Calvary Baptist Church in Bellefontaine continues its tradition as a drop-off location for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child.
For several years, the church has served the community by collecting shoeboxes filled with gifts for children in need around the world.
The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with local churches worldwide to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations.
In the summer of 1993, Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham received a call from a man in England asking if he’d be willing to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in Eastern Europe. Franklin agreed but figured Christmas was months away. He forgot about the promise until he received a call back around Thanksgiving asking about the gifts.
Franklin asked his friend, the late Pastor Ross Rhoads of Calvary Church of Charlotte, to see if he could help with the need. A Sunday shortly afterward, Pastor Rhoads demonstrated to his congregation how to fill a shoebox with simple gifts and encouraged them to include a letter to the child as well. Within weeks, the church had 11,000 shoeboxes lining their hallways.
Due to their generosity and additional gifts from Canada, Samaritan’s Purse sent 28,000 shoebox gifts to children in the Balkans that Christmas. Through these gifts, they communicated to children and their families what the angel said to the shepherds about Jesus’ birth: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10, ESV).
Every year since, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. Since 1993, more than 220 million children in over 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever but also a tangible expression of God’s love.
Tens of thousands of volunteers from local churches worldwide partner with Samaritan’s Purse to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ at festive outreach events where children are surprised with these shoebox gifts.
Shoebox Drop-off at Calvary Baptist Church, 1140 Rush Avenue in Bellefontaine.
Drop-off Schedule:
- Monday, November 18 through Friday, November 22: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Saturday, November 23: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Sunday, November 24: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM
- Monday, November 25: 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
On November 24th, Calvary will load carton boxes filled with shoeboxes into two trucks then, on the 25th, volunteer drivers will transport them to WTLW TV 44 Station of Lima.
From there they are accurately counted for paperwork processing prior to loading into semi-trailers.
On Tuesday morning, November 26th, the semi-trailers begin the trek heading to Boone Processing Center at Boone, NC for processing.
Community members are encouraged to participate by packing shoeboxes and bringing them to the church during designated hours.
For more information on how to pack a shoebox, visit Samaritan’s Purse at https://www.samaritanspurse.org.