Overseas Christian Fellowship (OCF) Australia is an on-campus parachurch interdenominational fellowship that is united in faith under one vision: to reach out to all overseas students in Australia, build them up to be Christ’s disciples, and send them back home as disciple-makers. Our vision is inspired by the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20 (The Great Commission) and it has remain unchanged since our founding in 1959.
As an on-campus fellowship, we meet in our various ‘centres’ throughout Australia; each centre is essentially a university club/society. We have over 400 members across 15 university campuses throughout Australia. More information about each centre can be found under the “OCF Centres” tab. Each centre will operate slightly differently, but in general we have weekly meetings on a Friday night centered around worship (in song), Bible study, fellowship and other ad-hoc events (e.g. games night, barbecues, beach day).
As a parachurch organisation, we believe that OCF supports the Church. We do not aim or intend to be a substitute for the Church, and strongly encourage our members to be congregants of a local church during their time of study in Australia.
As an interdenominational organisation, we see that individuals coming from various countries and home churches may have differing traditions but we are all united under a singular banner that is the blood of Christ. We celebrate the different expression of faith people have, and the nuances in the way they live out their love for God and His people. While maintaining our interdenominational nature, we hold to a few core Christian doctrinal statements which may be found here.
That is to say, OCF is committed to:
1) The inerrancy and infallibility of the Holy Bible in presenting the gospel
2) Studying the gospel
3) Spreading the gospel
If you are an overseas student looking for a vibrant and friendly fellowship to call home (away from home), then look no further! More information including contact details for each individual centre can be found on their respective pages. Otherwise, use the “Contact Us” tab and we’ll link you up with the appropriate people.
OCF Australia was officially formed in 1959. We have a long and rich history packed with accounts of God’s goodness and faithfulness both to the Fellowship as a whole and to individuals. The Heritage Project is a new initiative by a group of alumni who have set out to document such stories in as written history. Do check out their website for more information!
OCF Australia now has centres across the nation in one territory and six states (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia).
As OCF Australia, we are passionate about reaching out to international students across these many states and train them up to be disciple-makers for Christ. The harvest field is certainly plenty and rich, very much in need of committed and hardworking labourers!
We follow the following Christian truths:
Missions and Evangelism
Overview
OCF Australia is composed of multiple independent “centres“. Each “centre” is essentially a group/society in a university. While each centre is independent, and is led by their own “local committee”, all centres are united in faith under one vision – the OCF vision to reach out, build up and send back. In total, we have over 400 members across 15 university campuses throughout Australia.
❶ Western Australia
❷ South Australia
Our student-led and student-run nature is one of the unique characteristics of the OCF ministry in comparison to other parachurch on-campus ministries. In short, being student-led and student-run means that students take the primary responsibility of running day-to-day tasks, giving direction to the ministry and planning strategically for the future. We believe that one of the greatest benefits of this is that students who learn to take ownership of their faith and the ministry. Throughout our history, we have seen that student leadership produces individual who understand deeply what being a disciple-maker and labouring for the sake of the Gospel means. As their faith gets refined through the process, we believe that students are being ‘built up’ and thoroughly equipped to be ‘sent back’ home as disciple-makers who will bless their respective communities richly.
Of note, being student-led and student-run does not mean that students endeavour to do everything on their own. We acknowledge that our members (university students) are mostly relatively young and may not be fully equipped to fulfill these tasks on their own. OCF invites advisors – trusted individuals who are typically older and more experienced in ministry work – to collaborate with us [students] to realise the vision of OCF through providing sound Biblical advice and help along the way. Our advisors are commonly alumni (previous OCFers) who desire to continue sowing into this ministry even upon graduation. Our advisors are a diverse group, including individuals whose ages range from the 30s-70s, pastors of local church where OCFers are congregants and working adults (e.g. accountants, engineers, doctors).
Additionally, we regularly partner with local churches and external organisations to receive help in realising our vision. For instance, inviting speakers to run workshops on studying the Bible (‘build up’) or graduating and transitioning to becoming a working adult (‘send back’).
The leadership structure of OCF Australia may be summarised in the diagram above. In short, OCF can be thought of as being organised into Student-led bodies and Advisory bodies.
Students
Current students are active members of OCF Australia. Every student (member) is part of an OCF centre, and each OCF centre is led by a Local Centre Committee whose role is to run the day-to-day tasks of the centre. Additionally, in Australian states where there are multiple centres there typically exists a State Committee which is formed by the Chairpersons of the state’s constituent centres in order to coordinate state-wide inter-centre activities. Finally, the Executive Committee (EXCO) oversees, guides and supports the various centres as they endeavour to realise the OCF vision in each of their university campuses.
The General Committee (GC) is the governing body of OCF Australia. It is tasked with steering the direction of the ministry and making decisions on pertinent issues. The GC is composed of the EXCO and Chairpersons of every centre. The GC meets annually in-person at the end-of-year Annual General Meeting while also communicating regularly throughout the year via various channels.
Advisors
Advisors are volunteers who collaborate with students as co-labourers to help OCF realise its vision. There are advisors corresponding to each level of student leadership. For instance, Local Centre Advisors work closely with Local Centre Committees to provide guidance in realising the OCF vision and practical support (e.g. mentoring leaders, proofreading Bible Study content). Each centre and state has a Local Centre and State Advisor, respectively.
The Board of Advisors (BOA) is comprised of the National Advisor(s) and one State Advisor of each Australian state. They convene regularly to discuss matters pertinent to the Fellowship, and provide advice to the GC as a collective whole.
Our vision is to reach out to all overseas students, build them up to be disciples of Christ and send them back to their home countries as disciple makers.
Sign up for our mailing list: Click here