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About the Oilfield
Christian Fellowship
 The idea for the Oilfield Christian Fellowship of
Houston began in the spring of 1991 with a phone
conversation between Jim Teague, a drilling engineer and
John Bird, a salesman for a service company. Each realized
that they knew a lot of Christians in the oil patch and felt
that a breakfast would be a good place to get to know other
believers. The first meeting was advertised by word of
mouth and 46 men and women met at
the
Houston First Baptist Church for breakfast. Because
everyone enjoyed this first meeting, it was decided they
would meet monthly on the first Wednesday for lunch. This
continues to this day, with the exception of the one day of
the year they meet for the annual prayer breakfast during
OTC or if holidays should conflict.
Today
there are chapters meeting monthly in Oklahoma City, Tulsa,
Dallas, Lafayette and New Orleans. Currently there are
several cities with plans to start new chapters. John and
Bible supply chairman, Mike Chaffin recently spoke at the
inaugural meeting of the Illinois Basin chapter in
Evansville, Indiana during the two day Illinois Oil and Gas
Exposition held there.
This past May the Eighth Annual Prayer Breakfast was held
with over 800 men and women in attendance at the Park Plaza
Hotel across from the Reliant Football Field. This event is
always held on Tuesday during the OTC conference held at the
Reliant Convention Center. Randy Limbacher, V.P. of Drilling
and Production for ConocoPhillips was the keynote speaker
and last years speaker, Mark Albers, President, ExxonMobil
Development closed for Randy. Internationally known Grammy
and Dove award winner Larnelle Harris was the singer and
received a standing ovation.
At each monthly area meetings a guest speaker shares how he
or she came to know Christ as Savior and what God is doing
in their life. This format is based on the scripture found
in Proverbs 27:17, “As Iron Sharpens iron, so one man
sharpens another.” As many as 250 people meet for lunch
and sharing in Houston, the largest chapter.
The Oilfield Christian Fellowship’s mission is to share the
good news about Jesus Christ, give men and women in the oil
industry the occasion to accept Christ their personal Savior
and to encourage them in their walk with our Lord. This same
opportunity is provided through the Bible supply ministry
that began in 2000.
Also each month, a free eight-page newsletter is sent out to
over 3600 recipients. In this letter are meeting
announcements, short stories, scriptures and space devoted
to advertising anyone’s need for employment. There is also a
web site available at:
www.oilfieldchristianfellowship.com. There can be found
more information including meeting times in other cities,
photos and past issues of the newsletter. You can also
e-mail John at
jbirdocf@peoplepc.com or call him at 281-359-1258.
Along with the President and co-founder John Bird, there is
Carl Davis, owner of Davis Lynch, OCF Vice President, board
members Jim Cook, Drilling Manager, CMR, and Paul Mogabgab,
co-owner of EDG. Mike Chaffin is the Bible Supply Chairman
who co-authored along with John, the Bible, God’s Word
for the Oil Patch. Mike is the drilling manager
for Valence Operating. Mr. Gayle Stimson, a recently retired
missionary to France, is Treasurer.
The
Oilfield Christian Fellowship Bible Ministry
- by
Mike Chaffin
Today the cry is “At least three Bibles on every rig”!
Since January 2005 the OCF has been placing the Oil Patch
Bible on drilling rigs all over the world. The
Oil Patch Bible is a compact NIV Bible containing
testimonies of oilfield workers, usinglanguage that speaks
to men and women who work in the Oil and Gas Industry.
So far, over 14, 000 of these Bibles have been placed on
rigs, platforms, docks, offices and heliports. On the first
of September 10,000 more English versions arrived in Houston
along with 5000 copies of the first Spanish version.
Since its inception in the
fall of 2000 the Oilfield Christian Fellowship Bible
Ministry has been blessed by God with a m ultitude of
fruitful ministry opportunities around the world.
Whether it is Bibles, New Testaments, the Jesus video, books
or tracts, we have supplied oilfield workers traveling
overseas with the material they need to put God’s Word in
the hands of the people they are going to visit or work
with. The OCF Bible Ministry has helped supply
missionary groups when people from the oilfield are part of
the team. Over 16,000 Bibles have been distributed in
17 different languages to 31 different countries.
Thousands of tracts and over 1,000 teaching books have also
been distributed.
The OCF Bible Ministry can use your help. Whether it
is through prayer, helping to get the Bibles out, or making
a donation, you too can make a difference in someone’s life
that may never have seen a Bible. Contact Mike Chaffin
at
chaffinmike@comcast.net for more information.
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