Samaritan's Purse

The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God's desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, “Go and do likewise." For over 40 years, Samaritan's Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ's command by going to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ. As our teams work in crisis areas of the world, people often ask, “Why did you come?" The answer is always the same: “We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Our ministry is all about Jesus—first, last, and always. As the Apostle Paul said, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5, NASB).

Preparedness for international crisis relief is of vital importance. Based on the certainty of more disasters and the likelihood that they will have even wider impact, Samaritan's Purse is prepared to provide efficient and effective emergency relief for people and communities living amidst the ensuing destruction. A central motto of Samaritan's Purse is “the quality of our work is the platform of our witness." To ensure consistently excellent work, our disaster relief program includes several components which are essential when responding to humanitarian crises occurring globally and, at times, simultaneously:
—structured response with clear goals and defined outcomes
—clearly identified roles and responsibilities before a disaster strikes
—qualified and highly-trained staff
—complete organizational involvement across all departments

VOLUNTEERS: Our worldwide projects would not be possible without our hard-working and loyal volunteers. Since 1998, more than 152,000 volunteers have worked with U.S. Disaster Relief to repair roofs, remove downed trees and debris, sift through ash, and prepare affected homes for repair. More than 100,000 domestic volunteers and 6,000 international volunteers serve annually through Operation Christmas Child—enabling Samaritan's Purse to reach millions of children with the Gospel. More than 920,000 teachers have been trained to take children through The Greatest Journey discipleship program, through which nine million children have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Hundreds of medical professionals serve with World Medical Mission each year, meeting medical needs for thousands of people in dozens of developing countries.

CHURCH PARTNERS: By partnering with local churches around the world, we have increased access, knowledge, and support to bring physical and spiritual aid in the Name of Jesus. Through U.S. Disaster Relief, we rely on a national network of churches to support our deployments. Internationally, our church partnerships help facilitate Operation Christmas Child and disaster responses—providing us an expanded capacity to reach the nations.

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM (IMT) AND DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE TEAM (DART): The Samaritan's Purse IMT monitors global situations, communicates with our partners around the world, coordinates emergency relief responses, and supports DARTs to provide relief and assistance in the wake of natural and man-made disasters. Currently we have more than 800 people trained to serve on these teams, which demonstrate an exemplary standard of excellence in assessment, information exchange, and managerial skills.

EMERGENCY FIELD HOSPITAL: Ready to deploy at a moment's notice, the emergency field hospital provides medical relief in disaster-stricken areas where the medical infrastructure is damaged, overwhelmed, or non-existent. Each unit is customizable and can include an emergency room, two operating theatres, a critical care unit, and more than 50 inpatient beds. This asset has enabled Samaritan's Purse medical staff to provide relief to earthquake survivors in Ecuador, life-saving care to more than 4,000 victims of war in Iraq, and medical care for more than 5,700 cyclone survivors in Mozambique.

AVIATION: Samaritan's Purse brings relief to disaster areas and facilitates development projects through the use of aircraft based in Africa, Alaska, and North Carolina. In a single flight, our DC-8 aircraft can transport 40 tons of relief supplies and 30 emergency personnel into a disaster zone. With a 7,000-mile range, the aircraft can fly directly from its North Carolina hangar to nearly anywhere on the globe.

More than 168 million children have found love and the hope of the Gospel in shoebox gifts distributed through Operation Christmas Child. To date, nearly 19 million children have participated in The Greatest Journey discipleship program that accompanies shoebox distributions.

Since 1998, U.S. Disaster Relief has helped more than 43,000 families through disaster responses in 37 states.

Globally, Samaritan's Purse has responded to crises in dozens of countries by bringing emergency relief in Jesus' Name. In 2019, we treated Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo near the epicenter of the second largest Ebola outbreak in history; airlifted relief supplies and an emergency field hospital to provide aid to cyclone survivors in Mozambique; and provided care in Colombia for Venezuelan migrants escaping severe food shortages, a broken economy, and a collapsing healthcare system.

Across the world, Samaritan's Purse has impacted impoverished communities and vulnerable people groups through a variety of development projects including: Animals, Agriculture, and Livelihoods; Children's Ministries; Construction Projects; Discipleship, Education, and Training; Feeding Programs; Health and Medical Ministries; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Projects; and Women's Programs.

Samaritan's Purse will continue to bring physical and spiritual aid to hurting people around the world in Jesus' Name—as we've done since our inception in 1970. With dependable capabilities like the DC-8 and innovative strategies such as the emergency field hospital, we will expand our positioning on the frontlines of humanitarian disasters.