Ozzie Oswald

Ozzie was born December 20, 1948 in Norfolk, Virginia. Ozzie comments: “I am only alive because of my mom and the Lord and am proudly the aborted abortion!” Ozzie became a Christian on December 17, 1975 and was baptized at Emmanuel Faith Community Church in March of 1976. He married his wife, Shelley, in 1993.

Ozzie is Director/Chaplain at California Family Life Center (www.cflckids.org). March 9, 2014 will celebrated his 30th anniversary at CFLC.

In 2004 Ozzie was recognized by the Lewis Hine Award foundation (National Child Labor Department) for over 20 years of advocacy and work with at-risk children and teens. During his tenure he started the CFLC Chaplaincy program, founded the annual CFLC Giving Tree program providing Christmas gifts for needy children and teens, and assisted in setting up the CFLC Foster Family Agency. Thousands of children, teens, parents and staff have come to Jesus as a result of the efforts of the CFLC Chaplaincy program; and every CFLC kid who desires a Bible has received one. Children and teens are also offered the opportunity to participate in Christian camps where they hear the Good News concerning Jesus Christ. CFLC chaplaincy has provided biblical counseling and ministry to CFLC staff, foster parents and teens.

Ozzie has attended BFC since 1998 where he served on the BFC Mission Team for ten years and was chairperson for eight of those years. Ozzie was in a discipleship group led by Pastor Gil for over two years and followed up with three years of leading two different discipleship groups. He also spent a year and a half in a discipleship group with Jason King and Pastor Gil, learning exegetical preaching and sermon preparation using Haddon Robinson’s book on exegesis.

Ozzie’s spiritual gifts include exhortation, evangelism, faith and possibly discernment.

Ozzie loves to read and write! He loves sports and coached high school football for five years. Ozzie played college baseball at Biola University in 1978 and 1979 and football at Mira Costa College in Oceanside in 1981 and 1982. He loves to shoot guns and bows and is a firm second amendment guy. Ozzie loves missions and has led five short-term mission trips to Australia.