OCF STORY OF IMPACT
“I’ve relied on fellow believers in OCF to help carry just some of the burden and speak truth from places informed by their own similar experiences.”
Col Scott Johnson, USAF
OCF has indelibly etched my life at several crossroads where I was asking questions and the relationships made through OCF made the difference. As a freshman at the US Air Force Academy, I came to know Christ in a squadron Bible study where the upper-class leaders treated me with respect and friendship despite being a lowly freshman.
Even more impactful was their genuine Christian walk – upfront with their shortcomings and grace-filled with themselves and others. Shortly after giving my life to Christ, I faced these questions: What does a Christian in the military look like? How do I grow as a Christian military leader?
OCF was the community that both started to flesh out that vision as well as one where I sincerely enjoyed the friendships. At the time I did not fully recognize the gift of being able to continue to be a part of that community for the rest of my life as I moved – a thread that continues to tie by back to Christ no matter where and what I am doing. It feels like sun on my face then and it does now. As I’ve gotten older, that connection has continued to grow as my family has come to view the conference centers as a second home for our family.
Fast forward to my first overseas assignment to a place called Kunsan Airbase in South Korea. My commander had swapped it from my 10th choice to my 1st choice. It was a year-long remote assignment that has a bit of a “Lord of the Flies” feel that I would not have chosen. From my foxhole, it truly felt beyond God’s purview. I started asking the question: Does God really have a plan for my life?
The OCF study at Kunsan is where some of the broad outlines of that plan started to feel tangible and real. I was able to be grasp reflections of God’s plan and they started falling into place, culminating in my future wife walking into Bible study one night near the end of my time.
Finally, one of the things I have very much come to value in the military is its rootedness in the real world. As our jobs often occur in difficult places doing difficult things…there is a grittiness and texture to the faith of many of the military Christians that OCF has brought across my path. Two deployment experiences, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, have been markers in my life, and drove the question, a deep one: Am I truly forgiven?
Panic attacks, enduring counseling, inability to sleep through the night, irrational fears – the experiences cut deep. In those places, is where I’ve relied on fellow believers in OCF to help carry just some of the burden and speak truth from places informed by their own similar experiences. To be connected to such a community is a rare gift.
My experience of OCF has brought encouragement, friendship and “iron sharpening iron” with other believers.
Days in uniform – like raising kids – go quickly. My time in the Air Force has amply provided relationships, shared hardship, and an impactful platform that can be used to reflect God’s love. OCF has helped, in crucial times answering difficult questions, to grow my passion and obedience…and in God’s provision, to positively impact the military community for Christ. I am so thankful.
Col Scott Johnson, USAF
OCF has indelibly etched my life at several crossroads where I was asking questions and the relationships made through OCF made the difference.
As a freshman at the US Air Force Academy, I came to know Christ in a squadron Bible study where the upper-class leaders treated me with respect and friendship despite being a lowly freshman. Even more impactful was their genuine Christian walk – upfront with their shortcomings and grace-filled with themselves and others. Shortly after giving my life to Christ, I faced these questions: What does a Christian in the military look like? How do I grow as a Christian military leader?
OCF was the community that both started to flesh out that vision as well as one where I sincerely enjoyed the friendships. At the time I did not fully recognize the gift of being able to continue to be a part of that community for the rest of my life as I moved – a thread that continues to tie by back to Christ no matter where and what I am doing. It feels like sun on my face then and it does now. As I’ve gotten older, that connection has continued to grow as my family has come to view the conference centers as a second home for our family.
Fast forward to my first overseas assignment to a place called Kunsan Airbase in South Korea. My commander had swapped it from my 10th choice to my 1st choice. It was a year-long remote assignment that has a bit of a “Lord of the Flies” feel that I would not have chosen. From my foxhole, it truly felt beyond God’s purview. I started asking the question: Does God really have a plan for my life?
The OCF study at Kunsan is where some of the broad outlines of that plan started to feel tangible and real. I was able to be grasp reflections of God’s plan and they started falling into place, culminating in my future wife walking into Bible study one night near the end of my time.
Finally, one of the things I have very much come to value in the military is its rootedness in the real world. As our jobs often occur in difficult places doing difficult things…there is a grittiness and texture to the faith of many of the military Christians that OCF has brought across my path. Two deployment experiences, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, have been markers in my life, and drove the question, a deep one: Am I truly forgiven?
Panic attacks, enduring counseling, inability to sleep through the night, irrational fears – the experiences cut deep. In those places, is where I’ve relied on fellow believers in OCF to help carry just some of the burden and speak truth from places informed by their own similar experiences. To be connected to such a community is a rare gift.
My experience of OCF has brought encouragement, friendship and “iron sharpening iron” with other believers.
Days in uniform – like raising kids – go quickly. My time in the Air Force has amply provided relationships, shared hardship, and an impactful platform that can be used to reflect God’s love. OCF has helped, in crucial times answering difficult questions, to grow my passion and obedience…and in God’s provision, to positively impact the military community for Christ. I am so thankful.
