OAC Ministries (Australia) Ltd

OAC Ministries began in 1892 when a Sydney lawyer, E.P. Field, began preaching the gospel in Martin Place in Sydney.

He was concerned that the majority of Australians did not attend church.
If someone did not take the gospel to them, how would they ever hear?

The group of people who came to help E.P.Field first called themselves the New South Wales Prayer Band. Later, the name Open Air Campaigners was adopted.

Following the principle of taking the gospel to where the people are, rather than waiting for them to come, Beach Sunday Schools began. OAC teams regularly took the gospel to Australian beaches, reaching crowds of young people who rarely, if ever, went to Sunday School.

In 1982, the name was changed to OAC Ministries, reflecting our commitment to Outreach And Church Ministries.

OAC’s evangelists have always been inovative. Early in their history, they adopted visual techniques, using sketchboards to illustrate their messages.

Before the second world war they were using Gospel Wagons so their teams could quickly take the gospel to many people. They used music, drama, puppets, object lessons gospel magic and more to communicate clearly and powerfully to their non-captive audiences.

In 1948, a team from Sydney opened a branch of OAC in Melbourne. The next year, 1949, Frank McInnes opened the Queensland branch.

Today, OAC Ministries operates in 5 states of Australia, and in about 20 countries around the world. Our methods change, but our focus has not. We aim to introduce people to Jesus Christ by going to where the people are, using the most effective means possible to communicate the Gospel, and “preaching for a verdict.” We work with local churches to help them to reach out to people in their communities, and we train others in methods of modern, creative, christian communication.