history of OCA

Overseas Council was formed in September, 1974, by a group of lay people and a few missionaries to assist in developing Christian leadership in the Developing World.

The original aim was the funding of scholarships for students at Seoul Theological Seminary in South Korea. Over the years, Overseas Council funded 626 Korean students, many of whom went on to lead Korea's phenomenal church growth.

Starting in the USA, the Overseas Council group has expanded to comprise six autonomous and independent affiliates operating additionally in Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Australia.

Link here to international affiliates.

Overseas Council Australia commenced in April 1987, as an incorporated association in Victoria based in Melbourne. Activities progressively spread to Sydney followed by Brisbane and culminating in conversion to a Company limited by guarantee in July 2003, headquartered in Sydney.

From inception, the organisation has been inter-denominational in nature drawing both board members and supporters from across the range of Protestant denominations.

The founding Chairman was Kimberly Smith, a public accountant and active Anglican layman. He was followed by the Rev. Gordon Moyes, Superintendent of Wesley Mission Sydney; Robert Kerr of Melbourne, a retired company executive and John Dingle of Sydney, also a retired company executive. The current Chairman is Philip Twyman a retired Group Executive Director of an insurance group. A key person in bringing Overseas Council to Australia was the Rev. John Allison, a board member until his death in 1999, whose son, John Allison is a current board member.

As the Australian affiliate, the primary focus has been upon supporting Christian leadership development in the countries of South and East Asia and Oceania.

Principal associations have been with Christian Leaders Training College (CLTC) in Mt. Hagen, PNG, Tyrannus Bible Institute in Bandung, Indonesia, Nusantara Bible Seminary in Malang, Indonesia, Madras Bible Seminary and College in Chennai, India, South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS) in Bangalore, India, Allahabad Bible Seminary in Allahabad, India, Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology in Yangon, Myanmar, Phnom Penh Bible College, Cambodia, Jordan Evangelical Theological College, and most recently the Peking University Christian Studies Program in Beijing, China. Other colleges have been supported in Philippines, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Click here to see the list of current projects.

Assistance has been provided in the form of scholarships for students who would otherwise be unable to undertake full time study. In 2003 OCA celebrated the 500th student to have graduated with the assistance of OCA.

Click here to see some students currently in need of support.

Student support is complemented by campus investment in land and buildings for administration, lecture rooms, libraries and the like. Aid has also extended to supporting the development of local self-funding initiatives and regional conferences for the training and development of faculty.

A feature of the ministry has been the continuing support of faithful individual donors, many of whom have contributed for ten years or more.

The chapel at South Asia Institute for Advanced Christian Studies, India. The first project supported by OCA.