History of OIC

In 1974, God gave Rev. Peter Okayama a heart to begin an evangelical international fellowship in Osaka. As other Japanese brethren joined in prayer with Pastor Okayama, the vision gave birth to the beginning of the Osaka International Church.

In October 1974, at Rev. Okayama's invitation, Rev. Jack Marshall began leading services in downtown hotels and Christian Centers. Rev. Marshall served as pastor of OIC for eighteen years until he returned to the United States in 1992. Under Rev. Marshall's godly and steady leadership, Osaka International Church developed into a spiritual haven for the international community in Osaka.

Since 2002, Daniel Ellrick has been serving as pastor of OIC. Pastor Dan and his wife Karen are missionaries with Mission to Unreached Peoples, and from 1996 to 2002 they served with a Japanese church in Hiroshima. They came to Osaka with a vision to plant new cell churches in the Kansai area, and when they got here God led them to OIC as well. They are slowly continuing the cell church work while Dan leads OIC. For more about the Ellricks and their ministry, see proverbs2525.org.