OSCAR is an acronym of 'One Stop Centre for Advice and Resources'. If you're involved or interested in Christian or mission work, in the UK or overseas, OSCAR is your gateway to useful, related opportunities, information, advice and resources.
Who is OSCAR for?
OSCAR is mostly, but not exclusively, aimed at UK Christians, whether they are based in the UK or around the world. More specifically, OSCAR is useful for:
- Christian and mission workers on the frontline.
- Christians open to the possibility of serving God in mission or ministry.
- Christian and mission workers recently returned from their place of work.
- Supporters of Christian and mission workers and mission in general.
- Non-UK Christians coming to the UK as Christian workers.
- Anyone responsible for 'resourcing' any of the above.
If your work or interest falls into one or more of these categories, OSCAR is designed to take the 'leg work' out of finding related information. It helps you locate the organisations, services and resources you need and puts you in complete control of managing your own situation, whether you're a frontline worker, supporter or enquirer. This unique 'portal' is designed to empower you and save you much time, energy and money!
Launched officially on 1st March 2000, OSCAR began as part of the Resource project that was founded in September 1999 by Mike Frith, a former missionary pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship. OSCAR became a registered charity in England and Wales in 2001. Some of the early history of OSCAR has been documented in a Christian Herald article published in September 2002. Other press releases give a brief history of some of OSCAR's developments along the way.
Independent
OSCAR's independence from any other organisation, body or denominational gives it a unique place in the UK Christian mission scene. This means that it does not seek to promote any one organisation or service over another but gives an unbiased representation of those that operate in any particular field of work.
Comprehensive, Inclusive & Free to Access
Access to all of OSCAR's website is FREE. Furthermore, we do not charge for a basic listing describing each organisation. The result is a comprehensive, inclusive overview of all the services available in any one subject area. We do not filter them for you, nor only list 'endorsed' services, but present all the options for you to decide. Some of those listed are not specifically aimed at Christians, but are listed because they have something of interest to people involved in mission or ministry. Where possible, we provide brief details about the background and aims of each organisation, service or resource to help you.
As a charity, we are a non-profit organisation. The few 'paid for' services that we offer help us provide the rest of our services which are free. Any payment, sponsorship or donations you make enable us to serve more people with more services.
OSCAR is largely dependent on its users for information. If you would like to submit an entry for the site listings, whether it's your own organisation or one you have found useful, please use our Suggest a Listing form. If you would like to add a link on your site to OSCAR, please do so. Furthermore, if you contact any of the organisations or services listed after finding them on OSCAR, please mention that you found them through us. If you wish to reproduce or pass on any of OSCAR's information, please see our copyright statement.
Please help us with our publicity. We can send you multiple copies of our professionally designed A6 card or A5 flyer (Contact us to request these).
Video presentations introducing OSCAR are also available to view on YouTube. These can be used with a computer/projector before or after a church service or during any missions event or conference you might have.
Serving You
We send out a monthly 'OSCAR Update' by email (usually dispatched in the first week of the month) which highlights the latest news of OSCAR developments and features a few selected items from different areas of the site. If you would like to receive this, please fill in the Contact form.
OSCAR Stand at Big Church Day Out 2016
OSCAR has generated a lot of interest throughout the global mission community (see the Comments page). Each month OSCAR achieves around 40,000 visitor sessions and 130,000 page views (2024 figures). OSCAR aims to provide the best service possible for all people involved in Christian mission or ministry. Therefore, any feedback you have about the site, its usability, content, priorities for future development or any 'dead links' you might encounter would be much appreciated.
