Welcome! It’s that time of year again!
• Introduce myself, my role at the church and involvement in OCC. Preview of what today will look like:
o Today I’ll primarily be sharing about OCC buthave a little extra to share with everyone(About being the hands and feet of Jesus – that OCC is not the only way for us to serve) and then we will do communion at the end.
• Prayer
o Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization led by Franklin Graham. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped people in need around the world in Jesus’ name.
▪ Other Ministry Projects: International Crisis Response, U.S. Disaster Relief, World Medical Mission, Greta Home Academy, Children’s Heart Project, Operation Heal our Patriots
• In Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “And you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Mission
▪ The mission of OCC is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations.
▪ Why do we pack shoeboxes? It allows us to fulfill the Great Commission as commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
o As we go throughout today, we will see how these shoeboxes fulfill the Go portion of our vision statement here at New Hope:
▪ Going out into all the world according to Matthew 28:19-20
▪ Leading Others to a relationship with Christ
▪ Teaching, training, mentoring, and equipping others to grow in Christ
▪ Developing leadership and the ability to reproduce Christ in others
▪ Regularly reaching out into all the world through outreach, missions, & evangelism
The Local Church
▪ Operation Christmas Child equips and empowers local churches all over the world to share the Gospel. Churches in the United States along with 10 other countries (Australia, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Korea, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, and the U.K.) play an essential role in packing and collecting shoebox gifts that are lovingly filled with toys, school supplies and personal care items that have been packed by individuals, families, and groups. Internationally OCC in-country volunteers are part of leadership teams that identify and partner with local churches to distribute the shoebox gifts. In places where there are no churches, the teams have the joy of introducing the Gospel and sometimes starting churches. OCC would not be possible without an incredible network of trained volunteers. Local volunteer teams collect shoebox gifts within the sending countries. Volunteer teams in receiving countries share the Gospel, distribute shoebox gifts, and make disciples.
Evangelism, Discipleship, and Multiplication
▪ After boys and girls hear the Gospel at fun outreach events, they are invited to participate in The Greatest Journey, the 12-lesson discipleship program that Samaritan’s Purse developed. Trained local volunteers teach the children how they can know God, grow in their faith, and share it with others. The Lord is moving through these events and classes as children learn to tell their friends and family about Jesus Christ. This multiplies the impact of the Gospel in households, communities and around the world.
▪ Demonstration of multiplication – I am a gardener at home and this year I really wanted to add more flowers to bring pollinators into my garden. As the summer winds down I began collecting and saving seeds for next year and felt like this is the perfect example of the multiplication effect. I planted this packet of Cosmo Seeds. There were about 25-30 seeds when I planted them this spring. They produced many beautiful flowers, and starting in around July/August they began to start going to seed. So after having healed up from my wrist surgery – I have collected some of them – but not all, many have fallen to the ground from either nature or me knocking them down so I don’t know how many they truly produced but this is what I have gathered that came from just the 1 seed packet that was planted (Dump all the seeds I have gathered into a clear container for everyone to see). This illustrates how we sow seeds in faith by packing these shoeboxes. Even though we are a small church – each box we pack is 1 more child that gets to hear the Gospel of Jesus. Samaritan’s Purse estimates that for every child who receives a box that 8-10 more people will hear the Gospel. When each of the Gospel seeds takes root and grows the cycle the continues and more and more people get to hear about Jesus. On this side of heaven, we won’t ever know just how many people will come to hear about and know Jesus because of that 1 box that someone chose to faithfully pack.
History
▪ In 1993, OCC began with a request to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in war-torn Bosnia. With the help of Ross Rhoads, the late pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, N.C., 28,000 shoebox gifts were collected that year. OCC has since collected and delivered over 232 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 170 countries and territories. Praise God! But there is still a great need for boys and girls to hear the Gospel. There are currently over 8 billion people in the world with over 2 billion of them being children under theage of 14. 80% of decisions for Christ happen before the age of 15! It’s no coincidence that 2-14 is the age range for the OCC shoebox recipients.
Ministry Components – The Greatest Gift
▪ Shoebox gifts open doors for the Gospel around the world. Local believers tell the boys and girls about God’s Greatest Gift, Jesus Christ, during an outreach event. The trained volunteer teams give each child a surprise shoebox gift along with a Gospel booklet called the Greatest Gift. The majority of the time the booklets are in the children’s own language and include scripture passages with the message of salvation in a child-friendly way. The Greatest Gift booklet is available in 118 languages with more translations in process.
Ministry Components – Discipleship
▪ Over 46 million children have enrolled in The Greatest journey discipleship program since 2009. If they all stood holding hands, the line would wrap around the circumference of the earth almost two full times. After completing all 12 lessons of The Greatest Journey, children attend a graduation ceremony where they receive a certificate and a colorfully illustrated New Testament in their own language. The Greatest Journey is now even available in braille. Since 2009 more than 23 million of these children have made decisions for Christ during The Greatest Journey Program.
▪ If you are interested in seeing either the greatest gift, or the greatest journey materials that are used to teach the children about Jesus, please come see me as I have a copy of them in English that I would be more than happy to show you.
Video – OCC Overview
▪ Let’s take a look at how God is sending the Gospel around the world through Operation Christmas Child
Pack a Shoebox
▪ You too can send Good News and great joy as part of a joint effort with churches around the world. By packing shoebox gifts, you’re helping to spread the Gospel. Remember to make each shoebox gift FUN, FULL, and PERSONALIZED. Anyone can participate by filling an empty shoebox full of fun toys, school supplies, personal care items, and especially a “WOW” item, such as a doll, stuffed animal, soccer ball etc. The “WOW” item makes a joyful first impression when the child opens their shoebox. A $10 donation per shoebox helps cover shoebox collection, shipping, processing, training local volunteers, and Gospel materials.
▪ I am part of a project leaders’ group online, and one of the ladies shared that she did an experiment in November of 2024 by taking one of her boxes to the post office to see how much it would cost to ship it to Ghana, Africa because that’s where her shoeboxes had went during the 2023 season. Standard Shipping through USPS was $69.20 – so it is amazing how OCC is able to make that $10 donation stretch to cover so much.
Video – How to pack a Shoebox – Slide 10
▪ So how exactly do we pack a shoebox? Well let’s watch and find out.
▪ (Once video is over) Be sure to personalize the gifts so each child feels unique and special. Consider including a letter and photo. Please don’t forget the most important thing you can add to a shoebox gift – Prayer! As you pack, allow God to lead you in packing specific items for that child and pray for the child who is going to be receiving it. (Pass out bookmarks for everyone)
National Collection Week
▪ During National Collection Week – November 17 through November 24, 2025 local volunteer teamswill collect the gift-filled shoeboxes at more than 5000 drop off locations. There are drop-offlocations in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico.
▪ If you choose to pack a physical shoebox – I am asking you to please return them no later than November 16 as I will make sure that all the boxes from church get to a drop off location.
Build a Shoebox Online
▪ For the past several years, OCC has had the option to Build a Shoebox online, that can be done year-round. They call these BASBO for short. In the past, I haven’t really talked too much about building shoeboxes online, but this year I felt that I should share a little more, as it gives another option especially if others that don’t necessarily physically attend our church want to participate.At the project leadership workshop I attended, they showed a video that I will be sharing with everyone in a minute that does a great job of explaining the BASBO boxes.
Build a Shoebox Online Video
▪ If a person chooses to do BASBO box, these particular gifts will go to hard-to-reach places where there is little to no access to the Gospel, where there are strict customs regulations that require a specifically packed shoebox, and to remote areas where many people have never heard the name of Jesus. This year the cost to build a shoebox online is $30. If you would like more information about this option please come see me or visit samaritanspurse.org/buildonline
Journey of A Shoebox
▪ After National Collection Week, shoebox gifts are sent to eight regional processing centers where trained volunteers inspect them for international shipping. Since 2021 we have had shoeboxes go to the processing centers in both Baltimore, MD and Charlotte, NC.
▪ Shoebox gifts then travel around the world, usually by sea containers and are delivered to trained volunteers teams. People on these teams are from the receiving countries and distribute the shoebox gifts within their countries through church-based outreach events.
Impact/Impact Stories
▪ Each of the shoeboxes that gets packed has a child on the other end with a real story. Many stories are nothing short of miraculous, as many of the children receive exactly what they pray for and need in their boxes.
▪ Marc and Rafael – from the Philippines: Marc and Rafael experienced the provision of God when they received their shoeboxes while in the hospital where they had been being treated for bone cancer. The boys were neighbors, staying side-by-side in a hospital ward, Marc’s cancer had claimed his right leg to amputation, and Rafael’s left leg was amputated. The boys were close in age and size, and as they explored their shoeboxes they were delighted to find toys and school supplies in their boxes. On top of that, God has a special surprise in store for everyone there. Marc’s box contained a pair of shoes, and Rafael received a pair of socks. With smiles and laughing the boys immediately shared one half of their pairs with the other.
▪ Idol worshippers become evangelist through OCC : “The danger zone: That’s what people called a community in Nigeria where people pledged allegiance to witchcraft and idolatry. For years a pastor (whose name is being protected for security reasons) had sown Gospel seeds in this difficult area but wasn’t seeing much effect. A fledgling church existed, though it struggled. That all changed when he partnered with OCC to bring 150 shoebox gifts to the boys and girls living in the danger zone. When Ruby, the daughter of a shrine leader, received a shoebox gift, it prompted her whole family to start coming to church! The pastor started The Greatest Journey lessons with some of the shoebox recipients and since then, idolatry practices have dropped off, and 100 children now attend Sunday school. “Thank God for operation Christmas Child’” he said. “The church work was made easy through the boxes.”
▪ Kenya: One answered prayer prompts 20 children to attend church: On her way home from school, Setian, 9, used to pick up stubs of pencils on the ground so she could do her homework. Her parents could not afford to buy her new ones because they were unemployed. She attended an OCC outreach event where she heard the Gospel and prayed for what she needed before opening her shoebox gift. Inside, she found pens and pencils! She told her parents about Jesus. They accepted His salvation by faith and began attending church with their daughter. She also shared the Gospel with her friends and today 20 other children are coming to church as a result of her invitations.
▪ Cambodia: “Thank you so much for bring me to Jesus” : Makara, 14, shed a tear when a ministry partner shared the Gospel at an outreach event, because he did not know the love of God she talked about. His parents had divorced five years earlier. But when he received a shoebox gift brimming with balls, toy cars, pens, pencils, and other fun items, tears of joy came instead. He excitedly came back for classes of the Greatest Journey and partway through the course, he said “I have asked forgiveness from God and asked Him to come to my heart and save me from my sin and be my Savior. I know now that Jesus is in my heart, He gives me hope. Thank you so much OCC for bringing me Jesus!”
Scripture Verse
▪ Hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ can change children’s lives – now and for eternity! One of the most meaningful Gospel truths for children to hear is how much Jesus loves them. He said in Matthew 19:14 “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Samaritan’s Purse Logo
I know I have spent quite a bit of time talking about OCC, but I am going to slightly switch gears and share a little bit of what else I felt God was calling me to speak on today.
Call to Action: Actively being the hands and feet of Jesus –
From here on out only scriptures will be on the slides
▪ Throughout this year, I truly believe that God has been calling each and every one of us to not only examine our relationship with Him but to make a deeper commitment to Him. I believe He is calling on His church, (that’s us) to actively be the hands and feet of Jesus so that our lives are glorifying God and directing others towards Him.
▪ He has created each one of us with specific purposesfor our lives. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 point out how we are all members of the same body, but how we each function differently. Even though we are unique in so many aspects, we do all share a common and primary purpose. I’ve already touched upon it a little bit today – We all have a purpose in fulfilling the Great Commission. Each and every one of us is to imitate Christ and we have a responsibility to share the Gospel of Jesus with the world.
o Matthew 28:19-20 “19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
o Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
▪ So where do begin with trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus? It’s actually really simple, we beginby imitating Christ and looking at the commandsand examples that God and Jesus have set for us.
o Ephesians 5:1-2 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
o Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
o Jesus Calls His Disciples Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:14-20, Luke 5:1-11, and John 1: 35-51
o Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
o Matthew 25: 31-46 “31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘ Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I waws in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44”They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45”He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
o John 13:14-15 “14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
o John 13: 34 – “A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
▪ Now that we’ve seen and heard some commands and examples from Jesus’ life, we need to look at how we are to imitate Him and apply that to our unique and individual purposes. God has purposely given each of us different gifting and talents for us to accomplish our purpose for His glory.
o Psalm 139:13-14 “13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; I know that full well.”
o Romans 12:3-8 “3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is giving, then give generously, if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
o 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 “4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”
o 1 Peter 4: 10-11 “10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
▪ These scriptures show us that the giftings He has given us are to be used to serve others – Really what this all boils down to is it’s not enough for us just to come to church and learn about God on Sundays, then tuck Him on the shelf until next week, we have to actively serve Him every day. We are called to be sharing the good news of Jesus at every opportunity we get.
▪ Sometimes our individual purpose is very clear, but other times it can take us awhile to figure out the specific ways God is calling us to serve Him, and the specific way we are personally called to serve or spread the gospel can change depending on what season of life we are in. There is no one size fits all here, it is very much individualized and the best way to go about serving is to follow God’s commands, the examples that have been set for us, and to really develop and prioritize your personal relationship with the Lord because He will guide you and direct your steps on the path He has for you.
o Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, 6 in all ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
o 1 John 3:18 “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
o James 2: 15-16 “15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
▪ So now let’s take a look at a few examples of how we can serve others today by meeting their practical needs and actively be the hands and feet of Jesus.
o Giving to the food pantry/feeding the hungry
o Visiting with the sick
o Comforting the lonely
o Make goody bags for the homeless
o Support Missionaries
o Volunteering with different organizations throughout our community
o Operation Christmas Child
o Other
▪ So we become the hands and feet of Jesus by imitating Him, by meeting peoples practical needs, by sharing the Gospel and discipling others, and by being consistent in our acts of love towards others. This isn’t just a one time thing, we should be asking the Lord each and every day for Him to give us eyes to see and ears to hear what needs there are around us and then act on them according to His directions.
▪ Here is the part where I throw in a small disclaimer or word of caution : Pastor Steve has been sharing with us about alignment for these past several months. It is crucial that we are spending time with Jesus and growing our personal relationship with Him so that we are fully in alignment with God’s plans for us. God sees our hearts and our true motives.
o Proverbs 16:2 “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.”
▪ If we serve out of guilt, obligation, to get glory for ourselves or to try and get something from others orGod – then we aren’t in alignment with Him and are serving for the wrong reasons. Every time we serve we should be doing it so that it takes the focus off of us and puts others all back to Jesus.
As mentioned earlier today we will be taking communion. The only requirement is that you have asked Jesus to be your Savior. I am going to have a song played while everyone who would like to participate comes up to get the elements, While the song is playing I would ask that you to please take these few minutes to examine yourself/ pray/reflect and seek God out in how He would like you to be the hands and feet of Jesus in your daily lives.
Prayer
Song: Honor & Glory Featuring Disciple – Glory to God
Communion – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Closing
▪ Whether you feel led to participate in OCC or not, be on the lookout for the opportunities that God is specifically calling you to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
▪ Please don’t forget to stop out at the OCC display especially if you do feel that you are being led to participate this year in packing a shoebox, Make sure to definitely check out the updated do not send list as well as grabbing school supplies if you need them for in your box/boxes. Thank you and I hope you all have a great week!