We are excited to share that the Christmas Before Christmas Party will be returning this year!

On Sunday, November 13, 2022, we will be celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving even rolls around! We are teaming up with Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child to create a packing party for their infamous Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. These shoeboxes are Christmas gifts that go all around the world to children who may not have the means to celebrate Christmas otherwise. These Christmas gifts travel by truck, plane, train, on the backs of men in jungle villages, and hoisted up onto the backs of camels all to reach the ends of the world with one simple message: The Gospel.

This year, we are inviting all Jr High girls, Sr High girls, Young Adult women, parents, friends, the Women’s Ministry… basically, if you are female, you are invited.

Registration is now open! The cost is $10 per shoebox.

On top of this being a packing party, it will also be a full-fledged Christmas event, complete with your best Christmas outfit (ugly Christmas sweaters encouraged), a Christmas Cookie exchange, and Christmas music.

For more information on the mission please visit the Samaritan’s Purse website here.

For information on gift suggestions (including what is allowed and what is not allowed for gift items) for the boys and girls please click here.

For more information on the Christmas Before Christmas Party, please read on or download the flyer below.

LEADING UP TO THE EVENT

• Invite your girl friends and mom to come
  
• Sign up!
  
• Pay the $10 donation in the registration form to cover the cost of shipping your shoebox gift (One $10 donation per shoebox)
  
• Stay updated with event details via email
  
• Start praying for the event. This is such a special opportunity to share the Gospel!

A COUPLE DAYS BEFORE THE EVENT

• Find that awesome Christmas cookie recipe your grandmother has and get the ingredients
  
• Take your best Christmas outfit out of the attic
  
• Go shopping for your shoebox with a friend/mom/sister/leader

THE DAY OF THE EVENT

• Come to the event with that awesome Christmas outfit on
  
• Bring a plate of homemade Christmas cookies to share with everyone (Christmas Cookie Exchange)
  
• Carpool with your mom/friend/leader
  
• Come with your gifts in a bag. Please do not pack or wrap your gifts before the designated time during the event — we will be packing them
  together.

WHAT DOES THE $10 COVER?

A donation of $10 per shoebox gift is critical for Operation Christmas Child and covers their costs for:

• Collection – After shoebox gifts are dropped off at nearly 5,000 locations around the United States each year in November, trucks transport the precious cargo to eight different processing centers.
  
• Processing – 8 processing center warehouses around the country are secured so that thousands of volunteers can inspect the shoebox gifts and prepare them for international shipment.
  
• Shipping to Over 100 Countries – Ships, trucks, and airplanes transport millions of shoeboxes to the countries where they will be distributed. Once there, local churches use many modes of transportation to get them to children in need as a tangible expression of God’s love.
  
• Gospel Materials – The donation helps Samaritan’s Purse train and equip local churches on how to share the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ in a child-friendly way and specific to the children’s language.
  

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS EVENT?

Each shoebox gift represents an opportunity for a boy or girl to encounter Jesus Christ and share Him with their
family and community.

• This is an opportunity to help fulfill the Great Commission.
  
• It’s a tool to teach all of us about giving.
  
• This is a fun and personalized project that unites our girls ministry and families.
  
• Operation Christmas Child is intended as a strategy for the local church to meet spiritual needs of children in their communities to communicate the free gift of salvation given to us through God’s Son.
  

I CAN’T MAKE THE EVENT – HOW ELSE CAN I GET INVOLVED?

• Consider joining us the week of Nov 14-21, 2022 to volunteer at the Shoebox Processing Center in the Baltimore area. This will be a 4-hour volunteer event during the day with our leaders, moms, and other women who can make it (age 13+). Exact date TBD. Contact Christina for info.
  
• Donate to the mission at Samaritan’s Purse.
  
• Fund the registration fee for another student so that they can be a part! Contact Christina for info.
  
• Bake some Christmas cookies and drop them off for the event.