Overview
OMF International is a fellowship of Christians from many nations and church backgrounds, brought into being by God for His glory, to bring hope to East Asia’s billions through sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in all its fullness for the advancement of His church. Our passion is to see indigenous communities of believers worshiping God in their heart language and bringing glory to Him by following Jesus wholeheartedly and reaching out in mission to their own people and beyond in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As members of such an international and interdenominational mission, we declare our complete dependence on God to direct and enable the work to which He has called us. Ultimately we look to Him alone for the supply of all our needs.
Name & History
OMF International began as the China Inland Mission, founded in 1865 by Dr. J. Hudson Taylor. Through the CIM, by 1939 more than 200,000 Chinese and minority people had been baptised. Restrictions in China made it impossible to continue and the CIM withdrew its workers and moved to other parts of Asia in 1951, renaming itself as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship, now known as OMF International.
Today OMF International has more than 1350 workers from 37 different countries serving the church and least reached people in more than 17 countries across East Asia and amongst the East Asian diaspora around the world. Its mission is to share the Good News of Jesus in all its fullness to East Asia’s peoples. OMF workers serve through church planting, community development, teaching, business, and more.
Vision and Mission
Our Vision. Through God’s grace we aim to see an indigenous biblical church movement in each people group of East Asia, evangelizing their own people and reaching out in mission to other peoples.
Our Mission. We share the good news of Jesus Christ in all its fullness with East Asia’s peoples to the glory of God.
Beliefs
In the light of our nature as an international, cross-cultural, Christian mission committed to glorify God through the urgent evangelization of East Asia’s millions, and for the sake of clarity and integrity in all our work and relationships, we humbly declare fundamental truths of the Christian faith and mission. Our beliefs can be found on https://omf.org/about-us.
Values
We affirm the following values in the context of our submission to the Lordship of Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- We TRUST in God
- We are a FELLOWSHIP
- We are Passionate to Reach the UNREACHED
- We Practice INCARNATIONAL Ministry
- We PARTNER in Ministry
- We LEAD from the MINISTRY Context
- We Celebrate DIVERSITY IN UNITY
Ministry Priorities
As an international team of men and women from around the world, we prioritise the following ministries:
- Pioneering – Reaching the Unreached
- Planting Churches
- Perfecting and Discipling
- Mobilizing East Asians
- Mobilizing for East Asia’s Peoples
- Networking and Partnering
On Matters of Unity and Finance
OMF International gladly accepts into membership people from different backgrounds and denominations. Within the Fellowship it is also affirmed that leadership should include both men and women with due consideration given to one’s calling and giftedness in appointments. Those who join OMF International express a broad evangelical unity. Members are expected to respect each other’s personal convictions and “keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3) when differences in outlook arise, including theological differences about issues such as baptism, church government, eschatology and charismatic gifts.
Individually and corporately, OMF International members depend on God for the provision of all financial needs, and these needs are brought to Him in prayer. Our Value of trusting in God means members are responsible to pray in their support and are not guaranteed a salary. We also don’t solicit or make appeals for donation, but share financial needs, communicating clearly, on the basis of interest.
OMF New Horizons
OMF New Horizons (NH) is the OMF Center that handles partnerships, screening, selection, and represents countries without an OMF sending center. New Horizons works in partnership with mission agencies and churches in freshly responsive sending contexts to see an unhindered flow of fervent prayer and willing workers skilfully contributing to movements of God among East Asia’s peoples. New Horizons also acts as the contact point between OMF Fields and partnering agencies in freshly responsive sending contexts.
