As the Christmas season quickly approaches, Trail Life USA, the largest Christ-centered, boy-focused scout-type organization in the country, is proud to partner with Samaritan’s Purse as they start their annual “Operation Christmas Child” campaign. Dedicated to delivering toys, clothing, hygiene products and other useful items to children in need, Samaritan’s Purse encourages individuals and families to fill a shoebox with these items, then ships the boxes around the world to children who lack these basic necessities. Since 1993, more than 168 million shoeboxes have been delivered in over 100 countries.
For Trail Life, this mission goes hand-in-hand with their goal of raising up godly young men as leaders of character. Every year, Trail Life Troops across the country gather to assemble shoeboxes to share the Gospel with children in need.
Trail Life CEO Mark Hancock said, “It’s great to see the look on kids faces when they open the boxes and see what our Trailmen have sent them. The partnership with Samaritan’s Purse is just a natural match for Trail Life. Operation Christmas Child is a Christ-centered campaign that wants to see the Gospel spread around the world, and our Troops really get the sense that they are not just putting stuff in a box, but that they are delivering a much bigger gift. The greatest journey is a 12-lesson follow-up program that shares the good news of Jesus with shoebox recipients. The program has transformed not only the lives of those boys and girls, but also their siblings, their families, and their entire community.”
For Trail Life Troops and leaders, this campaign is a great opportunity to talk with boys about the example of Christ. Hancock stated, “In taking on the form of a boy who ‘grew in favor with God’ and became a man, Jesus became the template for biblical manhood. Christ’s example of servant leadership is the perfect model of biblical masculinity for our Troops, and we challenge our boys to use it as a guide for their own lives.”
“We want the children of the world to know that God loves them, cares for them, and sent His son from Heaven to earth for them — this is a mission that we know we share with organizations like Trail Life,” said Samaritan’s Purse president and CEO Franklin Graham. “There is a war on Christianity and moral values right now, but Trail Life is doing a tremendous job at raising up godly young men — and it’s clearly making a difference.”
National Collection Week for the Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes is November 13 to 20. Across America, Trailmen will pack thousands of shoeboxes and assist in getting them sent for distribution around the world. This past Wednesday, November 8, Trail Life home office staff and families were joined by members from the Operation Christmas Child Home Offices in Boone and Charlotte at Trail Life USA’s annual shoebox packing party and packed over 100 shoeboxes.
Trail Life’s unique approach is garnering attention from families across the nation. Trail Life has grown by nearly 20,000 new Troop members in 2022 alone. In just the last month, nearly 500 individuals have reached out for information on starting a Trail Life Troop, and more than 30 new Troops have been chartered in the past 30 days. With Trail Life’s success in growing to over 50,000 members in under ten years, boys and men are building meaningful relationships, growing in character, developing in leadership, and just having fun in the great outdoors.
Find the original article HERE written by Richard D. Hunt at K-Love
