The OBF Visitor is a paper published ten times a year and sent out to the churches of the Ohio Bible Fellowship, various Fundamental schools and mission boards, other churches, and individuals. It is a publication that seeks to inform the churches what is going on in other Bible-believing churches across our state, as well as challenge the reader on topics facing Christians today. Each paper includes updates from OBF churches, short challenges on relevant topics, and a Feature Article written by a fundamental, Bible-believing pastor that will challenge and bless the reader.
The Ohio Bible Fellowship Visitor was originally published as The Ohio Regional Visitor, the Ohio Voice of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America. When the Ohio Regional voted unanimously to sever its relationship with the IFCA in 1968, the OBF Visitor, with the name change, continued publication by the same group of men.
Many different men have served in the ministry of the Visitor over the years. In the beginning days, our printer was Pastor Graydon Cox. He had served as the printer of the Ohio Regional Visitor while serving as field representative for the Ohio Bible Mission. Although the Visitor’s equipment was used, it was still effective in giving a voice to issues confronting the church and Christian people. A used Vari‑Typer was a great addition in the preparation of the text. Later another used printer was purchased, further improving the quality of the printing process. Pastor Cox trained a new printer, Barry Widder, who took over the printing and business end of the paper until 1999.
The paper is now printed by an outside printing company. Pastors John Ashbrook and Graydon Cox served as editors of the paper for a number of years before turning over the reins to Pastors Dan Greenfield, Chris Anderson, and Mark Perry in 2006. Other volunteers include Ken and Patti Perry, who look after the subscription roll and mailing, and George Bailey, who handles the treasurer’s duties and mailing out requests for reprints.
The Ohio Bible Fellowship is a small organization compared to many others, so there is constant amazement at the outreach of the Visitor.
Individual subscriptions and bulk mailing subscriptions go to churches across the United States and missionaries on foreign fields. Orders for feature article reprints come from all over the United States as well as foreign countries, even as far as the South Sea Islands. Most of the responses are favorable, but we also receive a few negative comments from time to time. The day of small things doing a work for God is a testimony to the power and goodness of our God.
