2005 Annual Report

I am pleased to report that the Lord continues to bless your ministry. While this annual report concerns numbers, those numbers really reflect how the Lord is working through OCF-and that is ministry.

In 2005, after years of planning and prayer, we initiated the very beginning of the OCF Growing and Building Campaign to raise funds necessary to replace aging facilities at our two conference centers and to position OCF for the Lord's work in the 21st century. This annual report reflects the beginning of this campaign and that is the primary reason net assets have increased by nearly $2 million over the past year. You'll be hearing more about the campaign as we lead up to the grand kick off in September.

In 2005, we were blessed with strong financial support for ministry operations. However, the year wasn't without challenges, to including the impact of the tsunami and Katrina relief. Twice we had to pay the staff late and we were in an extremely tight cash flow position in October and November. But with careful management and your outpouring of love and support, we ended the year in a strong cash position with all obligations paid and a salary reserve of $150,000.

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has influenced all that we do in OCF. It is the center of our daily devotions. The Lord is working; we see fellowships springing up in Iraq and Afghanistan, on bases and posts at home, and in ROTC detachments at our universities. Our academy ministries continue to reap spiritual blessings and our total membership increased to 13,785. The Wives of Warriors program directly ministered to women in support of families impacted by the GWOT.

We have restructured our web site and publications so they are more meaningful to deployed personnel and their families, and to the younger members of OCF. And, our conference centers saw increased attendance as they remain a spiritual refuge and center for training for all those who face the demands of the GWOT on a daily basis.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits . . . Ps. 103:2 I remain extremely excited about how the Lord is working through each of you in OCF and about how He is "Growing and Building" our ministry so we can "declare His power to the next generation."

Standing on the Rock,
Bruce L. Fister
Lt. Gen. Retired Executive Director