Franklin Graham carries on his father's legacy of sharing the Gospel with millions around the world.
But the radical Left can't stand his unapologetic message about Jesus Christ.
And Franklin Graham revealed one truth about Christmas that left liberals speechless.
Franklin Graham Shares Message About the "First Gift" of Christmas
Franklin Graham joined Fox News' annual Christmas tree lighting celebration in New York City Friday night with a powerful message that cut through decades of secular holiday noise.
The president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse didn't sugarcoat what Christmas is really about.
"Christmas is about giving," Graham told the crowd gathered in Fox Square. "God gave the first gift — His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to take our sins."¹
Graham appeared alongside hundreds gathered for the network's holiday kickoff, presenting one of the gift-filled shoeboxes packed by his 3-year-old granddaughter.
The box — stuffed with a Minnie Mouse toy, school supplies and a handwritten note — represented the kind of gift Samaritan's Purse has distributed worldwide for nearly 30 years through Operation Christmas Child.
"This year, we'll have about 13 million of these boxes," Graham explained. "Each one has about 30 gifts in it."²
That's 13 million opportunities to share the Gospel message with children who desperately need hope.
Fox News employees packed more than 400 shoeboxes ahead of National Collection Week, which runs through Monday at nearly 5,000 drop-off locations nationwide.
"To have the help of Fox — packing boxes — it's been wonderful," Graham said. "It's a great partnership."³
Samaritan's Purse Reaches Children the Left Wants Forgotten
Operation Christmas Child isn't just about toys and trinkets.
The project involves roughly 300,000 volunteers reaching deep jungles, city slums, mountainside villages and more than 1,000 remote Pacific islands.
Shoeboxes collected in the U.S. combine with gifts from around the world to reach children in difficult or isolated regions where many leftist aid organizations refuse to operate because they won't preach the Gospel.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 232 million boxes to children in over 170 countries and territories.
"At Samaritan's Purse we have the opportunity to share the true meaning of Christmas with millions of children around the world through Operation Christmas Child," Graham told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.⁴
"I am so grateful for each and every person who makes this project possible and for every shoebox that opens the door for us to tell another child the Good News of Jesus Christ," Graham added.
The program partners with local churches worldwide to distribute gifts paired with evangelistic programs and community outreach.
Many distributions include The Greatest Journey, a 12-lesson discipleship program that teaches children how to follow Jesus and share their faith with others.
In 2024 alone, 5.5 million children participated in The Greatest Journey program, with 3.2 million making commitments to follow Christ.
On average, 1,000 churches are planted annually through Operation Christmas Child ministry.
Liberals Hate When Christians Actually Live Out Their Faith
Graham's message about God's gift of His Son represents everything the secular Left despises about Christianity.
They want a sanitized holiday stripped of any mention of Jesus Christ — just shopping, Santa Claus, and superficial "good feelings."
But Graham refuses to play their game.
"We want to teach children the importance of giving," Graham said at the Fox News event. "God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, and we want the children of the world to understand the importance of receiving a gift, and for the children who pack them, the importance of learning how to give."⁵
"We live in a selfish world, but this teaches the next generation the importance of giving," he continued.
That message terrifies the radical Left because it points children toward Christ instead of toward the godless values Democrats want to force on society.
Franklin Graham inherited his father Billy Graham's mantle as one of America's leading evangelists.
Under Franklin Graham's leadership since 1979, Samaritan's Purse has met the needs of poor, sick, and suffering people in more than 170 countries through disaster relief, medical care, and Gospel ministry.
Some liberal churches and activist groups have attacked Operation Christmas Child for years, claiming they oppose Franklin Graham's biblical stance on marriage and sexuality.
These critics would rather children around the world go without gifts than support an organization that actually preaches the Gospel without compromise.
"God so loved this world that He gave His only-begotten Son," Graham reminded the Fox News crowd. "That's what Christmas is all about."⁶
Families can pack shoeboxes at drop-off locations through Monday or build one online at SamaritansPurse.org, where they can select items digitally and add photos or personal notes.
Franklin Graham's message about the "first gift" of Christmas represents exactly what America needs to hear during a holiday season increasingly dominated by commercialism and secular values.
¹ Jasmine Baehr, "Franklin Graham shares 'first gift' of Christmas as Samaritan's Purse prepares to deliver 13M shoebox gifts," Fox News, November 22, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
