Infopack

Concerns over the appropriateness of schools supporting Operation Christmas Child run by Samaritan’s Purse

The Christian organisation "Ministrywatch" http://www.ministrywatch.org/mw2.1/H_Home.asp contains the following statement at
    http://www.ministrywatch.org/mw2.1/F_SumRpt.asp?EIN=581437002

          The conversion of the lost is the ultimate and expressed goal of
          Samaritan's Purse. This fact distinguishes them from many other
          relief and development organizations, even some others which are
          Christian in name and in charter.

From a letter regarding Operation Christmas Child by Dr. Sarah Smalley
General Adviser, RE and SACRE

I think you were right to pursue the issue through your local SACRE. If you've had no response, why not try again - or write to your director of education? As far as your own children's school is concerned, have you tried raising the matter through your school's parent governor? Another forum might be the National Association of School Governors - I'm not really sure how this works as an organisation, but it might be worth investigating.

I don't know whether this will be of any help, but you might be glad to know you are not alone in your concerns.

With all good wishes,

Sarah Smalley

Dr. Sarah Smalley
General Adviser, RE and SACRE,
HPDC, Lawrence Court,
Princes Street,
Huntingdon PE29 3PP.

Brendan Paddy, of Save the Children, when referring to Operation Christmas Child said it is dangerous when charities mix humanitarian work with the promotion of a particular religious or political agenda.

OXFAM, DHL, the South Wales fire Service, the Inland Revenue and the Co-Op have all withdrawn their support from Operation Christmas Child due to concerns over its evangelising focus.

Tony Mok, acting head of East Whitby community primary school in North Yorkshire, says pupils and others in the community send about 200 boxes each Christmas. Told of Graham's comments on Islam, he says: "If that's true, it would not fit in with the values of citizenship for our pupils and we couldn't support it."

Shan Davies, head of Builth Wells high school in Powys, says her school produces about 200 boxes each Christmas, but that the charity has not informed her that the gifts delivered to needy children are accompanied by Christian literature. "I would have difficulty promoting the appeal if that were true," she says.

Quotes from Operation Christmas Child representatives regarding the UK branch:

"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 enrol 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."

Sincerely,

Donor Ministries
Samaritan's Purse
PO Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
828-262-1980
[From a letter from Samaritan's Purse to a concerned supporter of OCC. http://tinyurl.com/429adv]

“So many people have come to know Christ through those shoe boxes. We cannot thank Operation Christmas Child enough for helping us!”
http://www.samaritanspurse.uk.com/occ/benefit_for_churches_9.asp

“In terms of an outreach opportunity, Operation Christmas Child has been the second best thing that we've done. The first being to send teams to Romania on short term mission trips."
[Rev. David Newton from Clayton Baptist]
http://www.samaritanspurse.uk.com/occ/benefit_for_churches_home.asp

Wherever we can, we offer the boys and girls storybooks in their own language explaining the true meaning of Christmas – God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Over the years, thousands of children and their families have opened their hearts to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour.
http://web.archive.org/web/20031004050555/www.samaritanspurse.uk.com/occ/thank-you.asp

David Vardy would value prayer as he leads both Samaritan’s Purse UK and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
http://web.archive.org/web/20061105222812/http://www.samaritanspurse.uk.com/matters/Prayer_Points.pdf

According to the Operation Christmas Child website, the British charity arranges for some of the children it works with in the former Soviet Union to attend Christian summer camps, where children "learn about Jesus through the Bible-based teaching". In the Ukraine, British volunteers coached 1,750 children in football last year. The pastor leading the project "then gave each child a special soccer story leaflet called The Substitute, with an evangelistic message".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/dec/18/guardiansocietysupplement7

International Quotes from Operation Christmas Child representatives:
"We shared the Gospel with them and distributed Bibles .... 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 .... It opens the door to telling about Jesus.”
[Ministry partner Victor Kulbich in the Samaritan's Purse 2003 Newsletter]

“These gift filled shoeboxes provide powerful tools the local churches can use to evangelise people in its own community..."
[Samaritan's Purse promotional video]

"I turned my attention again to the primary goal of Samaritan's Purse - sharing the gospel. Some people are a bit surprised to learn that this is our main focus, but it's true. We are not just a Christian relief organization".
[Franklin Graham, President and CEO of both Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. ‘Rebel With A Cause', page 187]

"Before the boxes were opened, the children were told they were sent by people who know Jesus."
[eyewitness report http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/living/10113217.htm]

"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."
Excerpt from http://allsouls.gospelcom.net/as_preacher.php
(Search there for recordings of sermons by Franklin Graham).

Extremist views:

Senior members of Samaritan's Purse hold and promote extremist views. Franklin Graham, son of the American evangelist Billy Graham and Chairman and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse is on record as stating:
“ the entire Islamic religion is wicked, violent ...Islam, as a whole, is evil.... I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."

Samaritan's Purse has responded by claiming that this should be ignored as a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11. However in Franklin Graham's book, Rebel With A Cause, Graham states that:
"from the refugee camps we travelled to the subcontinent of India, with its hundreds of millions of people locked in the darkness of Hinduism… These people were bound by Satan's power." (pg 138-139)

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto the resurrection of eternal life and the lost unto the resurrection of Damnation and Eternal Punishment

http://www.samaritanspurse.uk.com/about/statement-faith.asp

When selecting charities schools have a duty of due diligence to make sure it is appropriate to the multicultural nature of their schools and to their ethos of inclusiveness and citizenship. Unfortunately few schools do investigate the charities they support adequately and are unaware that there is a particular problem with Operation Christmas Child. When parents find out about the nature of OCC through Internet research schools which support OCC and do not take care to investigate the true nature of this organisation alienate a number of parents from what should be a pleasant opportunity to take part in school charitable giving.

Whatever the personal opinion of individuals, Operation Christmas Child is surely incompatible with the inclusive nature of religious education and citizenship in schools and at the very least, head teachers, staff and parents should be made aware of its nature given that schools have been handing out notices promoting the shoebox appeal.

Pages from the booklet handed out to the children during the shoebox distribution of "Operation Christmas Child" run by the evangelical organisation “Samaritan’s Purse”

Full booklet originally downloaded from www.mostimportantstory.org/mi/. Available for download from http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/2393217/MostImportantStory.pdf

Alternatives:

OneChild OneWorld. This was recently (2008) set up by a former member of OCC who left to set up a non-evangelising alternative. http://www.onechildoneworld.org.uk/. For the story behind this see

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/lifestyle-news/book-reviews/2008/06/15/north-man-quits-charity-shoebox-scheme-79310-21076821/ (or http://tinyurl.com/3jzpf5 )

21st Century Child - a shoebox scheme collecting small gifts for children in Eastern Europe - see www.21stcenturychild.org .

Link Rumania - http://www.linkromania.co.uk/

The Aquabox scheme which provides water treatment for disaster areas in numbered boxes so you know where your box went - www.aquabox.org.

Oxfam where you can donate a flock of chickens or a camel, or textbooks or dinners for a third world school. www.oxfamunwrapped.com.

Give a goat for Rwanda or a bicycle for a midwife in Cambodia or help to turn weapons of war into farm implements via www.goodgifts.org.

The Blue Peter appeal, which is always carefully chosen so that virtually any family can contribute www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter.

Unicef
http://www.unicef.org/

Save the Children (UK)
http://www.savethechildren.co.uk/

Barnardos
http://www.barnardos.org.uk/

Plan is an international development organisation, working to alleviate poverty and help children in developing countries to realise their full potential.
http://www.plan-international.org/
Also Gifts4Life (UK). http://gifts4life.org/

The Hunger Site:
http://www.thehungersite.com

Evangelism photos from the Operation Christmas Child website: