Preparing military leaders: OCF expands engagement with ROTC

“OCF getting more involved with ROTC is invaluable,” said 2d Lt Walter Kirkland, USSF. “After all, the sooner that you can begin your faith journey the better so that you are more mentally and spiritually prepared to tackle the obstacles you’ll face and lead within your unit.”

Like many cadets and midshipmen across the country’s ROTC programs, Walter, who recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, did not learn about OCF until his senior year. Walter said he had very limited knowledge of OCF throughout his years at UNCC, until a visit from OCF Regional Coordinators Col Hous and Tami Waring, USAF (Ret.), showed him that involvement in OCF would be key for his military career.

“The impact OCF had on me was eye-opening,” Walter said. “It was great to know that there was an established, reputable community of believers available to continue my faith journey even as I transition from college to active duty.”

With a mission to engage military leaders in Biblical fellowship and growth to equip them for Christlike service at the intersection of faith, family, and profession, OCF now seeks to do so more intentionally at the collegiate stage of these military leaders’ lives.

Expanding Ministry Efforts to ROTC Programs

While OCF has continued to achieve this mission since the 1970s at the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy through full-time staff—and with fundraising efforts in progress for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy—a door is opening to another realm of ministry opportunities: ROTC.

“Since God has called OCF to equip and encourage Christlike leaders in the military community and over 50% of all U.S. active-duty military officers receive their commission each year through ROTC programs, the need to more deeply engage in this ministry field is undeniable,” said Col Scott Fisher, USAF (Ret.), who currently serves as OCF’s Executive Director and CEO.

The immense impact to be had within ROTC ministry is not merely due to the quantity of officers who will receive their commission through the program but also due to the quality of growth that often takes place in a student’s typical four years.

“College years are often the most formative time for spiritual development in a person’s adult life,” Scott said. “We are seeing a strongly growing hunger from Cadets and Midshipmen to dig into His Word and [be part of] vibrant Christian fellowship.”

Volunteers across OCF have seen this same hunger for Bible study and fellowship for years and have poured into these officer candidates.
LTC Bob Deckard, USA (Ret.), and his daughter Janell at Fort Knox, Ky., and LTCs Greg & Lucy Lane, USAR (Ret.), at Fort Campbell, Ky., are just a few of these volunteers.

“ROTC campus Bible studies, along with those conducted at Summer Training, are truly the gateway ministry for effectively reaching our future military commissioned officers with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Bob said. “This provides a conducive environment for introducing them to Christ, fortifying them in their faith, along with equipping them to become ambassadors for Christ worldwide.”

Similar to the importance of sharing the gospel with countless Cadets and Midshipmen—likely for the first time—the Lanes emphasized the formative nature of collegiate years for those who grew up in the faith as well.

“Surveys indicate many college students leave their ‘home faith’ when they leave home. Family ways are replaced by peer pressure,” the Lanes said. “Cadets are making individual choices without the usual counsel; they need to know truth in order to have wisdom.”

Regardless of an officer candidate’s spiritual background, salvation in Christ and the Biblical fellowship with other officers for years to come has an impact beyond just the individual.

“Establishing a Biblical world perspective is critical for solidifying a Cadet’s leadership ethos,” Bob said. “Doing so will ultimately determine the philosophy of our next generation of military leaders.”

Collaboration with Other Ministries for Greater Impact

On the heels of a long summer of OCF outreach to thousands of Army ROTC Cadets at Fort Knox, Ky., Bob shared that 621 of these Cadets requested info about Christian groups at their respective campuses. As those same Cadets return to school for the fall semester, the prayer is that those same Cadets and their thousands of peers across the country are indeed finding that vital Christian fellowship.

Those thousands attend one of 460 hub campuses where ROTC is offered or one of more than 1,000 crosstown, cooperating campuses, creating an immense ministry field.

“The opportunity and need for an ROTC ministry presence at these locations is huge, and frankly, beyond what OCF can hope to offer,” said Lt Col Larry Sherbondy, USAF (Ret.), who serves as the OCF Director of ROTC Ministry. “However, there are other ROTC ministries in addition to our own, most notably (Cru) Valor and Navigators.”

These like-minded ministries have been invaluable co-laborers for outreach to and discipleship of those in ROTC programs on campus and at several annual, regional ROTC retreats.

“We have found we have remarkably similar ministry objectives, and we continue to share and learn from one another better ways to reach and disciple this remarkable group of young men and women,” Larry said. “With our partner ministries, we have found retreats to be of enormous benefit to ROTC Cadets and Mids, who find them a great relief from the daily ‘grind’ of scholastic and military responsibilities, and a wonderful ‘oasis’ of spiritual refreshment and challenge.”

The Deckards’ ministry efforts at Fort Knox illustrate the benefit of multi-ministry collaboration.

“Being able to partner with ministry-minded chaplains during these past 13 years at [Cadet Summer Training] has enabled OCF to effectively labor together alongside like-minded ROTC campus ministries such as Navigators and Valor,” Bob said.

The collaboration within OCF is just as impactful, too.

The Lanes explained that the Deckards “work to alert Cadets attending their summer training there of our ministry at Fort Campbell if Bob and Janell find out those Cadets are headed our way.”

Regarding involvement from “sister ministries,” the Lanes said representatives from Valor and Navigators “alert their Cadets to the opportunity we offer for chapel attendance and Bible study,” sharing such examples as “Navigator ROTC reps at Cedarville University Larry and Julie Mathews, Valor rep for the lower Midwest John Cross, and former Valor rep for the upper Midwest Bob Holthouse.”

The Lanes said they then “funnel contact info to various Navs ROTC, Valor, and OCF points of contact of our Cadets in their areas upon completion of the summer Air Assault School classes,” thus enabling longer-term connection and fellowship well after the summer.

The Need for Volunteers and Ongoing Support

Recognizing the need for further ROTC ministry, the OCF Council gave unanimous approval at its April 2024 meeting to place a full-time OCF staff couple at The Citadel, in Charleston, S.C. As one of six senior military colleges, The Citadel commissions a higher number of officers each year than the typical ROTC program.

“That’s critical to man those major entrance points,” MAJ Jane Baer, USAR (Ret.), now a current member of the OCF Council, said. “The earlier you get an officer, the earlier the impact upon their leadership style, upon their own troops, and upon the families that they’re dealing with.”

Jane and her husband both received their commission through ROTC programs but didn’t hear about and get involved with OCF until 10 years into their careers. The Baers have watched a very different story of ministry involvement and impact unfold for their son and his peers during their time at the Virginia Military Institute.

“The group of VMI grads that are [at Fort Sill] right now, have come together to start Bible studies of their own,” Jane said. “Because of the grounding that they got and the example set for them through OCF at the ROTC level, it’s carrying forward into their BOLC, and that’s what we want to see. That’s what ROTC needs.”

Others who learned of OCF earlier in college spoke to the impact of those few extra years of involvement.

“From Rocky Mountain High to ROTC spring retreats, OCF cultivated an environment where I could learn and develop new ideas on how I can best meet my Soldiers at the intersection of faith and profession,” said 2LT Chase Kuhlman, USA, who graduated from Furman University earlier this year and served as the Local Leader of the ROTC OCF group while a Cadet. “[OCF’s increasing involvement in ROTC ministry] excites me! OCF does a great job at opening doors for Cadets and Midshipmen, especially when it comes to finding community at your first duty station or officers’ course.”

Audrey Dillman was also involved in OCF as a cadet in ROTC, recently separated from the Army, and is stationed with her husband in Hawaii, where they now volunteer as ROTC Local Leaders at the University of Hawaii.

“OCF was a space to develop my character in a Christlike manner, learning how to think and approach uncomfortable situations I would soon face as a young leader,” said Audrey. “It also afforded me a platform to network and build community across the region. Regardless of where my family has been stationed, I’ve always run into a friend or two from OCF.”

While excitement about OCF’s expanding ministry efforts is clear, so is the need for members across the OCF community to get involved.

“With so many locations, there is a desperate need for volunteers who will offer themselves as God’s ‘agents of grace’ at an ROTC campus near where they live,” Larry said. “All it takes is Christians with a willingness to engage with cadets perhaps five hours per week, getting them into the Bible, praying with them, welcoming them to their homes, and sharing what Christ has taught them, so they in turn can reach others.”

Visit ocfusa.org/rotc or email Larry at [email protected] for more information, resources, and ways to get involved.