MT. AIRY, Ga. — What began 17 years ago with a humble goal of 128 shoeboxes has grown into a communitywide movement filling more than one truckload of gifts for children around the world.
River Point Community Church’s annual Operation Christmas Child project, led by Lead Pastor Kevin Mangum and Missions Pastor Nate Weiser, reached a record-breaking milestone this year—packing and shipping over 7,500 shoeboxes filled with toys, hygiene items, and school supplies.
When Mangum arrived at River Point nearly two decades ago, church members Hollis and Linda Benfield already had a heart for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse.
“17 years ago, our goal was 128 boxes,” said Mangum. Over time, the church began sending hundreds, and eventually thousands, of gift- and gospel-filled Christmas boxes to children around the world.
Faith and growth go hand in hand
In 2021, when Nate Weiser joined the River Point staff as missions pastor, the church’s Operation Christmas Child goal expanded dramatically. Weiser, a longtime church member, said his first year in charge of the project revealed new possibilities. After volunteers packed 1,000 boxes, the shipping truck arrived to receive them. “We loaded it at the end of the three days, and it felt very empty,” Weiser said. “I thought, how cool would it be if River Point Community Church packed an entire trailer full of boxes?”
After crunching the numbers, Weiser set a long-term goal—7,500 boxes, enough to fill a shipping trailer. He planned for it to take five to ten years. But through faith, prayer, and growing community support, the church met that goal in just over two years, in a welcome but unexpected way.
Partnership expands blessings
River Point initially aimed to pack 3,000 boxes this year—a lofty goal that Weiser committed to prayer.
“All I asked was that the Lord would go before us, prepare a way for us to be able to do 3,000,” he said. “Then I said, ‘Lord, we just want your will to be done and then your power to be shown through it.'”
Soon after, Weiser learned of a local ministry that needed help with its Operation Christmas Child program. Redeemed Ministries had ordered thousands of boxes, but had nowhere to pack them after losing their office location in Mt. Airy. Weiser reached out to Mary Brown, the head of Redeemed Ministries. “She told me [they ordered] 3,000 boxes, and it turns out it was 4,000 boxes,” he said. Initially, the two discussed simply using River Point as a drop-off location for the boxes. They wound up partnering together.
“So then all of a sudden, our 3,000 boxes turned into 7,000 boxes at that moment,” Weiser said. “By the time it was done, we had more items than we had boxes.” So, he ordered more boxes. By the end, volunteers packed over 7,500 boxes, enough to fill a trailer and then some…and meet their long-range goal.
A community effort
The record-breaking success was no solo feat. Dozens of organizations and volunteers joined the effort, including students from Toccoa Falls College, Trinity Classical School, and Habersham Christian Learning Center. “It’s not a River Point thing,” Mangum said, “it’s bigger.”
During the three-day packing event, volunteers of all ages from all over the community filled the church sanctuary—temporarily converting it into a buzzing assembly line. “It was like a factory,” the pastors recalled. “Everyone had a role.”
In just one night, volunteers packed over 3,200 boxes—more than the church used to complete in an entire year.
“It was so well-organized that God provided all the people and all the items and all of the boxes, and the right opportunity in the right season to get something that was very God-sized,” said Weiser.
The pastors pointed to the project’s lasting impact, not just on those who will receive the lovingly packed boxes, but on those who poured their hearts into them.
“It’s difficult to find ways that you can serve alongside your children and for them to witness that Mom and Dad do care about their relationship with the Lord, while also [learning] what it means to serve the community and to serve the world,” Weiser said. “And so that was a huge kind of a blessing to see that.”
Giving beyond the boxes
While it is the worldly gifts of crayons and pencils, notepads, and plush toys that many of the young children receiving them may be most excited about, the spiritual gifts are what carry this mission forward.
“We wanted to send the gospel out into the world. And that was the goal. It was 7,500 gospel opportunities,” Mangum said.
Funding remains a major part of the effort. Each box costs $10 to ship, meaning this year’s total of 7,500 boxes required $75,000 in postage. Mangum said those who wish to help can still contribute through donations marked “Samaritan’s Purse Postage” sent to River Point Church.
“I think people are moved by being able to make a difference for the gospel’s sake around the world,” Mangum said. He recalled how one night, while packing boxes, an older gentleman handed him a large check. He said the man was “extremely moved seeing the generations below him serving in this way for a cause— a greater cause than all of us.”
Champions behind the scenes
Mangum and Weiser praised volunteers Sylvia and Gordon Anderson. She is a regional representative for Samaritan’s Purse, and together, the couple oversees multiple packing events in the area each year. Weiser calls them “a driving force,” adding, “they’re a huge part of this.”
They also acknowledged Brown and Redeemed Ministries, who helped make this year’s massive goal possible. Said Weiser, “They’ve been doing it their way, and then we’ve been doing it our way, but we came together and worked hand in hand, and it turned out to be amazing!”
