A pastor explains how becoming an Operation Christmas Child ministry partner helped his congregation increase from three to 50 transformed lives.
Gift-filled shoeboxes are packed for children, but they influence entire families and communities. They even help start and grow churches, like Seed of Faith in Cambodia. When their Pastor Ponleu* got involved with Samaritan’s Purse and hosted Operation Christmas Child outreach events, the Good News of Jesus Christ began changing the boys and girls who received the shoebox gifts—and adults around them as well!
The Struggle to Grow
Obedience to the call of God was far from glamorous for Pastor Ponleu. The first Sunday his church met, there were just three adults in attendance as they gathered in the home of one of the members. In the face of depressing odds, he stood firm on the Lord’s calling to plant a church in this village; the majority of the population who followed other religions needed to know God.
The first Sunday Pastor Ponleu’s church met, there were just three people who attended.
“We know that as much as we worry about things, God is ultimately the one who is going to take care of us and is sovereign overall, and we trust in Him and follow His lead,” Pastor Ponleu said.
He named the church “Seed of Faith,” refusing to dig up in doubt what he planted in faith. As a congregation of three, they began evangelizing as well as praying for financial provision, a church building, and a full congregation. Slowly, they saw God’s hand at work as He began opening the hearts and minds of the community.
Kids were an immediate focus in the planning for this church, but provision for a children’s ministry was lacking.
Children delight in receiving The Greatest Gift Gospel booklet along with their shoebox gift.
“I believe children are not only destined to be in the church, but destined to be strong believers in Christ who will work in government and in different areas where they can continue to share that faith with other people,” Pastor Ponleu said. “And I know that it starts with our ministry, it starts with right now, and the rest, we leave up to God.”
A Prayer for Partnership
Hoping to learn about ways to grow his ministry, he went to an evangelism event, where he met a volunteer with Operation Christmas Child who shared the possibility of receiving and distributing shoeboxes in his community. The church went through the necessary training, learning how an outreach event works and what it means to be a ministry partner, praying and believing the entire time that their application would be selected–it was!
Gearing up for their first outreach event, prayer remained the foundational principle as they lifted up the shoeboxes, their contents, the children who would be recipients, and the greater community, which would be forever changed by the Gospel and this act of generosity.
“When it comes to the Gospel, when it comes to the story of Jesus, it’s not just for one child, it’s for the family. It’s for the community, it’s for everybody,” Pastor Ponleu said.
“One child receives one shoebox, but when it comes to the Gospel, when it comes to the story of Jesus, it’s not just for one child, it’s for the family. It’s for the community, it’s for everybody,” Pastor Ponleu said.
Bless a child, a family, and a community—pack a shoebox!
More than 60 children showed up for that first outreach event. Their second event in a neighboring district drew the same number of kids and even more parents who were curious about the change spreading through their community.
“It was amazing to see the joy on their faces,” Ponleu said. “As the pastor, even though I wasn’t the one receiving a gift, I felt that joy and I felt very encouraged seeing it.”
They kicked off a class of The Greatest Journey follow-up discipleship program for the shoebox recipients shortly after the outreach event, and he began teaching these children who were hungry for the Good News of Jesus Christ.
God-Driven Growth
Initially, Pastor Ponleu was so filled with fear and despair that his church wouldn’t grow; he thought he had misheard God somehow. And now that his church has exploded, there’s a new kind of nervousness as he works to become a shepherd of this flock—one who can help them grow in their young faith, and lead them beyond where they started.
Using what they’ve learned through The Greatest Journey classes, he says children are the ones truly growing his church by sharing their faith in Jesus with friends and family.
“My prayer and my belief are that the Lord is going to bless all these children, that He will break those chains, and there will be freedom, confidence, and boldness in their faith to be able to be the next generation that reaches out to the community,” Pastor Ponleu said.
He’s so thankful for the partners he has in Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child, who have come alongside him in this season of growth. The ministry recognizes we could not operate without local churches like his. When these children accept Christ as Savior, that new relationship requires discipleship and guidance in order to grow.
“My prayer, especially now that I’ve been connected with Operation Christmas Child, is that they would continue to make a difference in the provinces. I’m praying that the Lord would use that as an opportunity and a means to touch the people of Cambodia and change their hearts.”
In faith, Pastor Ponleu believed God called him to plant the church that has grown to include 50 people.
A church in Cambodia is a rare find in a landscape dotted with temples and altars at every turn. With God’s help, Pastor Ponleu has created a sanctuary where people gather together in fellowship hours after services end.
“It makes me so thankful to the Lord that this church can be a space and a place where children feel safe, they feel comfortable, they can make friends with other people, and they feel at home,” Ponleu said.
A Mother’s Prayer
But the church is not the building itself, it’s the people inside of it, one of whom is Ary*, a mother of five children who first heard about Seed of Faith because of an Operation Christmas Child outreach event. While her children have been going through The Greatest Journey, she’s gotten involved with the church and witnessed its growth firsthand over the course of the past year.
“I’m at a loss for words when it comes to being able to see my kids grow in their faith at the same time as seeing this church grow. I’m in awe and I’m amazed at what the Lord has done,” Ary said.
“Our family has never felt this much love and this much care before. Through the shoebox and then through the classes, it’s been amazing to see my kids grow and see their faith be encouraged as well,” Ary said.
She knows what it’s like to live in Cambodia without the Lord, and to say that He’s changed her life and that of her family is an understatement. Sickness and hunger used to be very prevalent among her children; she frequently struggled to find a job, and never knew where the next meal was coming from.
“It’s been really amazing to see just how faithful the Lord has been and how I went from being always worried and fearful to now, the minute something happens, I know that I can pray and everything is going to be OK,” Ary said.
In Awe of God’s Goodness and Mercy
Ary’s life and that of the other members of this congregation are living testimonies to their community. It’s hard to deny the difference in who these people were before they met Christ.
Ary (in black) now worships at Seed of Faith because her children heard the Gospel at an Operation Christmas Child outreach event.
“The word going around in the community is, ‘Look at their lives before, but now look at them. Now that they’ve believed in Jesus, it seems like their life is better and that they’re growing,’” Ary said. “I feel like I’m able to really connect and use that as an opportunity to encourage them to believe in the Lord and share the Gospel with them.”
Sitting in their sanctuary on Sunday, it amazes her that people all around the world, whom she’s never met, care enough about her community to prayerfully send shoebox gifts with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“I’m at a loss for words when it comes to being able to see my kids grow in their faith at the same time as seeing this church grow. I’m in awe and I’m amazed at what the Lord has done,” Ary said.
In just two years, this church now has 20 adults and 30 children who attend each Sunday.
The Seed of Faith congregation praises God for His work among them.
“We’ve really seen God grow our church through our faith, and to think that it started small with just a word from the Lord saying, ‘This is what I want you to do,’” Pastor Ponleu said.
Please pray for more churches around the globe to start and grow through the ministry of Samaritan’s Purse and its Operation Christmas Child project.
Could God be asking you to pack shoeboxes to bless children around the world and help transform their families and churches with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? National Collection Week is almost over! More than 4,500 drop-off locations will be open through Nov. 24 to receive your shoebox gifts uniquely packed for boys or girls. Don’t wait to show them a tangible expression of God’s love!
*Name changed for security
