OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD: YEAR-ROUND COLLECTION
An Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift is an opportunity for a child to discover, know, and share Jesus Christ. This year our church packed 296 shoeboxes, and we saw more than 11,000 leave the Tallahassee/Big Bend area. As we plan for 2022, we will be adding a new hands-on approach to the ministry of OCC in addition to our other current options for putting together a shoebox. We would love to see more people involved in the ministry, bring our church community together around this ministry, and most importantly, see the number of gospel opportunities increase.
In 2022, we will start year-round collecting at FBCTLH for Operation Christmas Child. Each month a different type of item can be brought in and dropped into OCC bins in the Connect Center. Monthly, we will communicate what items we are collecting in the Vision, on the church Web site, and on our social media pages. This can be something we look forward to and work together on as a church body. Maybe we’ll even see some friendly SMBS class competitions!
The monthly items can easily be found or made, and sometimes even more affordable when purchased, during that specific month. All items will be safely stored and inventoried each month. Next November, we will facilitate a churchwide packing party and behold the harvest. Our hope and prayer is that by focusing, planning, and preparing shoebox gifts all year long, we will see even more gospel opportunities around the world next year.
To give you an early start, our January items will be hats, gloves, and scarves. These items can be handmade or store bought.
If you have any questions about a particular month’s items or what this ministry involves, please contact Kelly Harrington in the Senior Pastor’s office at kelly@fbctlh.org or Kristin Shultz at kandgshultz@yahoo.com. Let’s continue to pray that God would lead us to reach all kinds of people all over the world with the gospel in 2022!