Matthew 14:16-18 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!" 17And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 18And He said, "Bring them here to Me."
Read the complete account in Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6.
The five founding principles of John Venn, in founding the Society for Missions to Africa and the East (later to become CMS) in 1799 were:
- Follow God’s leading; (doing just as Jesus instructed)
- Begin on a small scale; (just 5 loaves and 2 fish is a small beginning!)
- Put money in second place because money follows ministry; let prayer, study and mutual converse precede its collection; (they prayed and talked and collected - not money - just 5loaves&2fish)
- Success depends on sending people of the highest calibre; (The disciples were high calibre - in God's eyes)
- Depend wholly upon the Spirit of God. (which is what they did...then the miracle happened)