Operation
Christmas Child is a fundamentalist evangelical endeavour that is
poorly understood by most of the people who contribute to it.
The Public face of OCC has been
covert about the existence of its evangelical activities until 2003.
The public face
still
plays down
the evangelism:
e.g. Samaritan's purse state:
"The ultimate goal is to
open the doors to share the good news of Jesus Christ, to evangelize
wherever it's legal."
Samaritan's Purse officials
deny the accusation, saying their
charity program simply spreads Christmas gifts and God's love to
children around the world.
"We don't force our belief
system upon anybody," said Sean Campbell, executive director of
Samaritan's Purse Canada.
"We're over there trying to
help them, we're trying to make the
quality of their lives better and we're not over there to convert
them."
The Rev David Applin, chief
executive of SPI, admits that a
religious pamphlet - "The greatest gift of all" - is distributed with
the boxes (though not inside them). But he denies that the appeal is
evangelical. "The word evangelical has connotations and I prefer to
think of us as a Christian group," he says, adding that he does not
regard SPI as a missionary agency. (http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,7843,861580,00.html)
However Compare this with
what Samaritan's Purse tell the faithful in their Newsletters and on
fundamentalist church websites:
From www.samaritanspurse.org/about/pdf/AR2003.pdf “We shared the
Gospel with them and distributed Bibles,” Victor said.
“Each time we do a distribution, it begins with
a testimony that Jesus loves you and died for you...Operation Christmas
Child is one of the best evangelistic
tools because it is a gift,” ministry partner Victor Kulbich
said.
“It opens the door to telling about Jesus.”
From Rocky Mount Telegram Operation
Christmas Child is about spreading the Gospel as well as gifts.
Samaritan's Purse is an evangelical Christian organization headed by
Franklin Graham. Each gift comes with a small book that tells the story
of Jesus’ life in the country's native language.
..."Many of the families in these lands have come to embrace
Christianity," Bob said. "That's really the purpose, but it's also, of course, sharing
God's love with children in every land." [My emphasis]
When
I asked the UK office of Samaritan’s Purse for a copy of the
evangelising booklet they hand out to children I was sent 4 photocopied
pages from the bible story section. When the General Adviser (RE and
SACRE) wrote for a copy she was sent one of the bible story pages in
Romanian! When my local Christian bookshop was asked for a copy they
said that they do not stock anything by the publishers
“WorldServe
Ministries” since they consider them to be a (quote)
“fringe group.”
Samaritan’s Purse
do not link to the evangelising booklet that they
hand out to children alongside the shoebox distribution. The leaflet is
available at their Publisher’s website at http://mostimportantstory.com/mi/read.html.
The booklet is of very poor
educational value, devoid of
critical thought, carries a fundamentalist message and is carefully
written to engender conversion in the young and naive. It comes
complete with a “sinner’s prayer” of
conversion and a religious pledge
card. None of these overtly evangelical parts were copied to me or the
General Adviser (RE and SACRE).
I then asked the
headquarters of
Samaritan’s Purse for a copy of the booklet. Under the
impression that
I was a supporter Operation Christmas Child they replied as follows:
Greetings
from Samaritan' Purse and Operation Christmas Child. We
appreciate
your support and participation in this special project. The
booklet you are inquiring about is called "The Greatest Gift of All."
This literature is not inserted into the boxes. The booklet is offered
to the children at the time of distribution and has been translated
into over 100 languages. The primary function of this literature is to
provide the National Leadership Team members in each country with a
follow-up tool for evangelism. You may obtain a copy through:
WorldServe
Ministries 5795
Genesis Court Frisco,
Texas 75034 (888)
254-8005. Should
you have further questions or need additional assistance, please let us
know.
I
next asked the headquarters of Samaritan’s Purse for
confirmation that
the leaflet on the WorldServe Ministries website (“Most
Important Story
Ever Told”) was the same as the one titled “The
Greatest Gift Of All”
that is stated as being handed out to children alongside the shoebox
distribution.
Under the impression that I
was a supporter Operation Christmas Child they replied:
Greetings
from Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child.
You
are correct in your assumption that "The Most Important Story Ever
Told" and "The Greatest Gift Of All" are basically one in the
same.
Samaritan's Purse has adopted this version for distribution with each
shoebox gift as a tool for evangelism. Should you need
additional
assistance, please let us know. It is because of caring
people like
you that this project is so successful. Have a blessed day!
I was also told by John
Bree, the UK manager of OCC, that the booklet “The Greatest Gift Of
All” is "the only literature offered
to the children by our partners when the boxes are given out to the
children." However contrast that with the following from an
independent letter from Samaritan's
Purse to
a concerned supporter of OCC:
"Please be
assured that the commitment of Samaritan's Purse to evangelism is as
strong as ever.
Christian literature is not banned from Operation Christmas Child
shoeboxes in the United Kingdom or any other sending country. However,
there is a difference in the way the boxes are processed in the U.K.
for overseas shipment. The U.K. program removes all religious items
(Christian as well as other religions) and forwards any Christian
literature to our National Leadership Teams working in countries where
shoebox gifts are distributed, so the Christian literature can be used
with children through the local church.
Samaritan's Purse staff in the U.K. is dedicated, as we all are, to
ensuring that Christian
literature given by donors is used in effective
ministry outreach to children through Operation Christmas Child.
The Gospel is also presented locally as part of the distribution of the
gifts, and wherever possible, children are offered a Gospel storybook
written in their own language called The Greatest Gift of All. Many
children are also invited to enroll in a 10-lesson follow-up Bible
study program, and upon completion receive a New Testament as a
graduation gift.
In the United States, Christian literature remains inside the shoebox
gifts given by donors. We are developing and implementing standard
operating procedures to ensure that this practice is followed in the
U.K. and other sending countries."
[From a letter from Samaritan's
Purse to
a concerned supporter of OCC - see http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/2006/11/operation_chris.html]
Operation
Christmas Child misleads Children about the beliefs of some of those
donating the Shoeboxes.
"Before the boxes were opened,
the children were told they were sent by people who know Jesus."
There is a deep
irony with the fact that
the OCC leaflet states they will remove any religious literature that
is put by a donor into a shoebox. Clearly they purport to perceive the
problem
with the appropriateness of distributing religious literature to
children.. And yet up to last year this is precisely what they did with
their own evangelical material inside shoeboxes. Following criticism
they now distribute literature alongside the shoeboxes (not to mention
introductory religious rallies and evangelical follow up meetings
accompanying the shoebox distributions), as if that addresses the
criticism of gifts accompanied by a religious agenda.
Quotes
from Franklin Graham Franklin
Graham is a rightwing fundamentalist and the chief executive of
Operation Christmas Child. He is the son of the evangelist Billy Graham
and a close friend of President Bush.
"[Operation Christmas Child] is
about introducing children and their families to God's greatest gift -
His Son, Jesus Christ. As long as evangelism is the focus, God will
continue to bless it."
"Look
if we do this program again we cannot just put smiles on
children's faces, we cannot just make them happy just for a moment. We
have got to do everything that we can to communicate the truth about
Jesus Christ to these children"
"We
will be a witness for Lord Jesus Christ when we give away your
boxes."
"We
are to be a witness. We are to tell the truth. Let's use
television. Let's use a shoebox. Let's use medicine in the Third
World. And every time God opens up a door lets be a faithful witness."
"That's
6 and a half million children that we had a chance to be God's
Witness to. To tell them the Truth about God's son, the Lord Jesus
Christ...
...Wonderful opportunities with these children.
And when you think about ... 6 and a half million children that we
gave boxes to. Every family in the Third World has a Mother &
Father,
Brothers & sisters, Aunts & Uncles & Cousins
and when you look at the
total number it's close to 60 million people a year. Last year that we
touched. It's huge.
And every box is a witness. It's a tool to be a witness. Every box is
important. Every one."