Operation Christmas Child delivers great joy and the Good News of Jesus Christ to children in need around the world through gift-filled shoeboxes. Each box packed full of quality toys, school supplies, and personal care items becomes a tangible expression of God's immense love for the child. For many, it is their first gift ever! Delivered by our local church partners, shoebox gifts provide an opportunity to present the Gospel to boys and girls in a clear, child-friendly way.                

The Greatest Journey is a 12-lesson discipleship course designed for Operation Christmas Child shoebox recipients. Children who participate in the program learn how to follow Christ and share Him with others. As they do, entire families and communities are transformed by the power of the Gospel, and churches are started.  Since 2009, more than 12.5 million children have reported decisions for Christ while taking The Greatest Journey

It takes about 16,000 volunteers to prepare shoebox gifts for international shipping at the Calgary processing center. These volunteers individually inspect, sort, and ship these shoebox gifts to millions of children around the world. Samaritan’s Purse has a global network of volunteer teams spanning more than 100 countries. These volunteers work to receive the shipments and distribute the shoebox gifts through local churches and Christian partners. After the gift boxes are handed out,  there are more than 210,000 trained volunteer teachers ready to lead students through The Greatest Journey, the discipleship program Samaritan’s Purse offers to children who receive shoebox gifts. Many of these children pray to trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior and then become ambassadors for Christ, sharing their faith with family and friends.