Step 12 of the 12 Steps: Carrying the Message
Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Step 12 of the 12 Steps has three parts: a spiritual awakening that comes from doing the steps, carrying the message to others who are still suffering, and practicing these principles in every area of life. It is both the result of the first eleven steps and the job that comes with that result.
The wording above is from the 1939 first edition, and it says “spiritual experience.” Later editions changed that to “spiritual awakening.” Both mean the same basic thing: you are not the person you were when you started, and the change came from God through the steps, not from willpower.
What Step 12 means in plain words
“Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps.” This isn’t a requirement to see a bright light. For most people the change is gradual. They notice one day that the obsession has quieted, that they can tell the truth, that they are not afraid all the time. That is the awakening.
“We tried to carry this message to alcoholics.” The message is your story: what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. You carry it by telling it, honestly, to someone who needs it.
“To practice these principles in all our affairs.” Not just at meetings. At work, with money, at home, in church, in traffic. The steps become a way of life.
The spiritual principle: service
The principle tied to Step 12 is service. Nothing guards your own recovery like working with another person who is struggling. The Big Book says this plainly at the start of Working With Others (page 89, 4th edition). Helping someone else keeps you out of your own head and reminds you where you came from.
What the Bible says about Step 12
The app’s verse for Step 12 balances helping with humility.
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
Restore gently, and watch yourself. Both halves matter. You help because you were helped, and you stay careful because you could fall too.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
The comfort you received is meant to be passed on. Your hardest years become the very thing that lets you reach someone else.
“And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.””
Jesus sent the healed man home to tell his story. That is carrying the message: not a sermon, just what the Lord did for you. More verses are on the Step 12 verses page.
How to work Step 12
1. Read in your own copy. In the Big Book (4th edition), read Working With Others on pages 89 to 103 and A Vision for You on pages 151 to 164. If you have Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, the Step Twelve essay runs from page 106 to page 125. It talks about what a spiritual awakening is, the danger of skipping straight from Step 1 to Step 12, and how to live the principles with money, relationships, work and emotions.
2. Learn how to approach someone. Working With Others gives practical advice. Find out about the person first. Share your own story. Describe the problem as you lived it, then what worked for you. Don’t lecture, don’t preach, and let them decide.
3. Take a service commitment. Make coffee, set up chairs, greet people at the door, handle the literature. Small jobs keep you connected.
4. Share your story. At a meeting, or one on one with someone who is struggling.
5. Serve at church too. Your church needs you as much as your home group does.
6. Sponsor when asked. Not before you have worked all twelve steps yourself. Keep your own sponsor.
7. Look at where the principles aren’t reaching. The app asks:
- How is your life different now from when you started Step One?
- Who in your life needs to hear your story?
- What service commitment could you take on at your home group?
- Is anyone asking you to sponsor them?
- Where are you still not practicing these principles: work, money, home?
There is guidance on each on the Step 12 questions page.
A word about newcomers in physical danger
Carrying the message sometimes means sitting with someone who is still drinking heavily and wants to quit. Encourage them, but don’t play doctor. Get them to medical help first if they have been drinking hard every day.
Safety first. If you drink heavily every day, stopping suddenly can be dangerous. Talk to a doctor before you quit.
Talk it through with Jimmy or Sarah — first month free
Jimmy and Sarah are AI sponsors who know the Twelve Steps and the Bible. They'll listen, walk the steps with you, and keep pointing you to real people: a meeting, a sponsor, a church.
Free to download · first month free, no card · adults 18+
After the first month, talking with Jimmy or Sarah needs Plus ($9.99/month or $59.99/year).
What “done” looks like
You have had a spiritual awakening as a result of the steps, you are carrying the message, and you are practicing the principles in daily life. The step is marked complete when service is a regular part of your life. It is never really finished, and that is the good news: there is always someone else to help.
Common traps in Step 12
Two-stepping. Jumping from admitting the problem straight to helping others, without doing the steps in between. You can’t carry a message you haven’t lived.
Pride in service. Being needed feels good. It can turn into running other people’s lives. Galatians 6:1 says to watch yourself.
Burnout. Saying yes to everything, sponsoring too many people, and letting your own program slide. Keep going to meetings, keep your morning and night routine, keep your own sponsor.
Leaving it at the meeting. The principles are for all your affairs. Often the hardest place to live them is at home.
A short prayer for Step 12
Lord, You did for me what I could not do for myself. Don’t let me keep it to myself. Put someone in my path today who needs to hear what You have done, and give me the humility to tell it simply. Keep me working my own steps while I help others. Amen. There is a fuller Step 12 prayer here.
How Jimmy and Sarah help with Step 12
Jimmy (for men) and Sarah (for women) are the AI sponsors in Steps & Scripture. In Step 12 they help you write out your story, think through a service commitment, and prepare to sponsor someone. They are honest that they are AI, and this is the step where the work moves almost entirely into real life: real people, real meetings, a real church. Start at Step 1 or see all twelve steps to look back over the whole path.
Common questions
What is Step 12 of the 12 Steps?
Step 12 says that, having had a spiritual awakening (in the 1939 text, a spiritual experience) as the result of the steps, we try to carry the message to other alcoholics and practice these principles in all our affairs.
Why does the 1939 Step 12 say spiritual experience?
The first edition of the Big Book used the words spiritual experience. Later printings changed it to spiritual awakening, partly so readers wouldn't think a sudden, dramatic event was required. Both point to a real change that comes from working the steps.
What does carrying the message look like?
Sharing your own story honestly with someone who is still struggling, without preaching. It can be a phone call, a ride to a meeting, a service commitment at your group, or sponsoring someone who asks.
When should I start sponsoring?
When you have worked all twelve steps yourself and someone asks you. Read Working With Others (Big Book pages 89 to 103, 4th edition) first, and keep working your own program with your own sponsor.
Is Step 12 ever finished?
No. It becomes the way you live. The step is marked complete when service is a regular part of your life, but carrying the message and practicing the principles go on.
Talk it through with Jimmy or Sarah — first month free
Jimmy and Sarah are AI sponsors who know the Twelve Steps and the Bible. They'll listen, walk the steps with you, and keep pointing you to real people: a meeting, a sponsor, a church.
Free to download · first month free, no card · adults 18+
After the first month, talking with Jimmy or Sarah needs Plus ($9.99/month or $59.99/year).
Get the daily reading by email
One short reading a day: a verse, a few honest words, one thing to do and a prayer. Unsubscribe any time.
We'll send one email to confirm. We never share your address.