The minute Dr. Tommy Newton set foot in the Boone processing center for Operation Christmas Child and watched as volunteers prayed over the hundreds of brightly colored shoeboxes stacked on a conveyor belt, he was enamored.
The feeling, he said, has just grown more intense as Newton, now a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child’s shoebox ministry, has discovered the intensity of the ministry effort and the outreach it actually provides across the globe to thousands of children, many learning about Christ for the very first time.
“For me, personally,” Newton said during a recent interview in the Independent offices, “it is just heartwarming to be a part of this ministry. I really, truly feel like I am able to be a part of what Jesus called us to do in the Great Commission.”
Newton has always had a heart for children, serving on the sidelines of countless high school football games and through his long-time Fitness Renaissance program, which honored kids and their health goals, and he was looking yet another way to serve when Operation Christmas Child and the shoebox ministry came into focus.
He and wife Annette had prepared the shoeboxes before, he said, helping out at both his church in Clinton, Graves Memorial, and through a Topsail Beach church, Emma Anderson Memorial Chapel, but after he retired from the medical profession he wanted a more up close and personal look at Samaritan’s Purse and the OCC facilities in Boone.
“Annette and I went, and wow, what an experience,” Newton said. “I just felt the love of God all around me. It was a love of God, a love of children, really a love of humanity. It was so powerful. The experience, well, was I instantly enamored with it.”
That first visit turned into another and, in 2024, Newton became a year-round volunteer and church relations team leader for Sampson and Cumberland counties.
“I act as the liaison between Operation Christmas Child and the churches in those areas. I do the outreach and I volunteer in the processing center in Boone. It’s just a win-win for me, a perfect way for me to help children, to serve and, to hopefully, help spread the love of Jesus to others.”
One of his most rewarding opportunities, so far, he said, was when Clinton High head soccer coach Brad Spell came to him asking for 45 shoeboxes.
“He’d heard me talk about the shoebox ministry at church because we had decided to take it on as a mission focus, so he came to me and said he wanted all those boxes because he and his entire team are doing a shoebox each. I think that’s just wonderful. It really touched my heart because I know this is a great project and a really great service-centered thing for kids to do,” Newton attested.
While the shoebox ministry isn’t new, it always takes on a life of its own for those who become entrenched in the service, Newton noted.
“Clubs can do this, churches can do it, individuals can do it. It’s pretty simple, really. Get a normal size shoe box, pack it with the acceptable items (see fact box) you can purchase, like puzzles, toothbrushes, a small toy, take it to the dropoff site, which is Grove Park Baptist Church in Clinton, and drop them off. And what a blessing you get.”
Graves, Newton pointed out, is doing 100 shoeboxes. Other churches are also participating at different levels.
Once collected, the packed shoeboxes are delivered to one of eight processing centers, two of which are in North Carolina — Charlotte and Boone.
At the processing centers, Newton pointed out, 18 different teams inspect the boxes and prepare them for shipping.
“One of the neat things about your shoebox is that they scan each box and provide a matching QR code so you can track where your box is going overseas. Another amazing thing is that a shoebox packed in Sampson County will head to a child in one of over 100 countries worldwide.”
Shoeboxes are packed for various age groups — boys and girls, ages 2 to 4, 5 to 9 and 10 to 14 — and contain everything from “wow items” like dolls, soccer balls, stuffed animals and toy trucks to school supplies, personal care items, clothing and accessories and toys, all outlined by Samaritan’s Purse.
Operation Christmas Child is a project by Samaritan’s Purse that collects gift-filled shoeboxes for children in need around the world. The project aims to share the message of Jesus Christ as well as provide the many items that some have never had before.
After receiving a shoebox, many children also have the opportunity to participate in a 12-lesson follow-up discipleship program called The Greatest Journey, where they can learn about the Christian faith and receive a Bible in their own language, something, Newton said, that truly touched his heart and made him even more humbled to be a part of such a ministry.
“There are so many humbling things about this,” he attested. “When you are at the processing center and you are watching all those thousands of shoeboxes on that conveyor belt, it is amazing. But, what’s more amazing is every hour everything and everybody in that building stops, a chaplain gets up in front of everyone and shows a video of the children receiving shoeboxes. The joy on those faces will bring tears to your eyes.”
Then, Newton said, after the video, everyone puts their hand on a box and prays for that box, the person who is to receive it and the ministry that will come from that one box, the love that will be spread among others.
“The same thing happens when those crates are moved. Someone prays over those crates and those boxes. Everyone is very intentional about their prayers — for the children, for the boxes, for those who will be moved or find Christ because of those boxes.”
Last year, 12 million shoeboxes were delivered to over 100 countries, with some of the shoeboxes being transported to remote destinations by donkeys or canoe, reaching children, many who have never even received a gift or heard about Christ.
This year the goal is 12.5 million.
“It is a true evangelism opportunity, no doubt about it,” Newton attested.
The tracts inside the shoeboxes are written in 100 different languages, spreading the gospel message and Christianity into places where God’s word has never gone, the retired physician said.
“You never really know the impact one shoebox can have or on how many. That’s meaningful to me in a very deep and personal way. By participating, you are fulfilling Christ’s command to be fishers of men. And you are impacting a child’s life by just doing the shoebox.”
Newton, tears forming as he talked, shared a story about a young man, a team coach at OCC.
“His name was Alex,” Newton recalled, “and he was from Rwanda. He was orphaned at age 4 during the genocide. At age 7 he got a shoebox. It was the first gift he had ever received. Now he works for Operation Christmas Child.”
Newton said Alex went back to Rwanda to help hand out shoeboxes to the orphanage and while he was in that country he found the person responsible for killing his family. “He visited that person in prison and he forgave them and prayed with them. Now that is powerful; that is God at work,” an emotional Newton stressed.
The OCC slogan is “It’s All About Jesus,” something Newton said he could attest to being true. “Everything about Operation Christmas Child is about the love of Jesus. It is a tangible way to expose children to the love of Jesus Christ.
“For me, it’s a way to serve, it’s a way to stay involved with children, to see those sweet faces smiling with pure joy. It touches my heart, I can tell you that. And it’s a way for me to reconnect with my patients through my liaison position, too. It’s, as I said, a win-win in every way.”
Newton encourages all those who want to participate in the Operation Christmas Child ministry to reach out to Samaritan’s Purse.
“I truly feel like this is a worthwhile ministry that spreads the love of Christ.”
To participate in the shoebox ministry, call Samaritan’s Purse, 1-828-262-1980.