‘Being a Church Collection Centre is a twofold mission opportunity for us. On one hand we’re able to reach the children receiving the shoeboxes and make a difference in their lives, but on the other hand it’s giving us the opportunity to connect with our community and grow our links with schools.’   

Opening your church’s doors to receive Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes during National Collection Week in November provides a natural opportunity to welcome and chat to members of your local community.

Encourage them by sharing about the impact of their shoebox gifts, offer to pray with them for the children receiving them, and invite them to more of your own church activities.

At the same time, church members can enjoy being part of God’s great commission of sending the Good News of Jesus to children in need around the world.

You’ll need:

• Volunteers who can be available during National Collection Week, 13-20 November. They’ll simply need to be on hand during reasonable opening hours and ready to welcome Operation Christmas Child supporters as they drop their shoeboxes off. One volunteer should take a lead to coordinate the team and be the main contact for Operation Christmas Child staff
• (Optional) Volunteer driver or drivers able to deliver shoeboxes to a regional Processing Centre/storage location or collect shoeboxes from local groups (schools, work-places etc.)
• A small room, or space to store around 100 shoeboxes.

We’ll help with:

• Listing your church’s address and opening hours on our website
• Church communications resources and social media content, including campaign videos and photos
• Promotional information you can pass on to your local press
• Printed posters and leaflets, a banner and other resources
• A Church Collection Centre support contact person
• Ideas for extra optional activities such as hosting a special shoebox service.

“We were a Church Collection Centre for the first time in 2019.  I am so glad we did it.  The church was open all week with many people dropping off their boxes.  There was a brilliant atmosphere.  It was a great launch into the church’s Christmas activities both for the people bringing their boxes – some of whom took invitations – and for the church family as they saw the pile of boxes growing.  We were also able to draw in many church members to staff the centre.  This was a real encouragement to them.  We will definitely do it again!”

– Tom Parsons, Vicar at Christ Church, Sidcup.

Thank you for your interest in being a Church Collection Centre. Registration for 2023 has now closed but please do check back in the spring.