The Pennington AG Church is one of several churches in New Jersey helping children in need by collecting shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child.
For children overseas in impoverished countries, the church will be collecting shoebox gifts filled with school supplies, toys and hygiene items during Operation Christmas Child’s National collection week from Nov. 18-25.
According to officials, Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham.
“This project means the church gets to connect with a global mission. A global mission that is both humanitarian and spiritual, which is significant for us,” said Pastor Brian Lane, lead pastor at Pennington AG Church. “To know that we are partnering with local churches all over the planet and impacting the lives of children around the world just reminds the church that the mission we have is much bigger.”
For Lane, he said OCC is way for the church to help with humanitarian needs.
“For vulnerable children – what I get to be part of is helping bring hope into their lives,” Lane said. “I get to let them know that there are people who care about them and that there is hope outside of the difficult situation they might be in.”
Pennington AG Church, located at 87 Route 31 South in Pennington, has been participating in OCC for six years and over the last four years has been a drop-off site for shoebox gifts.
“As a pastor, for me, it is really exciting to see my church members or my community give and expand their world view a little bit. We have seen numbers increase year-over-year of people dropping off,” Lane said. “We get to see other churches and individual family’s drop-off their shoeboxes which is amazing.”
In 2019, OCC hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 11 million children in countries such as Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda and Ukraine, according to Samaritan’s Purse officials.
“I love seeing the local community rally together for a global impact,” Regional Director Bill Rumbaugh said. “We see all ages getting involved –and more and more every year.”
Since 1993, OCC, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, has collected and delivered more than 168 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
“I think OCC gives an opportunity for people to bring back the idea of Christmas to what it is about and that is giving hope to other people. I know several families of the church will take their children shopping and the first thing they do is fill an OCC shoebox,” Lane said. “It is better to give than receive.”
Officials said individuals can donate $9 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover the shoebox’s final destination.
For more information on the OCC’s shoebox gifts and drop-off destinations, visit www.samaritanspurse.org.