When Athena was 8 years old, she received a gift-filled shoebox through Operation Christmas Child. Living in an impoverished area of the Philippines, the young girl had never received such a present. Athena began to learn about how much God loves her when she read The Greatest Gift, a Gospel story booklet Samaritan’s Purse developed…
Missouri Churches Send Shoebox Gifts Off with Prayer
The farming community of Belle, Missouri, has a population of just 1,300 people, but on Sunday, they accomplished much through prayer. At their 23rd annual Operation Christmas Child dedication service at First Baptist Church, 120 people from more than 25 different churches gathered to commit 1,744 shoebox gifts to God’s purposes around the globe. Each…
Spreading Good News and Great Joy in Cambodia
Franklin Graham joined local church leaders in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with boys and girls while delivering gift-filled shoeboxes to them at a recent Operation Christmas Child outreach event in Cambodia’s capital. Eight-year-old Votey received a shoebox, making her one of more than 1 million children in Cambodia to receive such a gift…
Hundreds of Children in the Bahamas Receive Shoebox Gifts at Christmastime
Hundreds of boys and girls received gifts and learned about the hope of the Gospel during a series of Operation Christmas Child shoebox distributions on the island of Grand Bahama, Dec. 27-28. The celebration was a welcome time of joy for the children as the island continues to recover from Hurricane Dorian. Local church partners…
Volunteer Perseveres in Leadership Despite Challenges
After spending 24 years as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kathy Aiken found a different calling. Today, Kathy serves as an area coordinator for the Operation Christmas Child East Alabama Area Team. Based out of Talladega County, Kathy leads a team of volunteers that promote shoebox packing year-round. “I feel like…
Presentando Operation Christmas Child a las iglesias
Mary Johnson serves as the church relations coordinator for the Greater Petersburg, Virginia, Area Team. This group of volunteers is responsible for promoting and coordinating shoebox packing efforts in five counties just south of Richmond. “I think our key role for this area is our black churches,” Mary said. “Our job is to get in…
Franklin Graham entrega cajas en Saipán y Guam
Feb. 22-23 UPDATE Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham and his wife Jane, along with musical artist Michael W. Smith, traveled to Guam on Saturday, Feb. 22, to help hand out gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes at Life in the Son Christian Fellowship in Tamuning. The day before the trio assisted in distributing shoeboxes on nearby…
You, Too, Can Become a Year-Round Volunteer!
Have you ever considered getting more involved with Operation Christmas Child? It’s not just a holiday ministry—more than 9,000 people across the United States volunteer year-round with this Samaritan’s Purse project! They serve in roles ranging from area leadership to logistics to community relations to church relations. LEARN MORE ABOUT SERVING AS A YEAR-ROUND VOLUNTEER…
Missouri Volunteer Motivated by Jesus’ Last Words
Springfield area resident fulfills dream to reach children for Christ through Operation Christmas Child. Jill Cobb of Mountain View, Missouri, does what she does because she’s focused on Christ’s final words on earth, which begin: “Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19, NKJV). She volunteers as an area coordinator for Operation Christmas…
Building Church Partners
Dally Quintana serves as the church relations coordinator in Chicago, where she leads a team of volunteers to promote Operation Christmas Child among their congregations. Dally and her husband, Hector, began volunteering with Operation Christmas Child in 2012 and have packed shoeboxes for over 17 years. They started out as project leaders in their church,…














