About us

Open Air Campaigners was founded in 1892 in Australia (more of our history can be found on the Open Air Campaigners International web site) and has been working in Britain since 1968 when David Fanstone preached at the first sketchboard open-air on the seafront in Brighton on the south coast.  The name was recently changed  in Britain, and some other countries, to OAC Ministries to reflect the broader scope of the ministry.

OAC Ministries in Britain is part of Open Air Campaigners International, bound by a common Statement of Purpose and Statement of Faith.

We are members of the Evangelical Alliance.

THE STAFF

From the small beginnings in 1968, the British staff has grown. There are currently 17 staff and 2 trainees in 14 locations.  Add to our full time staff those who are working part time as assistant evangelists and schools workers, plus the many volunteers assisting the local teams, and we have quite a family! We also have some 20 associates who, whilst having their own ministries, link up with us for outreach and encouragement.

OAC GB is also responsible for establishing the ministry in Romania (Paul & Julie Wakefield), Italy (Michela Piccolo), the Netherlands (Rob Vollebregt), and Latvia (Stuart Burnside). Through the overseas ministry of Korky Davey we are also involved in establishing a new work in Uganda under the direction of Romans Serunjogi! Details of the work there can be found via the OAC International website or by following the Uganda link here!

The work is supported by a faithful council who meet regularly in London and work hard to keep the organisation on track with legal and other matters. The council is led by the National Chairman.

CHURCHES

OAC believes in the 'Ephesians 4' ministry of the evangelist: to preach, teach and motivate within the church.

All evangelists are members of a local church and are often involved in preaching and teaching roles. The evangelists are trained to work within the church and are particularly effective in all-age evangelistic services. Many of our evangelists lead both adult, youth and children's missions within churches.

Over 90% of people in Britain never go to a church or attend a religious meeting so we need to go where they are. OAC is a missionary society committed to the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ where the people are who need to hear it.

The motto of OAC is 'Presenting Christ by all means everywhere'.  The gospel does not change, but we need a variety of means to present it including the sketchboard (a method devised and developed by OAC, but taught to many other churches and missionary societies) illusions, escapology and puppetry.
OPEN AIR
This is a significant distinctive of OAC and all our evangelists are trained both to preach in the open-air and to provide training in this area. Using visual methods of communication we have proved the point over and over again that it is possible to stop and engage people with the Gospel on the street. Open air preaching is a Biblical and effective tool in the churches’ armoury which we ignore to our very great loss!  Multitudes of people have their first contact with the gospel in the open air.
SCHOOLS

It is a legal requirement that each child in school should attend a daily act of worship, and should also be taught Religious Education. We have the privilege of being able to go into state schools to take assemblies and also R.E. Classes. Biblical truth is communicated in relevant ways according to age by such means as sketch board, object lessons and puppet shows.

OAC evangelists have one of the most extensive school's ministries in the United Kingdom in terms of the number of children we reach with the gospel on a regular basis.  Thousands of school children are reached each week during term time. The sense of excitement which greets our workers is quite something and testament to their effective communication skills.

SHIPS

Some of our staff in ports (like Falmouth) are involved in co-operation with the 'Seamen's Christian Friend Society' in visiting ships . It is an effective way of sharing the gospel with people from around the world.

PRISONS

In Britain there is currently a mini revival occurring in the prisons. Many prisoners are coming to faith and some of our staff regularly minister "inside"

FESTIVALS

A regular feature of British life are New Age festivals that take place mainly in the summer months and particularly down in the South West of the country. Our teams in Cornwall and the South West are frequently a feature of these events and are usually on the programme as "Traditional Story Tellers". Our marquee is a good centre for people to come and relax and chat, watch children's presentations, get faces painted and many other things!

TRAINING

OAC has always been a "give away" organisation. Training and motivating Christians for evangelism is a central part of our ministry - see the 'Training' page on this site. There is also of course the national staff training programme for those who want to work on the full-time staff.

SUPPORT

OAC Ministries is a faith mission, and each evangelist is responsible for raising his/her own support. We are supported by a huge variety of people and churches who give, often sacrificially so that the work can continue and pray faithfully so that the work is effective. Gifts can be sent to the individual staff evangelists for their work or to the National Treasurer to support the National work.

If you would like to know more of how you might support the work then ask Norman for a brochure on giving.

OAC Ministries National Office

OAC Ministries,
PO Box 187,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE12 6WF
Tel. (+44) (0) 191 2684320
E-mail info.gb@oaci.org

Open Air Campaigners is a registered charity in the United Kingdom no 295432