First Baptist Concord helps bring Christmas to children around the world
First Baptist Concord is one such group that is making and collecting shoeboxes filled with gifts for those children.
“They are involved very heavily,” said Sandy MacRae, Knoxville Area Church Relations coordinator and a member of First Baptist Concord for the past 10 years.
“In fact, we are a drop-off center for people bringing their shoeboxes during National Collection Week, Nov. 17-14.
“The Knox Area’s goal for this year is 40,001,” she said.
“This year, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 12.6 million children with a gift box and the opportunity to hear the Good News for perhaps the very first time.
“Along with their gift box, the children receive a Bible story booklet titled, ‘The Greatest Gift,’ in their language,” McRae said. “We print these booklets in over 70 different languages.
“Anyone — individuals, church groups, business groups, school groups, whatever — can bring their filled shoeboxes to our church,” she said. “There is a designated area that the church has for this. They can bring them Monday through Monday.”
To fill the boxes, they are “anything your child would like,” McRae said. “The children’s ages range into three groups: 2-4, 5-9 and 10 to 14.
“You decide if you want to fill for a boy or girl and then what age bracket,” she said. “Your basic items are what we like to call a ‘wow’ item. It’s always the first thing they are going to see in their shoebox when they take that lid off … something that’s going to excite them.
“For example, I love to put in dolls or stuffed animals or a flat soccer ball with a pump attached to it,” McRae said.
Then, the space left can be filled with school supplies, smaller toys; hygiene products, such as a toothbrush or a comb; hair barrettes for the girls and other small items one can stick in spaces in the boxes.
“And, before you know it, your box is full,’ she said.
“(The school supplies) are very important because in so many of our countries, if the children cannot afford to buy their own school supplies, they can’t go to school,” McRae said.
“The boxes can go anywhere,” she said. “Since 1993, we’ve delivered over 232 million shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories, many who have never heard the word of God.
“By giving them a shoebox, we consider it a tangible way for them to see God’s love in action,” McRae said. “They’re notes given to them that say ‘Jesus loves you.’”
A schedule of operating hours for drop-off centers’ will be posted on samaritanspurse.org/lcc website closer to the deadline.
Locations and more information are available at samaritanspurse.org/occ
Along with FBC, people can drop off their filled shoeboxes at Operation Christmas Child’s central drop-off center in the Expo Center, 5441 Clinton Highway in Knoxville; Faith Lutheran Church on Middlebrook Pike; Central Baptist Bearden on Kingston Pike and Bucket Heights near the East Town area.
To learn more about packing the shoebox, visit samaritanspurse.org.
