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“I knew that if they went to church, they would change. We can start over. I knew God could change us, and He did.” – Maité, The Greatest Journey discipleship program attendee

You may know Operation Christmas Child through the colorful red and green shoeboxes in the foyer, but do you know that Operation Christmas Child is more than those boxes? It all starts with boxes being filled with toys, school supplies, and other gifts for children, then they are gathered at collection center and shipped out to local churches around the world to distribute to their communities. This even includes closed countries due to their new online shoeboxes option. That special day when a child receives their box is only the beginning of the adventure.

Samaritan’s Purse says “The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world.”  The shoebox is the first step in their outreach. After a child is given their box, a gospel message is presented to them and they are invited to participate in The Greatest Journey discipleship program. This program is 12 weeks long, and is designed to be a follow-up to the gospel presentation given during the initial shoebox festivities. Fifty-two million children have enrolled in the program since 2009, and more than 27 million of those children have made professions of faith! These children go on to witness to their families and change their community for Christ.

Through our partnership with Operation Christmas Child, Mountain Christian Church is taking part in the Great Commission. You bring change to people around the world by filling a shoebox, either in person or online, and sending to a child who desperately needs the gospel preached to them. We are changed when we are faithful to the call of Christ to “make disciples in all nations”.

Maité’s family is one example of this life changing transformation through knowing Jesus. Through Maité’s family prayer and witness to her parents, they were saved out of addiction into saving faith in Jesus Christ. I encourage you to take some time and listen to their moving testimony in their own words.

The saving power of the gospel is what Operation Christmas Child is all about! Around the world, people are yearning for hope and transformation. We are called to take part in the great commission and send the gospel message of hope to the world. I can’t say it better than Charles Spurgeon:

“If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world.”

Sending the gospel to a dying world starts with your gift to a child through filling a shoebox. You are a part of spreading the gospel to children around the world, changing families, and changing communities. The fields are white for harvest! Will you join us in the work?