The OCF Handbook

IN THIS CHAPTER

The military is a great place for uniformed leaders to learn how to submit

to God and to those He places over us. Officers usually serve in positions

of influence that give them an opportunity to do good to all those around them, whether to Americans, to allies, or to the people of a nation at war with the United States. Sound ethical and moral actions flow from the practice of studying, thinking, and repeatedly doing what is right, especially when under stress. The bottom line is that Christians ought to have a good (positive) influence on a military unit’s culture and climate, in times of peace and in times of conflict.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding the idea of professional calling flows from our grasp of God’s sovereignty over all His creation. The Bible speaks repeatedly of His unfolding plan as He directs the steps of men and women. In light of God’s sovereignty and His step-directing work, entire military households can see themselves as living on mission, allowing their love for God and love for neighbor to establish the priorities of the home. Both adults and children are essential members of the Christian military body. May you use your days well!

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

Worldview informs our priorities, which then determine our use of time. Our understanding of creation, fall, redemption, and living under Christ’s new covenant impacts how we live our lives, prioritize our use of resources, and engage the people around us. If we think deeply now (while we have time for study and contemplation), then it is more likely we will be a leader who acts decisively during times of crisis or stress.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

We hope your OCF participation will extend beyond the few years one spends in uniformed service. We are constantly seeking to connect men and women serving, and who have served, for the rest of their lives according to their gifts and capacities. Once you have connected and met one another, we want you to keep getting together to help stir one another toward effective stewardship to the end of your days.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

OCF members plan and host many different gatherings for the benefit of the military community around them. There is no limit to the creativity involved in these gatherings, but each one requires an initiator, an organizer, and help from the larger fellowship to execute the gathering. These are usually exciting opportunities to meet the larger OCF body, to be encouraged in your walk, and to gain new vision for service.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

OCF owns two conference centers (Spring Canyon in Colorado and White Sulphur Springs in Pennsylvania) for the purpose of bringing the military community of singles, families, and friends together for mutual growth, edification, rest, and refreshment. Guests should leave the conference centers ready to re-enter the mission field where they live. These conference centers function as home base for many military families, the one place the family visits year after year from pre-commissioning years all the way through post-service years, coming back with children and grandchildren. The centers provide OCF members a depot for spiritual maintenance, a crossroads environment to meet members of the larger family of Christ, and a place where vision is developed to serve for the rest of life.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

The various seasons of life bring about different abilities and capacities to volunteer within OCF and within your local church. This chapter gives ideas for some of the many ways you can volunteer to serve the military community and OCF by using your gifts, time, talent, and treasure.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

There are three main roles an OCF member can volunteer to fill and become visible in the OCF Directory. These volunteer roles are OCF Local Leader, OCF Contact, and OCF Hospitality Home. The OCF Directory also makes OCF Coordinators visible. If someone desires to support a larger area, region, or military specialty as a Coordinator, please contact the OCF Home Office at (800) 424-1984. Finally, our OCF Council members are volunteers who serve on the OCF Council after being elected to this role.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

OCF members serve where the local church does not have access or the opportunity to impact lives, but where military members can. OCF gathers Christian believers together so that the gospel, and the impacts of the gospel, might go into places where their military credentials permit access to garrison installations, to deployed locations, and to the many temporary locations where the military is sent. A spiritually healthy OCF member is one who lives under the sound teaching and oversight of a local church body. These local churches have the privilege of teaching, training, and sending gospel-bearing members out as ambassadors for Christ.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].

IN THIS CHAPTER

OCF is a ministry body composed of members (regular, associate, honorary) who are all committed to OCF’s Purpose (to glorify God by uniting Christian officers for Biblical fellowship and outreach, equipping and encouraging them to minister effectively in the military society). Regular members determine the direction of our ministry by voting for Council Members

and for changes to the OCF Constitution. Every member of OCF affirms

the Statement of Faith and the Statement of Participation (to participate actively and prayerfully in the ministry of OCF with my time, talents, spiritual gifts, and financial resources). This chapter addresses the question of why we focus on commissioned military leaders to accomplish the primary laity work of leading OCF fellowships for the good of the entire military community. Our member-led model allows us to have a small staff focused on equipping, encouraging, connecting, and sending OCF members into various areas of service.

The full OCF Handbook can be viewed and downloaded at www.ocfusa.org/handbook. Send thoughts or questions to [email protected].