Operation Christmas Child 2023 Special Report

God continues to be faithful to use Operation Christmas Child and The Greatest Journey to open doors for Gospel outreach in places that have never heard about the eternal hope of Christ. Boys and girls worldwide are coming to faith in Jesus and sharing the Good News with family and friends. As they do, communities are being transformed by God's love, and churches are being started.

This ministry would not be possible without the thousands of volunteers and church partners who faithfully serve the Lord and are committed to bringing the Gospel to children and families. We are thankful for their dedication to serving in Jesus' Name and to helping boys and girls experience the peace and joy of Christ.

“To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations.”

EPHESIANS 3:21

In a remote region of southern Madagascar, parents are giving their children wooden rifles to play with and training them at a young age to perpetuate the hostility that has raged for generations.

During one outreach event, many in the crowd—which included parents—raised their hands indicating that they wanted to receive Christ as their Saviour. Pastor Soja is now helping to start new churches in several villages that were once hostile to the Gospel.

More than 40 million boys and girls have been enrolled on Greatest Journey since 2009. Many of these young disciples are now adults who are Bible teachers in their communities.

Lashon, 21, came to faith during The Greatest Journey when she was 14. She now teaches Sunday School and The Greatest Journey and helps lead outreach events at her church in a remote village in Honduras. Lashon has seen the Gospel transform the lives of children and teenagers in her community. While they were once focused on drinking and partying, many are now active in church because they accepted Christ during The Greatest Journey.

The Tar family have been packing shoebox gifts for over 20 years. It all started when Kay packed a shoebox with her son Harrison through school, and they decided to make it a family tradition. 

Before long Kay and her daughter Violetta began looking for ways to pack more shoebox gifts. They purchased 20 preprinted boxes and planned to use them over a few years but ended up filling all 20 boxes that year! 

The following year, they ordered 50 boxes and made a long list of suggested items to look out for. Throughout the year, their family and friends donated all sorts of lovely items ready to pack in November. They also got the local community involved, with the Girl Guides making small items like friendship bracelets and keyrings for the shoeboxes and stallholders at local fetes donating items. 

Kay said, “It gives us such pleasure to have all the boxes filled to the brim and dropped off at our collection point each year. We love to think about a child receiving the shoebox. One small moment can make a huge difference to someone’s life and future.”

In 2023, the Tar family packed an amazing 100 shoebox gifts and they are already planning this year’s boxes, which will be for the 10-14 age category. 

10-year-old Archie has been packing shoebox gifts with his Great Nan since he was 4 years old. Each year they pack two shoebox gifts, but last year after seeing a video of the children opening their gifts, he felt compelled to do more. He set himself the ambitious target of packing 20 shoebox gifts and began fundraising to achieve his goal. He organised a sponsored 15km walk and rallied the support of his school, friends, family and community. Three hours, 53 minutes, and 22,000 steps later, Archie had completed his walk and raised £468! 

Archie chose to pack several gifts for each category and some extra for his own age group. He carefully worked out his budget and spent a whole day shopping for all the items. This was then followed by a week of wrapping and packing, making sure each child got a special box made with love. 

In January, Archie was excited to hear his shoeboxes were bringing joy to children in Moldova, Belarus, and the Balkans. 

If you visit Jenny’s home in Gloucester, you’ll be in no doubt about her love for all things Operation Christmas Child! Boxes of school supplies, toys, personal care items and accessories line the walls, along with beautifully wrapped shoeboxes ready to fill.

Jenny runs a local Facebook group and encourages her community to drop off boxes, quality crafts, and other shoebox items year-round. She then works with three local churches to pack these gifts together at packing parties. Last year they packed around 400 shoebox gifts at the parties and 1,284 shoeboxes overall.

Jenny said, “Every shoebox represents a child feeling loved and an opportunity for them to hear about Jesus, and that spurs me on to pack even more gifts.” 

Jenny is also the Collections Coordinator for Gloucestershire and organises picking up all the shoeboxes from drop-off locations in the area. She arranges for them to be taken to the National Ministry Centre in Coventry or the pop-up processing centre in Cardiff, where she also volunteers. Last year Gloucestershire collected a fantastic 3,525 shoebox gifts! 

“I am part of a brilliant team of volunteers locally, and it is a privilege and joy to be a small part of such an amazing ministry,” said Jenny.

When 87-year-old Pat Lawrie was a child during the war, she remembers not knowing whether she would get any Christmas presents. It’s a feeling that she hasn’t forgotten and one that drives her to pack shoebox gifts for children in difficult circumstances around the world. 

Pat has run an Operation Christmas Child Drop-off Location for several years now and is passionate about packing shoebox gifts. She loves meeting people from the community and hearing their stories, including one 5-year-old girl who packed a shoebox using all her saved-up pocket money.

Pat also organises her church’s packing party (Christ Church United Reformed Church in Westgate-on-Sea) and keeps them updated with the latest news by following our Facebook page. 

Pat Jones of Woodside Methodist Church has been passionate about packing shoeboxes for over 20 years and diligently fills at least 100 shoeboxes each year. Every time Pat goes shopping, she is on the hunt for shoebox bargains, and her husband, Bill, has become a seasoned shoebox wrapper. 

Last year the couple held two packing parties at their church and invited people from the Dudley and Netherton circuit to come and help fill the boxes. Some local churches also gave donations to support the project and buy additional items. Once the shoeboxes were packed, they held a special service to dedicate the gifts in prayer before they were collected to be taken to the National Ministry Centre in Coventry. 

2023 was a particularly special year for Pat, as she was nominated to attend the King’s Garden Party for her charitable contributions. While she and Bill were waiting outside the palace gates, they even managed to recruit some more shoebox packers. It turned out the lady they were speaking to ran a craft blog and later sent two large boxes filled with all kinds of lovely gifts to go in the shoeboxes!

Sue Hooks has served as a processing centre volunteer for more than 20 years and used to run the Cambridge processing centre. 

Sue said, “It is a pleasure to serve and pack shoebox gifts, knowing that each one shows a child that someone cares for them and brings them closer to Jesus.”

Caption: Sue (far left) with some of her team from Cambridge, serving at the National Ministry Centre in Coventry.

In 2023, Sue was also a Project Leader in Cottenham and, with her team, raised funds to pack hundreds of shoeboxes at a packing party. 

“It’s a great way to involve our community and enable all age groups to take part in the ministry. We have lots of fun packing the gifts and we know the children will experience great joy opening them.  As we select gifts for each shoebox, we can pray for the child who will receive it.”

Many shoebox recipients are hearing about God's love for the first time and their lives are being transformed.

“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”

1 CORINTHIANS 15:58