Samaritan's Purse: Nearly 50 years of ministry

Jane and I stopped on our tour a few weeks ago at Samaritan’s Purse headquarters in Boone, N.C., and listened to the story of its founding and history.

It began in 1970, when evangelist and journalist for Youth For Christ Bob Pierce wrote in his Bible, “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” He wrote those words while visiting suffering children on the Korean island of Koje-do, which today is known as Geojedo.

Samaritan’s Purse arose out of that prayer and experience. Bob said he wanted the organization to be modeled on the story Jesus told in Luke 10:29-37.

The story centers on a traveling Samaritan who came across a man who had been beaten by robbers. The Samaritan was likely a layman who looked upon the wounded traveler and was filled with compassion. This Samaritan, whom the religionists despised, tended to the man’s wounds, loaded him on his own donkey and took him to an inn. He inconvenienced himself and committed financially. He did something that cost him — and it wasn’t something he would get back.

The need of the hurting man grabbed the Samaritan and moved him to action. It wasn’t an ongoing effort: It was a one-time thing — he stepped in and met a critical need. Bob Pierce’s vision for Samaritan’s Purse was different than traditional relief organizations. He insisted all people would be helped in the name of Jesus Christ.

He said, “keep the flag of Jesus Christ flying high, that is what will characterize us.” Whatever Samaritan’s Purse does — whether helping lepers in India, battling fires in California, cleaning up after hurricanes in Haiti, fighting famine in Guatemala or supporting war-torn Iraq — anything it does or has a part in doing — it does in the name of Jesus Christ.

In the summer of 1973, Bob met his eventual successor, an adventurous young student named Franklin Graham, who had a growing heart for world missions. Intrigued by his many stories from the field, Franklin began to spend more and more time with the seasoned Christian statesman. Bob died of leukemia in 1978. About a year later, Franklin Graham became the president and chairman of Samaritan’s Purse.

At the time the organization was headquartered in Los Angeles, with just a few staff members; Franklin was living in Boone, where he had graduated from Appalachian State University. Franklin had told Bob before his death that he wouldn’t ask his young family to live in Los Angeles. He had physicians in Boone who were interested in missions, so they moved the organization there. None of the staff were willing to leave California, so Franklin was faced with starting over to build this organization.

Today, Samaritan’s Purse is working in more than 100 countries around the world. It has field offices in more than 20 other countries. It provided medical care in Somalia in 1993, Rwanda in 1994, Sudan since 1997, Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq in 2003.

It has assisted after hurricanes and tsunamis and chartered emergency airlifts to Indonesia and Pakistan in 2005 and Myanmar and China in 2008. A Children’s Heart Project provides surgery for children born with heart defects in countries where proper care is not available. Turn On The Tap is a campaign to provide safe drinking water in the developing world.

One of their most visible projects is Operation Christmas Child, which is just kicking off in churches and organizations around the world this week. Many of you may have seen those boxes in your church or place of business. This initiative was created by Dave Cooke and his wife, Gill, in England in 1990 after they saw the horror of abandoned children in Romanian orphanages after the fall of Communism.

By 1992, 22 trucks of aid were sent along with an airlift of shoeboxes for the children there. In 1995 the ministry merged with Samaritan’s Purse and that year 280,000 shoeboxes were distributed but the very next year over a million shoeboxes were sent to 36 countries. Since 1993, 135 million shoeboxes have gone to more than 150 countries and territories.

Shoeboxes are collected not only in the U.S. but also in Australia, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Spain and the U.K. More than 500,000 volunteers worldwide, with more than 150,000 in the United States, are involved in collecting, shipping, and distributing shoebox gifts. These include simple items like a toothbrush (so they don’t have to share one), clothing and of course a “wow” item like a doll or soccer ball and other fun toys.

This is a great family project to shop and fill a box together and include a lot of encouragement to the recipient. These gifts will go to children in some of the hardest-to-reach countries around the world. The boxes are distributed all during the year — not just Christmas. It is well-planned and each child will only get one box during their lifetime.

In June, we interviewed two local people, Jennell Farrell and Ed Leivas, who went to Liberia in May for a shoebox distribution. They were amazed at the organization and planning that went into each distribution and working with locals on the ground. As volunteers they each paid $3,200 for the “privilege” of being a part of the ministry. Samaritan’s Purse is known for volunteer effort.

One of the most important items in the shoebox is a brochure titled “The Greatest Journey” to participate in a 12-week class called “The Greatest Journey.” This course is designed to impart the gospel of Christ and the message of the Bible. Each child who completes the course receives a certificate and Bible. More than 7.4 million children have participated in The Greatest Journey and accepted Christ.

Our tour of Samaritan’s Purse in Boone was a highlight of our trip. We were impressed with the heart and vision of the organization but also their wise use of money and using volunteers to carry out much of the work they do.

If you want more information you can go to samaritanspurse.org or you can reach out to the local volunteer director, Cliff Hall at chall@samaritan.org. (Cliff is a volunteer himself of course.)

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Bob Shillingstad’s religion columns appear Saturdays in The Press. Email Bob: bjshill@mac.com