WOW.. another great session this afternoon!! I am sitting here waiting for the first General Session and blogging to you about just a bit about what I learned. The rest of this fabulous session was from Sam from India.. and was AMAZING... but will have to follow in later posts. I know my posts are chaotic... but there is SO Much here at the conference!! I wish you could all share in this with me!
And so now... a taste of the session The Heart of OCC
The mission of Operation Christmas Child is "to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ."
And that mission statement is the heart of OCC... sharing God's love... sharing the Good News... to CHILDREN.
Why Children? This was the first question they covered in the CONNECT session.
Scripture tells us how precious children are.. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Luke 18:16)
But the session also shared some other reasons. Children are a large and often overlooked people group. They are the most oppressed segment of the global population.
Also realistically children are the most fruitful field for evangelism. Not yet hardened by the world, these children are often ready soil for the seed of the Gospel. 85% of people worldwide come to Christ before the age of 15. This is the age for Operation Christmas Child... and we can make a HUGE difference in this age group.
And finally, little children, when they come to Christ are GREAT evangelists! They are bold for Christ! If you bring a child to Christ you could be bringing their whole family, their friends, and the impact can go so far beyond the individual. And if they take the Greatest Journey they are discipled in the Word but also equipped to share the Gospel with those around them.
Why shoeboxes?? That simple gift can be a powerful demonstration of God's love. Most of us have heard many stories of the perfect item getting in the shoebox! If you haven't take some time to read some of the Impact stories at the tab above. But more important than the items in the box, is that that simple shoe box opens doors to the Gospel that may not be otherwise available!
And just in case you thought that the 100 million shoeboxes given out means we can rest... How about these statistics? There are almost 2 billion people in the world who have virtually no exposure to the Gospel message. Those 100 million shoeboxes have gone a LONG way in evangelizing children... but it is a drop in the bucket! So lets keep going! Each shoebox is a Gospel opportunity! REJOICE for God is WORKING around the world in the hearts of the 100 million that received shoeboxes, in their families and communities, and He is working right now, preparing hearts for the next 100 million as well!
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