Volunteers spent the last week collecting shoeboxes full of gifts at Northcrest Baptist Church in Meridian, with the aim of sending those gifts to children around the world.

On Monday, the volunteers packed the shoeboxes into large cardboard boxes and deposited them into trucks bound for processing centers.

The shoeboxes are for Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse.

“The goal of Operation Christmas Child is to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world,” said Cathy J. Raley, the coordinator for the Northcrest Baptist Church drop-off site. “Every shoebox that is given out will have the Gospel of Jesus in there.”

Raley said a Gospel Project pamphlet is put in the boxes at the processing centers.

In Lauderdale County, residents filled shoeboxes with items such as school supplies and toys. Families and churches brought the boxes to Northcrest, the central drop-off site for the area. The church collected more than 13,000 shoeboxes, Raley said. 

She said this year’s Operation Christmas Child has “been great.” The volunteers abided  by COVID-19 guidelines, she said.

“We all have masks on,” she noted. “We all have gloves on. We have sanitizer.”

Jimmy Johnson, a member of Northcrest Baptist Church, described volunteering for the project as “fun work.”

“You’re doing something for the Lord,” he said, “and helping other people who won’t have any Christmas without this.”

Cheryl Owens contributed reporting.