Every shoebox gift is an excellent resource for evangelism and discipleship which leads to the multiplication of new believers and churches around the world.
Evangelism. Discipleship. Multiplication. I want every child to know there is a God who loves them. — Franklin Graham, President
EVANGELISM
The Gospel is shared with children when they open their shoebox gifts.
- ZAMBIA -
A ministry partner presents the Gospel using a colorful resource from Operation Christmas Child.
SHOEBOX OUTREACH EVENTSLocal Christians are taught to host a successful shoebox outreach event through the Ministry Partner Guide, a 36-page resource that outlines how to organize a distribution, share the Gospel and invite children to participate in follow-up discipleship. It is full of colorful pictures and a suggested Scripture to use as they present the Gospel message in a child-friendly way. After boys and girls hear the Good News, they receive a surprise that may be their first gift ever. They hold in their hands a tangible expression of God’s love.
THE GREATEST GIFT
In addition to hearing the Gospel before they receive their shoebox gift, children also receive The Greatest Gift, a storybook that shares the message of salvation. With the Apostle John as narrator, the booklet shares 11 Scripture stories and invites children to follow Christ. Children take this home to share with family and friends. It is used in more than 80 languages.
× Ministry Partner Guide
A step-by-step suggested presentation of the Gospel appears in the Ministry Partner Guide along with a series of two-panel posters that illustrate the text. This guide fosters consistency in how the Good News is presented during Operation Christmas Child outreach events.
CLOSE × The Greatest Gift Booklet
Complete with colorful illustrations, this Gospel story booklet introduces boys and girls to Christ and invites them to follow Him. Some children find this piece to be their favorite part of their shoebox gift!
CLOSE +
MINISTRY PARTNER GUIDE
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THE GREATEST GIFT BOOKLET
DISCIPLESHIP
Many boys and girls are invited to participate in The Greatest Journey discipleship course.
THE GREATEST JOURNEY
After receiving shoebox gifts, many children are invited back to participate in our discipleship program, The Greatest Journey. Through this 12-lesson course, which includes Bible stories and Scripture memorization, they learn how to follow Christ in their daily lives as they share Him with friends and family.
- UGANDA -
Children rejoice at their graduation from The Greatest Journey.
A GRADUATION CELEBRATIONAfter completing The Greatest Journey, children attend a graduation celebration and receive a certificate.
Most importantly, they are given a Bible that includes the New Testament and selected Old Testament stories along with a dictionary of Biblical terms and a map of Bible lands. Complete with illustrations, it is often the first copy of God’s Word the child, or their family, will own.
Family and friends who attend the ceremony hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hearing the Good News and testimonies during their loved one’s graduation reinforces the changes they have seen in the students’ lives, and their families often come to faith in Christ.
× The Greatest Journey Teacher Guide
This in-depth manual helps instructors apply Bible stories to their students’ lives to encourage the boys and girls to re-tell them to others. With the help of this resource, The Greatest Journey teachers are taught to be good storytellers who ask questions of children to keep them engaged. This method allows nonliterate cultures to participate and equips teachers to continue discipleship lessons with their students long after they complete the workbook.
CLOSE × The Greatest Journey Student Workbook
This colorful 12-lesson resource equips the student to follow along with the story, memorize verses, and do activities in class or as homework.
CLOSE × New Testament in the Student’s Language
In addition to receiving a certificate, The Greatest Journey graduates receive a New Testament in their own language. This may be the first copy of the Scriptures they or their family have ever owned.
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THE GREATEST JOURNEY TEACHER GUIDE
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THE GREATEST JOURNEY STUDENT WORKBOOK
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A NEW TESTAMENT IN THE STUDENT’S LANGUAGE
MULTIPLICATION
As The Greatest Journey students share their faith with others, these friends trust in Christ and witness to even more people.
THE GOSPEL MULTIPLIES
As children hear the Gospel at shoebox outreach events and go on to participate in The Greatest Journey, they share their faith with friends and family who also share and disciple others.
Several times a week, Pastor Waisea Liwaiono walks up to 10 miles to villages in Fiji like Vunika, a rural community that had no church.
Pastor Waisea hosted an Operation Christmas Child outreach event to hand out shoebox gifts and share the Gospel.
Pastor Waisea invited the children to attend The Greatest Journey discipleship program. The parents of the students grew curious and began attending too.
The local witchdoctor, a grandparent of one of the students, became a believer and offered his property as a place for the new church to meet.
Today 80 people attend the church regularly. The children continue to share their faith with others, and five additional churches have been started in surrounding villages!
- ECUADOR -
A little girl in Ecuador prays to thank God for her shoebox gift. Prayer is an essential element of outreach events around the world.
PRAYERFrom the shoebox packers who pray for the boys and girls who will receive their gifts to the local teachers who pray for the children who attend The Greatest Journey discipleship classes, prayer is key to the work of Operation Christmas Child.
TRAINING
National Leadership Teams consist of year-round volunteers from various evangelical denominations. Together they strategize how to reach all the children in their country with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With this approach, local Christians who know the culture and language best are given effective resources and a solid Biblical foundation so that they can communicate the Gospel within their own communities.
To ensure quality in our outreach events and The Greatest Journey courses, our National Leadership teams train Master Trainers who then train Trainers, who in turn, train local teachers.
IT STARTS WITH YOU!The evangelism, discipleship, and multiplication of Operation Christmas Child begins with simple shoebox gifts.
PACKING & COLLECTING
Every year, millions of people like you pack shoeboxes and drop them off at thousands of locations. Another 9,000+ volunteers serve year-round to support the project. Join the faithful servants of Christ who make this happen!
GET INVOLVED!
Give
Pack a shoebox! National Collection Week is the third week of November.
Learn More →Support The Greatest Journey discipleship program. Every aspect of this program from teacher training to graduation is implemented for just $6 a child.
Give Now →
Pray
Pray for the worldwide ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, and Gospel opportunities through simple shoebox gifts.
Join Our Prayer Network →
Volunteer
Year-round Join a team of volunteers to serve in leadership, church relations, community relations, media relations, student relations, prayer mobilization, administrative support, or logistics.
Apply Now →Short-term Drop–Off Locations: During National Collection Week, serve at one of 4,000 Operation Christmas Child drop-off locations.
Find One Near You →Processing Centers: After National Collection Week, volunteer at one of eight processing centers around the country to prepare shoeboxes for international delivery.
Register Now →
GET INVOLVED →