well, of course not. Our literature goes on to say that once we make that decision to become members of NA we follow it up with a committment to the principles of NA.

But most members won't find that in our literature, they have to be shown. We can wring our hands and beg all we want for help, but until be put our words into ACTION -- nothing is going to change.

[Brian C]

we've been diluted... we have more numbers, but less quality. You know what I'm talking about!!!111

For example; in the meeting the other night there were about 30 people and 23 of them were getting a paper signed.... so in reality, IMhO there were only 7 NA members. Don't misunderstand, I'm not denying anyone membership (like I could do that!), you're a member when you say you are, but whats really changed over the years is this... same amount of NA members, but each of us has more responsibility now, 23 papers to sign per meeting, more coffee to make, more clean up, more keytags to buy, etc., etc. Now you might say to yourself, "man this guys' a nitpicker!", but this is a real issue and we need to start talking about it.

We may be dying, but what I think I (& the 7 of us) should be concentrating on is passing the word on as often as possible about region and its many activities and service assemblies and meetings. I would like to see more publications posted in our club house or meeting place about region.

Someone write them and I'll get them approved and make a flier and get it out.

What will you do?