E. STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP OF THE RE-EVALUATION COUNSELING COMMUNITY
E.9. Growth of New Areas from Existing Areas
New Areas
People starting RC in locations close to an existing Area are to work with that Area and its ARP in getting activities started. They are to establish a leaders’ group for their work. This leaders’ group is to grow as the new Community grows. A new Community can become an independent Area, with its own ARP, when it has thirty (30) active Co-Counselors. (See Guideline E.5. Formation of an Area and Selection of an Area Reference Person.)
When an existing Area is growing consistently in numbers and leadership and has fifty (50) active Co-Counselors, it should consider splitting into two Areas.
Geographic and Non-Geographic Areas
It is logical to organize an Area geographically, unless this interferes with building a diverse Community. Other factors to consider besides geography include the distribution of various constituencies, the existing leadership and relationships, and the density of the local population.
When a new Area is created from an already-existing one, Co-Counselors do not need to end their existing relationships. However, they should focus on building Co-Counseling relationships and supporting activities within their own newly-defined Area.
REASON
These methods have worked well to start and develop new Communities. The vast majority of our Areas have formed with geographic boundaries. Using geographic boundaries to organize an Area can encourage people to form relationships with a broader range of people than spontaneously occurs when an Area is based on the relationships people already have with one another.
When building Areas, we should focus on including a broad range of people. Allowing flexibility in densely populated Regions can result in stronger Areas.