Samaritan's Purse: The Greatest Journey

By MAD21

I have had the wonderful opportunity to work on a few posts with with one of my favorite ministries, Samaritan's Purse. If you are new here, and are unfamiliar with this ministry, I urge you to go check out their website. They are doing some amazing work in this world of ours. (I've also writen about them HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.)

Back in August, I had the privilege of interviewing Stacey Wilson from Operation Christmas Child (OCC). Stacey and I have been chatting a lot since then. One of the things we discussed was doing a post about the part of their group that prepares the discipleship materials and trains the teachers who will be working directly with the kids.

Stacey was kind enough to talk with a few of the people from this group called the International Field Support Team (IFS Team) on my behalf. Here is her interview:

Stacey: Can you explain the purpose of The Greatest Journey discipleship program and how it works alongside Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts?

IFS Team: The Greatest Journey discipleship program is a 12-lesson curriculum offered to children who receive OCC gift boxes. It is offered in the children’s native language as a follow-up to shoebox distributions. Local teachers are trained to lead children through the 12-lesson course of The Greatest Journey and equipped with the knowledge to continue children’s ministry once the program is complete. A graduation ceremony and certificate is offered to children who complete all 12 lessons. OCC also wants to give every graduate a copy of a New Testament at the graduation event.

Stacey: How long has TGJ been a part of Operation Christmas Child?

IFS Team: OCC has been offering discipleship material since 1997. The TGJ curriculum development was launched in 2008. We are very excited to announce that TGJ was successfully launched in 2009-10 in Latin America. TGJ curriculum will be introduced to new regions in 2010-11.

Stacey: How many children have participated in TGJ?

IFS Team: 313,000 children have been offered an opportunity to take The Greatest Journey during the 2009-2010 season.

Stacey: How long does it take for the children to complete the lessons?

IFS Team: The Greatest Journey curriculum is a 12-lesson course. Our local partners are taking several different approaches to this design. Some offer VBS opportunities where the whole course is taught in one week, and others are offering one lesson a week like a traditional Sunday School lesson.

Stacey: Who teaches the lessons?

IFS Team: Local teachers who volunteer to participate in The Greatest Journey training teach the course to children in their communities. An average TGJ class is around 20 students and could take place in Sunday School settings, after-school clubs, children’s camps or a public school classroom.

Stacey: What happens after the children complete the program?

IFS Team: We celebrate! At the end of each TGJ course, the teacher puts together a celebration for the children and their families. Each child receives a certificate recognizing his or her accomplishment. In many cases, the graduate is given a New Testament.

Stacey: Does every child who receives a shoe box gift also participate in TGJ?

IFS Team: No, every child that receives a shoe box does not participate in TGJ. We estimate that 75% of the children given a shoe box are eligible to participate in TGJ. Some countries where shoe boxes are distributed have strict regulations on the distribution of evangelical literature, thus keeping us from offering TGJ in such countries. There are also children who are at a non-literate age (2-4 yrs.) that will not participate in the TGJ program. TGJ curriculum is offered to countries where there is leadership capacity, open environments and a willingness to participate. Currently, Samaritan’s Purse does not have the necessary funding to offer TGJ curriculum to every eligible child.

Stacey: Do you have an idea of how many children have received Christ as a result of The Greatest Journey program?

IFS Team: OCC 2009-10 discipleship ministry takes place during the months of December 2009 – June 2010.  We will not receive final reports on TGJ ministry until August 2010.

Stacey: What are your future plans for TGJ?

IFS Team: We are in the process of translating TGJ into 55 languages with plans to offer this material to 70 plus countries.  We are also in the process of expanding our New Testament donations so we can award as many graduates as possible with one their own.

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Be sure to go and check out “The Greatest Journey” to see how you and your family can get involved in this wonderful ministry. Go and see more fabulous pictures and stories of the children who's lives have been changed because of this program.