Update (Nov. 4, 2021): Since this article was originally published, Grace Baptist Church of Wild Peach, Texas, has continued to exceed its shoebox-packing goals. In 2020, despite the global outbreak of COVID-19, the church packed 12,617 shoeboxes—117 over their goal. They also saw God’s provision regarding their $9 donation per shoebox gift that year. “We…
Operation Christmas Child
Ohio Farmers Influence their Community and the World by Packing Shoeboxes
Drive down River Styx Road just outside Wadsworth, Ohio, and you’ll come across the “Styx and Stones Farm” sign. Pull in the driveway on any given Saturday morning in the fall, and it will be tough to find a spot to park. On one edge of the driveway sits a barn that’s at least 175…
Operation Christmas Child
Young Central Asian Shepherds Receive Shoebox Gifts
A simple drive through the countryside can become something special. Yusif*, a volunteer leader in Central Asia with Operation Christmas Child, was traveling with several team members to a ministry meeting when he spotted two shepherd boys tending their flock near the highway. Remembering that he had some gift-filled shoeboxes as well as copies of…
Operation Christmas Child
Festive Light Show Supports Operation Christmas Child
Doug Chester and his family in Granite Falls, North Carolina, bring Christmas joy to their community each year through a festive light show on their property. When people started to give money to help with the display, Doug decided that he wanted the donations to go to Operation Christmas Child. So, he created a cheerful,…
Our Ministry
Opportunities Arise for Punta Gorda Church After Hurricane
Pastors of New Life in Christ Church in Punta Gorda, Florida, had been praying that God would bring revival to their congregation and to their community. They didn’t want the Gospel to just stay inside the walls of their church. However, they never imagined that God would answer their prayers through a fierce hurricane named…
Health & Medical Ministries
Boy Finds a Best Friend in Jesus
Nico was diagnosed with a heart defect as an infant in Bolivia. By age 8, he was experiencing fatigue, a loss of appetite, and shortness of breath. That made it harder for him to concentrate on his homework or participate in physical education with his friends. “I always felt tired when I was at school,”…
Operation Christmas Child
‘The Lord Loves Even His Enemies’
In a small town on the plains of Central Asia, most people are hostile to the small group of Christians living among them. Though these courageous believers are continually harassed, they faithfully persevere. Two Christian women named Aigul* and Dinara* were meeting regularly to pray for their town. Persecution flared up when Aigul’s mother died.…
Operation Christmas Child
Tennessee Teen Packs with a Purpose
Tucked in along the Tennessee River between Nashville and Memphis sits the quaint town of Clifton, Tennessee. This town of just over 2,000 people is home for Jane Marie Franks—a 16-year-old high school junior with big goals. In the last two years, she’s rallied her community to pack over 1,000 Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts…
Operation Christmas Child
Friendly Competition in Oklahoma Multiplies the Impact of Operation Christmas Child Around the World
Oklahoma youngsters Ava and Sam hold a friendly competition each year to see who can pack the most Operation Christmas Child gift-filled shoeboxes. But, win or lose, their real goal is the same—to see kids all over the world come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Ava and Sam love to pack…
Operation Christmas Child
A Teenager Prays for Revival in the Country of Georgia
Almost a dozen children and teens raced down a muddy, rutted alley to attend an early evening Christian worship service. They chatted and laughed as they came, some kicking around a soccer ball before they climbed a crumbling concrete-and-metal outside staircase to the second floor of the ministry center. It’s an uncommon scene in this…
