Operation Christmas Child

​Samaritan’s Purse sends gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to children in need around the world, together with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
Riverside Baptist Church has been committed to praying for and packing these shoebox gifts for over 15 years.  Each child who receives a shoebox is introduced to Christ with a Greatest Gift booklet in their language and taught by trained ministry partners about the Word of God and how to become a follower of Christ.  Once a child makes a profession of faith, they are led through a 12-lesson discipleship course called The Greatest Journey.   The born-again child of God then goes out into their city, town, or village to share what they have learned.  The child witnesses and shares their knowledge of Jesus and the Bible with their family and friends.  As more and more people come to a saving faith in Jesus, churches are planted, furthering the Kingdom of Christ.    
 
God has led our church to pack shoeboxes, starting with 20 or so the first year and 1,038 in 2025.   Items are collected year-round and packed by giving church members and an OCC team of faithful people who have a passion for sharing Christ with the lost.   Boxes are also packed by individuals and brought to the church during or around National Collection Week, which is always the week before Thanksgiving, making the dates easy to remember.   
This past year, churches and individuals. organizations, communities in the United States, and other participating countries packed, collected, and processed over 12.2 million shoeboxes.  Each shoebox is a gospel opportunity and may be the only gift a child has ever received, so we pack them with lots of prayer and love, filling them full of toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and many other fun things to help point the recipient to Christ and the knowledge of His love for them.  
 
For more info about OCC, its history, eternal impact, and how you can help serve by praying, packing, or both, go to:
 
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/
 
or call the church office for more info.   
 
 
OCC goes to places we as individuals most probably will never go, so in a very real way, we are missionaries, spreading the Gospel and fulfilling Jesus  Christ's command to His disciples in the Great Commission. 
 
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  AMEN