For many years, the partnership between the Church of God and Operation Christmas Child (a project of Samaritan’s Purse) has continued to grow in its reach and impact.
The vision to reach out in places around the world to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ through simple shoe box gifts has created a powerful alliance in missions for all ages. With this shared passion, OCC continues to serve as an avenue for hands-on missions involvement in more than 1,100 Church of God churches, extending the reach of many to children around the world. One example is the Covenant Church of God in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Covenant has partnered with Operation Christmas Child to take the message of Christ to children in desperate circumstances around the world since 2002. A year later, the church expanded its participation in the project to include service as a Collection Center, gathering shoe box gifts from individuals, families and churches throughout the area.
Krista Darcus serves as the Missions Pastor at Covenant Church of God, and shares that Operation Christmas Child was a strong project in the church when she stepped into this role. The church continues to incorporate OCC into annual outreach plans as the church remains enthusiastic about the project as an effective way for families to share the love of Christ around the globe. Krista underscores the value of involving all segments of the congregation, especially the children. She says the congregation enjoys seeing reports from Operation Christmas Child about the results from the previous year’s collection and distribution of boxes around the world.
Through the years, Covenant Church of God has continued to reach out to their local community while also providing tools for Christians to share the Gospel around the world. Hundreds of shoe box gifts from the church and surrounding community have become vehicles for local believers to reach out in difficult places and bring hope through life in Christ. For more information about how Operation Christmas Child may serve alongside your church, please visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ. The National Collection Week is November 16 – 23, 2009.