"Consider what great things He has done"

1 Samuel 12:24

50 Years of Helping In Jesus' Name

“I thank God for all He has done through Samaritan’s Purse over the past 50 years! Through His grace, we have been able to respond to emergencies worldwide to save lives, relieve suffering, and share the hope of the Gospel. To God be the glory!”

Franklin Graham, President, Samaritan's Purse

Journey Through 50 Years of God’s Faithfulness

Throughout 2020, we’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Samaritan’s Purse. Each week, we will bring you stories from our first half century that highlight the wonderful ways God has worked and continues to work through the ministry—touching millions of lives with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

  • OCC processing center
    50 Years of MinistryNovember 19, 2020
    Volunteers Are the Backbone of Our Work

    Ongoing: The work of Samaritan's Purse relies on the prayers, support, and tireless efforts of...▶
  • Medical teams at our field hospital in Central Park have treated more than 200 patients.
    50 Years of MinistryNovember 5, 2020
    Serving on the Frontlines of COVID-19

    Samaritan’s Purse has deployed medical personnel and hospitals during the global health crisis....▶
  • Our team prays with a woman in the aftermath of Typhoon Yutu.
    50 Years of MinistryOctober 29, 2020
    Samaritan’s Purse Responds After Category 5 Dorian Slams the Bahamas

    Ongoing: Samaritan’s Purse provides immediate relief and long-term recovery assistance in the...▶
  • Team Patriot is an opportunity for Operation Heal Our Patriots participants to volunteer after natural disasters.
    50 Years of MinistryOctober 22, 2020
    Deploying Military Couples to the Frontlines of Disasters

    2019: Samaritan's Purse starts deploying veterans and their spouses to U.S. Disaster Relief...▶
  • Franklin Graham met with distraught Houston homeowners in the days after the storm.
    50 Years of MinistryOctober 8, 2020
    Samaritan’s Purse Rushes Relief After Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria

    2017: Category 4 Hurricane Harvey made a late-August landfall in southeast Texas beginning a...▶
  • Emergency Field Hospital Ecuador
    50 Years of MinistryOctober 1, 2020
    Emergency Field Hospital Deploys for the First Time

    2016: Samaritan’s Purse sends a mobile medical facility in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake...▶
  • Nepalese military helicopters airlifted supplies high into the remote mountain villages.
    50 Years of MinistrySeptember 24, 2020
    Deadly Earthquake in Nepal Triggers Massive Response

    2015: Samaritan’s Purse brings physical relief in Jesus’ Name to earthquake victims....▶
  • Dr. Kent Brantly and Franklin Graham announce an airlift of Ebola treatment supplies to Liberia. Months earlier, Dr. Brantley and nurse Nancy Writebol contracted but survived the deadly illness.
    50 Years of MinistrySeptember 10, 2020
    Samaritan’s Purse Responds to Ebola Outbreaks in Africa

    2014: Samaritan’s Purse responds to largest Ebola epidemic in...▶
  • 50 Years of MinistrySeptember 3, 2020
    Rushing Relief to Tornado Victims

    2011: Samaritan's Purse responds with help and hope in Jesus' Name to a devastating EF-5...▶
  • Each week in Alaska for nine summers God has been faithful to transform lives and marriages.
    50 Years of MinistryAugust 27, 2020
    Caring for Couples Suffering the Wounds of War

    2012-Present: Samaritan’s Purse launches Operation Heal Our Patriots to help the struggling...▶
  • Brenda (left) rejoiced to receive a shoebox filled with gifts and a letter from her new friend Evilyn Pinnow.
    50 Years of MinistryAugust 20, 2020
    100 Million Shoebox Gifts Collected

    2012: Operation Christmas Child celebrates milestone collection mark by sending a young shoebox...▶
  • 50 Years of MinistryAugust 11, 2020
    Surgical Teams Provide Life-Changing Operations

    2011-Present: Samaritan’s Purse sends its first cleft lip and palate surgical team to South...▶
  • Haiti earthquake
    50 Years of MinistryJuly 30, 2020
    Responding in the Aftermath of Devastating Disasters in Haiti

    2010: Samaritan’s Purse deploys in 2010 after a crippling earthquake hits Haiti and again in 2016...▶
  • Boys and girls in the Dominican Republic celebrate their graduation from The Greatest Journey discipleship course.
    50 Years of MinistryJuly 23, 2020
    Discipling Boys and Girls through The Greatest Journey

    2009-present: Trained local teachers lead Operation Christmas Child shoebox recipients in 12...▶
  • 50 Years of MinistryJuly 16, 2020
    Responding to the Sichuan Earthquake

    2008: Samaritan’s Purse airlifted relief supplies and personnel to the Chinese Province and God...▶
  • Residents of Hooper Bay, Alaska, celebrate newly-constructed buildings after fire claimed most of the village.
    50 Years of MinistryJuly 2, 2020
    Rebuilding in Hooper Bay

    2006: Samaritan’s Purse rebuilds the Alaska village of Hooper Bay after fires devastate the...▶
  • Samaritan's Purse president Franklin Graham met with New Orleans residents in the days following Hurricane Katrina.
    50 Years of MinistryJune 25, 2020
    Celebrating Hope After Hurricane Katrina

    2005: Samaritan’s Purse responds after Hurricane Katrina ravages New Orleans and coastal...▶
  • Dr. Erin Meier came to Kudjip Hospital in Papua New Guinea in 2007 as a post-resident and is now the hospital's medical director.
    50 Years of MinistryJune 11, 2020
    Sending New Doctors to the Mission Field

    2004-Present: Samaritan’s Purse offers young doctors and dentists a unique opportunity to follow...▶
  • Lesley Clementi flanked by Franklin Graham (left) and musician Bono (right) pray during a special send-off for Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts being airlifted to Uganda.
    50 Years of MinistryMay 28, 2020
    Delivering Christmas to Children in Uganda

    2002: Samaritan’s Purse loaded the world’s largest cargo jet with 80,000 shoebox gifts for...▶
  • Franklin Graham and New York City deputy mayor Rudy Washington at Ground Zero.
    50 Years of MinistryMay 21, 2020
    9/11: Sharing Hope in Christ at Ground Zero

    2001: Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association begin a prayer center in...▶
  • On behalf of Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham delivers rolls of plastic sheeting to the city of Sinjiju, across the river from Dandong, China. The sheeting helped farmers protect seedlings from cold weather during early planting.
    50 Years of MinistryMay 14, 2020
    Ministry on the Korean Peninsula

    Ongoing: Samaritan’s Purse is deeply rooted in ministry in Korea and has seen God work in...▶
  • 50 Years of MinistryApril 30, 2020
    Rebuilding Homes for 5,000 Families After Hurricane Mitch

    1998: Samaritan’s Purse provides comprehensive relief to storm-stricken communities in Honduras....▶
  • 50 Years of MinistryApril 23, 2020
    U.S. Disaster Relief Begins—and Keeps Growing

    1998-Present: Samaritan’s Purse first deployed a disaster relief unit to help staff and...▶
  • 50 Years of MinistryApril 16, 2020
    Providing Decades of Clean Water

    1998-Present: Beginning in Nicaragua, Samaritan’s Purse offered freshwater to communities through...▶
  • 50 Years of MinistryApril 9, 2020
    Rachel’s House and HIV/AIDS Ministry

    1997-2004: Samaritan’s Purse ministered to children with HIV/AIDS in...▶
  • Sarana is one of more than 1,280 children Samaritan's Purse has helped through our Children's Heart Project.
    50 Years of MinistryApril 2, 2020
    Children’s Heart Project Provides Lifesaving Operations

    1997-Present: Samaritan’s Purse brings two children from Bosnia to the U.S. for critical heart...▶
  • Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham greets children in Rwanda where we cared for hundreds of orphans whose families were killed during the genocide.
    50 Years of MinistryMarch 26, 2020
    Restoring Hope to a Nation Grieving and Crippled by Violence

    1994: Samaritan’s Purse re-establishes medical care in the capital, provides tons of food and...▶
  • Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham and ministry friend Mary Damron deliver shoeboxes in Bosnia.
    50 Years of MinistryMarch 19, 2020
    Good News and Great Joy for Children Around the World

    1993-Present: Franklin Graham discovered the power of a simple shoebox gift to make Jesus Christ...▶
  • As Franklin Graham surveyed the needs in Somalia in 1992, God moved his heart to get Samaritan’s Purse involved by providing medical care.
    50 Years of MinistryMarch 12, 2020
    Meeting Medical Needs on Somalia’s Hellish Streets

    1992-93: Samaritan’s Purse operates a mobile medical clinic to relieve suffering in post-civil...▶
  • Samaritan's Purse provided food to Christians who had suffered greatly under Communism.
    50 Years of MinistryMarch 11, 2020
    Iron Curtain Falls, Doors for Ministry Open

    1991-2005: Samaritan's Purse worked in Russia in a variety of...▶
  • The Samaritan's Purse Home for Women helped nearly 70 individuals during the time it was open.
    50 Years of MinistryFebruary 24, 2020
    Caring for Women of War-Torn Bosnia

    1991-1993: The Samaritan’s Purse Home for Women provided a safe place in Croatia for refugees...▶
  • Samaritan's Purse began digging freshwater wells during severe droughts in Ethiopia.
    50 Years of MinistryFebruary 13, 2020
    Restoring Hope to a Dry and Weary Land

    1989: Through freshwater wells and agricultural interventions, Samaritan’s Purse helped...▶
  • Franklin Graham lays the foundation stone for a church in India in 1984. (Name and location blurred for security.)
    50 Years of MinistryJanuary 30, 2020
    Building More Than a Thousand Churches in India

    1984: Samaritan's Purse works with the Evangelical Church of India to influence the Hindu...▶
  • Franklin Graham often appeared on the PTL television program.
    50 Years of MinistryJanuary 28, 2020
    Praise the Lord! 56,000 Answered the Call to Help an African Hospital

    1980: God opens doors for Samaritan's Purse to help Tenwek Hospital in...▶
  • Franklin Graham ministers in Papua New Guinea.
    50 Years of MinistryJanuary 27, 2020
    Passing the Torch of the Good Samaritan; Franklin Graham Elected President

    1978-1979: Bob Pierce dies; Franklin Graham elected president; the work of Samaritan's Purse...▶
  • Dr. Dick Furman at work in Papua New Guinea.
    50 Years of MinistryJanuary 26, 2020
    World Medical Mission Begins

    1977-Present: Two brothers in Appalachia wanted to serve missionary hospitals around the world. The...▶
  • Bob Pierce helped many Vietnamese as war engulfed their nation. Samaritan's Purse continues to work in Vietnam today through a variety of projects.
    50 Years of MinistryJanuary 25, 2020
    ‘Let My Heart be Broken by the Things that Break the Heart of God’

    1975-1977: Bob Pierce worked tirelessly to help those fleeing communist rule in Vietnam in the mid-...▶
  • Bob Pierce, Dick Furman, and Franklin Graham in Papua New Guinea.
    50 Years of MinistryJanuary 22, 2020
    Where Does Our Name Come From? We’re Glad You Asked

    1970: The name Samaritan's Purse opens doors to share the Gospel....▶

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