Most charities work hard to get Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status from the tax office. But Samaritan’s Purse Australia has renounced DGR for one of its major programmes because its overseas partner churches do evangelism in response to Operation Christmas Child. DGR means that a donation attracts a tax deduction.

“The reason for us foregoing DGR status for Operation Christmas Child is that although it is a developmental tool, in that it often leads to other projects, it is increasingly used by our overseas partners—the ‘local church’—as an evangelism tool,” executive director of Samaritan’s Purse, Jorge Rodrigues told Eternity. “We are foregoing DGR status only for Operation Christmas Child but retaining it for our developmental projects such as water, health, education, farming, animal husbandry and anti-human trafficking. We are also retaining DGR status for disaster relief.”

Operation Christmas Child is Samaritan’s Purse best-known programme. Every year, generous people across the world lovingly pack shoe boxes with gifts: simple, yet powerful messages of God’s unconditional love. It’s a simple hands-on effort that connects with an evangelistic programme mounted by locals and local churches overseas. This year the number of shoe boxes given by Australia and New Zealand will reach a cumulative three million since the programme began.

“We want the freedom to let our overseas partners share the Good News of Jesus through Operation Christmas Child and The Greatest Journey and the only way to accomplish this is to forego DGR status,” Rodrigues told Eternity. “Financially speaking I am very concerned about this huge step of faith that we are taking. Foregoing tax deductibility seems counterintuitive in a world where most charities offer tax deductibility. This year more than ever, we need the understanding and generosity of our supporters.”

“In early June we travelled to Labasa, Fiji to attend the opening of a new church established by a local pastor as a result of a December 2011 shoe box distribution and subsequent The Greatest Journey discipleship program which started in January 2012,” said Rodrigues. “A 10-year-old boy called Melvin received an Operation Christmas Child shoe box as did other kids in his village.

“The Greatest Journey course followed and many adults and children accepted Jesus as Lord and saviour. Over 35 were baptised; they bought land and our supporters donated the money for a church construction.”

About 30 churches were planted in PNG and three in Fiji as a direct result of Samaritan’s Purse partners reaching communities through Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan’s Purse as an organisation does not do the evangelism, but its overseas partners often use the programme to do so. The Greatest Journey is a discipleship program offered to children who receive shoe boxes (with parental consent) and this adds to the evangelism component of Samaritan’s Purse programmes.

samaritanspurse.org.au

Image courtesy of Samaritans Purse.