History Samaritans Purse was started by a man

History • • • Samaritan’s Purse was started by a man named Bob Pierce. "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God. " Bob Pierce wrote these words in his Bible after visiting hurting children on the island of Kojedo in Korea. This prayer he wrote down is what guided him as he founded the ministry of Samaritan's Purse in 1970. His mission for the organization was "to meet emergency needs in crisis areas through existing evangelical mission agencies and national churches. " After World War II, Bob Pierce traveled in Asia as an evangelist and journalist with the organization Youth For Christ. While in China, he met a few brave women who were living with lepers and orphans, living a sacrificial live to share the love of Jesus Christ. Through these women, Pierce realized his call for ministry. He then dedicated his life to supporting other Christians across the globe who were helping the poor and the needy. In the summer of 1973, Bob Pierce met Franklin Graham, who would come to be his eventual successor. Franklin began to spend more time with Pierce and in 1975 he accompanied Bob on a life-changing tour to some of the world's neediest places. “Franklin saw the poverty of pagan religions and the utter despair of the people they enslave. God had captured his heart for missions. ”

Mission Statement • Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God's love through His Son, Jesus Christ.

"Go and do likewise, " Christ commanded after explaining the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. So we do. Samaritan's Purse travels the world's highways looking for victims along the way. We are quick to bandage the wounds we see, but like the Samaritan, we don't stop there. In addition to meeting immediate, emergency needs, we help these victims recover and get back on their feet. No matter where we go or what we do, we offer more than help. We offer hope. To suffering people in a broken world, we share the news of the only One who can bring true peace—Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

• • Worldwide Offices Samaritan’s Purse has worldwide offices in Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia; with its international headquarters in Boone, NC. • • Board of Directors: There are various professionals working for Samaritan’s Purse. Some come from church roles, some are finance majors, and lots are in the medical field to help those around the world who need medical attention. • • • • • • Sterling Carroll, Board Treasurer – President, Carroll Companies, Inc. Melvin Cheatham, M. D. , Director Emeritus – Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at UCLA Medical Center Michael Cheatham, M. D. – Director, Surgical Intensive Care Units, Orlando Regional Medical Center James Furman, Board Vice Chairman and Assistant Treasurer, Director Emeritus – President, Tar Heel Capital Corp. Richard Furman, M. D. – Retired Surgeon Pedro Garcia-Carrillo – Senior Pastor, Calvary Chapel Kendall Franklin Graham, Board Chairman and President - CEO, Samaritan's Purse Melvin Graham – President, Graham Enterprises Roy Graham – Assistant Director of Facilities, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Skip Heitzig – Senior Pastor, Calvary Chapel Thomas Hodges – Director, City President, Managing Director, Private Wealth Management, Sun. Trust Bank Douglas Horne – President, Horne Properties Graeme Keith, Director Emeritus – Chairman, The Keith Corporation Felix Martin del Campo, D. D. S. – Family Dentistry James Oliver – Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church Brian Pauls– President, Gateway Business Park Phyllis Payne, Board Secretary - Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Samaritan's Purse Jerry Prevo, D. Div – Senior Pastor – Anchorage Baptist Temple Ross Rhoads, D. Div. , Director Emeritus - Evangelist Paul Saber – President, Manna Development Group, LLC Robert Shank– Founder/CEO, The Master’s Program  

Additional Programs in Samaritan’s Purse: • Since 1997, the Children's Heart Project (CHP) has arranged lifesaving operations for more than 800 children from Bosnia, Kosovo, Honduras, Uganda, Mongolia, and Bolivia. • CHP works with top-quality hospitals to provide surgery for children who live in countries where the required medical expertise and equipment are not available. Samaritan's Purse arranges airfare for the children, a parent, and a translator. A typical group includes two children, their mothers, and a female Christian interpreter.

Emergency Relief • Samaritan's Purse specializes in meeting critical needs for victims of war, disaster, famine, and epidemics in the world's most troubled regions. We match resources to needs, personnel to situations, capabilities to opportunities. We often work through ministry partners already on the scene of a crisis.

• Operation Christmas Child goes across the globe to deliver Christmas presents to poverty stricken villages where the children wouldn’t get gifts any other way. People all around have the chance to fill shoe boxes with items such as soap, toothbrushes, etc. and also fun toys and candy that the children receive as a Christmas present.