Mark Datson is the Operation Christmas Child Regional Director for the Baltics, Balkans, and Central Europe. “… in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum [in present-day Albania] I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19, NKJV). Today, Operation…
Operation Christmas Child
‘Baking a Difference’ for Christ in North Carolina
With some 60 members, Grace Presbyterian Church’s small size is no obstacle to their great desire to share the hope of Jesus Christ around the world. The Franklin, North Carolina, church is one of thousands of small-town churches across the country who are joining together to create a lasting, global impact through Operation Christmas Child.…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Open Doors Among the Unreached in Asia
Shoebox Gifts Open Doors Among the Unreached in Asia Animals, trees, and hand-crafted idols … each is worshipped reverently by different unreached people groups within one Asian country. Families have remained in bondage to these dark beliefs for generations, but light is beginning to shine. We give thanks for how the one true living God…
Operation Christmas Child
Good News and Great Joy Delivered—by Shoebox—to a Teen in Mongolia
When Dariya, 13, of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift in February, it interrupted her life with joy. ‘They Told Us About Jesus’ Dariya lives in an apartment in the Mongolian capital with her grandmother, Bebe Bakhpit, and 10-year-old cousin, Hannah. Her parents are divorced, and her mother works in South Korea—often…
Operation Christmas Child
Idol Worshippers Become Evangelists Through Operation Christmas Child in Nigeria
The danger zone. That’s what people called a community in Nigeria whose people pledged allegiance to witchcraft and idolatry. For years, Pastor Peter* had sowed Gospel seeds in this difficult area but, it seemed, with little effect. A fledgling church existed, though it struggled. That all changed, however, when he partnered with Operation Christmas Child…
Our Ministry
Children’s Ministry
You Can Help A Child in Need Join with Samaritan’s Purse in helping to meet the critical needs of children around the world in Jesus’ Name. In poverty and in crisis, children often suffer the most. Since Samaritan’s Purse was founded in 1970, we have helped countless suffering children caught in the midst of difficult circumstances,…
Operation Christmas Child
Colombian, Venezuelan Children Receive Shoebox Gifts at Easter
On Easter weekend, April 19-20, hundreds of children in the Colombia-Venezuela border city of Cúcuta, Colombia, heard about Jesus’ love for them through Operation Christmas Child. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, joined one of our church partners in Cúcuta to present the Gospel and hand out Operation Christmas…
Operation Christmas Child
It’s About Sharing God’s Love with Children
For more than 20 years, the Pacific Southwest District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has been packing shoebox gifts for children in need around the world. But, almost 10 years ago, they took their involvement with Operation Christmas Child to new heights, packing thousands of boxes each year through their association of schools across California,…
Franklin Graham
Newsletter October 2023
Franklin Graham Update | October GOOD NEWS, GREAT JOY: The Lord uses shoebox gifts to bless children around the world and prepare them to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. 'I felt the love of Jesus through the shoebox!' Dear Friend, As we look forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Operation Christmas Child…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Help Churches Share the Gospel Across Ukraine
Millions of children have fled to western Ukraine or left the country entirely since war broke out last February. Each of them has a different story of confusion, fear, and trauma. Churches across Ukraine are meeting the practical needs of the displaced in many ways, including providing shelter and food. Samaritan’s Purse alone has provided…
