What is OCF Really About?

Lieutenant General Bruce L. Fister, USAF (Ret.) Executive Director, Officers' Christian Fellowship

Have you ever been asked, or asked yourself, "What is OCF really about?" The answer is found in our formal purpose and vision statements, but in simple terms, OCF is about CHRISTIAN OFFICERS exercising BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP to raise up a GODLY MILITARY.

OCF starts with local fellowships composed of all ranks from cadets and midshipmen to senior officers and retirees, who are edified and educated by publications, recharged at conference centers, matured at gateways, and mentored and supported by regional staff. They seek to claim victory for Jesus Christ among the men, women and families who serve our God and our nation in our Armed Forces. In short, OCF means fellowship, it means equipping and it means outreach.

Local fellowships, of course, are at the core of the OCF Purpose, "To glorify God by uniting Christian officers for biblical fellowship and outreach, equipping and encouraging them to minister effectively in the military society." But, as that statement clearly indicates, just being part of a local OCF Fellowship is not the end, only a beginning, and that activity alone will never allow us to join fully in God's work toward fulfillment of the OCF Vision.

Indeed, we are to be "...ambassadors for Christ in uniform...living with a passion for God and compassion for the entire military society." Fulfillment will only come through ministry to "...the entire military society." This means outreach.

As Christian officers, we were commissioned to lead both on and off duty. The ability to exercise biblical leadership is a blessing and talent bestowed upon us by God. It is the strength that we as officers can bring to the business of outreach in the military community.

Among a host of activities, biblical leadership in outreach can mean:

• Supporting our chaplains and chapel programs
• Inviting enlisted members and their families to fellowships
• Leading Bible studies on bases, posts, or ships
• Organizing to support families during deployments
• Preparing our units for biblical fellowship and witness during contingencies
• Coordinating with other Christian organizations for more effective ministry

In future articles, I will continue to discuss the OCF vision of a godly military. I will specifically address how we can effectively reach out to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coastguardsmen, and their families. However, for now, my main point is that OCF is about ministering to the whole military society. We do this by listening to God, being obedient to Him, and exercising biblical leadership professionally, and in our families and communities.

Our obligation is to allow God to work through OCF to achieve that godly future-state envisioned for our military. We must catch the vision and understand what it means to us, personally, where the rubber meets the road-in our units, in the field, on our flight lines, on board our ships, and with our families at bases and posts around the world. Only then will we see:

Christian officers exercising biblical leadership and ministering to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coastguardsmen, and their families any time, any place, any way.
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