As Christmas approaches, you can demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world through Operation Christmas Child.
Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse that delivers millions of gift-filled shoeboxes to boys and girls all over the world. The items that fill these boxes meet the physical needs of the families who receive them. These shoeboxes are just the beginning. The teams that deliver the boxes also share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the communities –so that families can know the source of the love being bestowed on them. With his or her box, each child receives “The Greatest Journey” discipleship materials, inviting them into a deeper relationship with Jesus. Local trained teachers use these Bible lessons to instruct the next generation how to become devoted followers of the Lord and boldly share their faith with others.
Red Village Church has the goal of packing 20 love-filled and prayer-covered boxes in collaboration with this ministry. We would love for each person in Red Village Church to unite and contribute as we pursue this goal. There are 3 main ways you can be a part of this ministry over the next few weeks:
- Donate: We want to bless the children who receive our boxes by filling them to the brim! Items that we like to fill the boxes with include toys (toy cars, yo-yos, stuffed animals, balls, jump ropes, etc.), school supplies (pencils, notebooks, solar-powered calculators, coloring books, etc.), non-liquid hygiene items (bar soap, toothbrushes, combs, washcloths, etc.), accessories (hair clips, sunglasses, flashlights, watches, t-shirts, hats, etc.), and personal notes. Dollar stores are great places to find You can check out OCC’s Pinterest page for more ideas: http://www.pinterest.com/occshoeboxes/. Another significant way to contribute would be a monetary donation. These donations will be used to ship the boxes (each box costs $7 to ship to a child) as well as to purchase additional items to fill the boxes. Please bring any donations to church by Sunday, Nov. 9th.
- Join our Packing Party: On Saturday, Nov. 15th from 9am-10am we will be meeting in the church office (1605 Monroe St) to pack boxes together with the donations we have gathered. This will be a great time of fellowship as we pack, write notes, pray, and hear stories of how God has been working through this ministry. We will have coffee and doughnuts.
- Pack a box: If you cannot attend our packing party, we encourage you to consider packing boxes as a family, a Village, a group of friends, or individually. Boxes will be available at church on Nov. 2nd and 9th for you to take home and fill. Please return your filled boxes to church on Sunday, Nov. 16th.
For more information, please contact Sarah at Sarah@RedVillageChurch.com
http://video.samaritanspurse.org/good-news-great-joy-2014-4/