Praising God for 30 Years of Operation Christmas Child
Since 1993, God has used Samaritan’s Purse to deliver over 200 million Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to children in need and disciple 50 million of these boys and girls.
When Franklin Graham agreed to fill shoeboxes with toys and other fun items for children in war-torn Bosnia in 1993, he had no idea what the project would grow to become. Over the past 30 years, Samaritan’s Purse has collected and delivered more than 200 million Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, thanks to a church and volunteer network in the U.S. and around the world that is hundreds of thousands strong.
In addition to bringing great joy to millions of boys and girls in need, gifts are accompanied by the Good News of Jesus Christ. Many children have been invited to follow-up discipleship through The Mailbox Club (prior to 2009) and The Greatest Journey, a 12-lesson program designed especially for shoebox recipients. We praise God that over the last three decades 50 million children have been discipled. In the past 14 years alone since The Greatest Journey was launched, over 17 million children have made decisions for Christ.
