GAINESVILLE — North Georgians looking to help kids in need this holiday season can start now by dropping off shoe boxes filled with goodies at one of nine relay centers in the area, including Lakewood Baptist Church in Gainesville, as part of Operation Christmas Child.
The shoe boxes are filled with toys, personal care items, school supplies and other items, dropped off at a relay center where the boxes will travel from Gainesville to Atlanta, and then all over the world.
Lakewood Baptist Church, and the other relay centers, are collecting the shoeboxes until November 23 as part of National Collection Week for the faith-based program, run by Samaritan's Purse.
"Our goal this year is 25,000 shoe boxes, which is approximately 15,000 cartons. We plan on filling five 16-foot semi-trailers this week," said Jim Lee, Collection Center Coordinator for Gainesville.
Lee said not only does the gift make the children happy, but it also serves a larger purpose.
"It really starts out with a box. Each person who packs a box has a huge meaning for Operation Christmas Child because the box is the medium by which we give gifts, and the message of the Gospel to the kids all around the world," said Lee. "Not only are we giving a gift - a material gift of toys, goodies, hygeine items, coloring books, those types of things - the kids will get that and they will love it. But for us, the real power in these shoe boxes is that they'll also get to hear the Gospel of Jesus."
"When each kid opens up their boxes, they'll have a little party, there will be 20, 30, 50 kids there, and they'll all get them and all get to hear a Gospel message," said Lee. "There's also an opportunity for these kids to have several weeks of follow-on discipleship training. So what we believe is, when these children get this gift and they also hear the gift of knowing who Jesus is, it can transform their lives forever."
Shoe boxes can be dropped off until November 23 at Lakewood Baptist Church in Gainesville, Bethel United Methodist Church in Dawsonville, The Church at Dahlonega, Cleveland First Baptist Church, First Baptist Church in Cornelia, Blackshear Place Baptist Church in Flowery Branch, North Lanier Baptist Church in Cumming, First Baptist Church of Buford and CrossViews Church in Hoschton.
