Officers' Christian Fellowship
Encyclopedia
Officers' Christian Fellowship (OCF) is as of 2009 a 15,000 member organization—made up of U.S. Military officers—growing at 3% per year represented at 80% of military installations. It is a Christian parachurch organization founded in 1943. The organization's goal is to glorify God by uniting Christian officers for biblical fellowship and outreach, equipping and encouraging them to minister effectively in the military society. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation
alleges OCF is involved in improper proselytization. Despite this, journalist Jeff Sharlet
reports that the Obama administration sees no significant problems with this organization or its activities.
-era Bible study group that had formed and met in Washington, D.C.
Originally founded as the Officers' Christian Union in 1943, it changed its name to Officers' Christian Fellowship in 1972. One of the Bible study group's members was General Hayes Kroner who became the OCF's first president. By 1947 after a year of evangelization at West Point and Annapolis, it had added to its membership forty-one army cadets and naval mid-shipmen. It was these members and other working officers rather than a professional staff who would assume the responsibilities of ministry and outreach .
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Military Religious Freedom Foundation
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is a watchdog / advocacy group and civil rights organization whose stated goals are to ensure that members of the United States Armed Forces receive the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom to which they are entitled by virtue of the Establishment...
alleges OCF is involved in improper proselytization. Despite this, journalist Jeff Sharlet
Jeff Sharlet
Jeff Sharlet is an American journalist, bestselling author, and academic best known for writing about religious subcultures in the United States. He is a contributing editor for Harper's and Rolling Stone...
reports that the Obama administration sees no significant problems with this organization or its activities.
Origins
It developed out of a World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-era Bible study group that had formed and met in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Originally founded as the Officers' Christian Union in 1943, it changed its name to Officers' Christian Fellowship in 1972. One of the Bible study group's members was General Hayes Kroner who became the OCF's first president. By 1947 after a year of evangelization at West Point and Annapolis, it had added to its membership forty-one army cadets and naval mid-shipmen. It was these members and other working officers rather than a professional staff who would assume the responsibilities of ministry and outreach .
History
Its president from 1954 until 1972 was lieutenant general William Kelly Harrison Jr.William Kelly Harrison Jr.
William Kelly Harrison, Jr. was a lieutenant general in the United States Army, and the head of the United Nations Command armistice delegation in the Korean War.-Biography:...
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Further reading
- More Than Conquerors: A History of the Officers' Christian Fellowship of the U.S.A., 1943 to 1983. Robert W. Spoede. OCF Books, 1993. ISBN 0913991023.