“Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand” (Mark 6:44).
On Dec. 7, 1937, a heavy snowstorm blanketed the area of the Blue Star Highway in western Michigan and stranded dozens of motorists on the highway leading into the small town of Glenn. That evening, after all the residents in town opened their homes to the weary and stranded motorists, they began to ask, “How can we feed all of these people?”
One local merchant suggested pancakes, and the next morning everyone in town ate flapjacks. Solidarity in pancakes—what a miracle!
Jesus knew something about food and miracles, too. In the feeding the 5,000, Jesus took an extreme situation (not enough food, too many people), blessed it and created a miraculous outcome. Amazing outcomes can happen wherever God is present.
Your youth ministry also can be a source of the miraculous to your teenagers. The meals you share, the depth of your welcome, your concern for each other, your prayers and blessings—all of these and more can prove to be a source of God’s grace to your teens. Amazing things can happen when hearts and hands are open—and homes. Sometimes the memories we create in youth ministry can be the atmosphere that compels ministry forward.
Today Glenn, Mich., is known as The Pancake Town. The town also remembers that day in 1937 when pancakes were served and stranded motorists were assisted. No doubt there are key moments and memories that make our respective youth ministries vibrant and alive, and we would do well to remember and celebrate them.
