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Contents Background ......................................................................................................................................................... 1

How to Use Ideas in this Lesson Plan ................................................................................................................. 2

Memory Verse ..................................................................................................................................................... 2

Biblical Text ........................................................................................................................................................... 2

Opening Activity & Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 3

Worship ................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Video Lesson ........................................................................................................................................................ 3

Set the Scene and Act it Out! ............................................................................................................................ 3

Lesson Follow Up .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Repeat the Memory Verse Together ................................................................................................................ 5

Prayer .................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Enhance the Lesson with Activities! .................................................................................................................. 6

Games to Make the Lesson Fun! ....................................................................................................................... 7

Coloring Activity Option: .................................................................................................................................... 8

Craft Activity Option ........................................................................................................................................... 8

Resources Used: .................................................................................................................................................. 9

Background This summer, World Hope International invites you and your church to join us in the fight against poverty as we collect small change to meet the immediate needs of more than 400 unsponsored children around the world. With your support, children waiting and hoping for a long-term sponsor in Sierra Leone, Haiti, Liberia and the Philippines, can continue attending school – or step into a classroom for the very first time!

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When a little boy offered just five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus fed thousands! Like you, we believe in miracles. We believe that God uses even the small gifts we offer. And we believe that small acts of great faith can make an enormous change in our broken world.

A small offering of coins can confirm to a waiting child that they are not forgotten and that their story is being told. Five loaves and two fish fed five thousand. What will God do with your small change?

The campaign lasts from May 1st, 2018 through September 15th, 2018. Materials included are ideal for a Sunday School, Kids Church, VBS, Missions Conference, or kids/youth camp. Your church can register for free cardstock coin banks children and youth can color, put together and collect change in! For more information go to www.worldhope.org/5and2.

How to Use Ideas in this Lesson Plan World Hope International has put together resources in one place to be able to help you teach kids about how Jesus can do a lot with a little through the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. You are welcome to use as little or all of what is included – it’s up to you, and what you believe is appropriate for your age group you teach.

Engage the children with an opening activity and then jump into worship and watch the video lesson. Reinforce the lesson with questions and acting out the story! Follow up the fun with crafts and games. Make sure to make the coin banks if your church chose to order them. Kids should walk out of Children’s Church knowing exactly what the 5&2 Challenge stands for – and they should be encouraged knowing Jesus can do big things with even a little change!

Memory Verse Come up with actions to pair with the verse to help kids remember!

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.”

Biblical Text Mark 6:30-44 (NIV )- Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

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Opening Activity & Discussion Idea: Get kids thinking about how some little things in life become a lot!

Say: So what do I mean when I say I have a little? How much is that? (Kids may suggest small objects, size of kids to adults, amount of items compared to many, etc.) Okay. What does it mean when I say I have a LOT? (Kids may respond with ideas like big piles of candy, big adults, a huge backyard, etc.) Okay. That makes sense! But have you ever seen a little become a lot? (Have kids think about the answer.. prompt with things such as seeds into fruit, a puppy into a huge dog, popcorn kernels turning into popcorn, etc.) Sometimes, a little becomes a lot. Today you will hear about how Jesus did a lot with just a little!

Activity Idea: Little Soap & a Lot of Bubbles! [Materials|bubbles] Give out bottles of bubbles. Ask the children how many bubbles can come out of such a little bottle?!

Activity Idea: Popcorn Praise! [Materials|none] Talk with the children how Jesus can do a lot with a little. Give them examples: loving us, coming as a baby, healing people, etc. Engage the children by having them be popcorn kernels, curled up on the ground! Ask them to be a popcorn kernel exploding into popcorn (jumping up in the air), when they can think of something Jesus can do.

Worship Use songs you have or purchase ahead of time some suggested tracks below.

Younger Kids: My God is So Big by Amber Sky Records Younger Kids: My God is Number One by Amber Sky Records Older Kids: God of Wonders by Third Day Older Kids: Lay Me Down by Chris Tomlin

Video Lesson Download ahead of time the Speed Sketch on Feeding the 5000 from the book of Mark. Available on The 5&2 Challenge website Resources page. www.worldhope.org/5and2/resources

Set the Scene and Act it Out! Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand - Mark 6:30-44

Leader Says: “Gather around! Come and sit down! Whenever you go on a long trip – are you tired? Are you hungry? When you do a lot of activities, I’m sure you end up ready to eat! Well, Jesus and his friends, the disciples, had been teaching and preaching all day. They were soooo busy, they didn’t have a chance to eat lunch! They were so hungry! When your tummy is hungry, what noise does it make? (Gurgle, gurgle). That’s right! Jesus and the disciples’ stomachs were gurgling! They were hungry! When are you sleepy, what do you do? Do you yawn and rub your eyes? Let’s pretend to be sleepy! (Yawn, and rub eyes.) Jesus and the disciples were pretty tired too!

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Well, Jesus said “Come with me, on this boat, I’ll take you to a quiet place and we’ll get some rest!” So let’s pretend we’re the disciples with Jesus (get everyone to stand up!). Let’s travel over here and remember to row in the boat (walk through the room, using your arms as oars) and oh yes, I think this looks like a good quiet place (have everyone sit down). But you know what happened?! Everyone they had been teaching saw where they went, and ran so fast they got there before them! Let’s jump up and run in place and pretend we’re the crowd so excited to see Jesus (run in place, wave hands in the air, saying “Hi Jesus!!”). Okay, everyone take a seat.

Though Jesus and his friends were tired, and hungry, they were kind, patient and loving to the people in the crowd. They were excited to keep teaching more things about how God loves them so much! Can you pretend to be teaching with the crowd, and tell your neighbor, God loves you! (have kids tell their neighbors, God loves you!).

The disciples told Jesus – it is getting late! The sun is setting, the sky is getting darker and people are getting hungry! It’s time for dinner! But we are in a very remote area, where there are no stores to buy from. The disciples told Jesus he should ask people to leave, go home, and go find some stores in the surrounding villages to find something eat.

But you know what Jesus said!? He said to the disciples, you give them something to eat! The disciples looked at Jesus with a funny face (Ask the kids, can you make a funny face!?) and said, that would take so much money! How can we feed 5,000 people!?! Do we need to go travel to a store and buy as much as we can?! I’m not sure if we can get enough food with the little money we have!

Jesus said, how many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see! So the disciples walked around and found out there was a little boy who offered to give his simple lunch to help made up of only five loaves of bread and two fish! Can you show me how many loaves of bread there were? (Hold up a hand to show five fingers) And can you show me how many fish the disciples found? (Hold up two fingers.)

Jesus told his friends, the disciples, to have all the people sit down in groups of 50 and 100 on the green grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks as he broke the bread. He gave them to his disciples to give to all the groups of people. He also divided the fish for everyone too!

Everyone ate and were so happy and satisfied. What noise do you make when you are so fully and happy? (make an mmmmmm noise, and rub your tummy.) After everyone had eaten and was full, there were twelve baskets of bread pieces and fish leftover!

Visualize 5,000 people with Dots Sheet and show the kids the red dots for bread and the blue dots for fish.

Look at all these dots! Do you know how many there are? Can you count them!? There are SO many! That is 5,000 dots. Let’s pretend they were the 5,000 people that Jesus and his disciples were teaching. Now, if I show you these red and blue dots – and tell you that that is the loaves of bread and fish, would you think that could feed 5,000 people?! Probably not. But Jesus did a miracle. When that little boy offered the little that he had, Jesus did something big. Jesus fed thousands! God uses even the small gifts we have to offer to make life altering change!

Let’s say the memory verse together to remember this. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.

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Lesson Follow Up Engage the kids with questions about the story ensuring they were paying attention and could teach the story to someone else.

Say: 5,000 people had followed Jesus and the disciples to a remote place. They didn’t pack a lunch and didn’t know where their food was going to come from. They were hungry. Even the disciples didn’t know how they were going to eat or feed the crowd. But Jesus was able to provide an answer using something so little as one boy’s lunch. God hears us, and can give us exactly what we need in unexpected ways. That is why we place our trust in God to provide.

Question Suggestions – Option 1 1. What was in the boy’s lunch? 2. How many loaves of bread did the disciples have? 3. How many fish did the disciples have? 4. What did Jesus do with the loaves of bread and the fish? 5. Why did Jesus feed all the people with the boy’s lunch? 6. Who can do a lot with a little?

Question Suggestions – Option 2 1. Can anyone tell me about a time you were really hungry? 2. What is an example of a need you have had that God has met for you? 3. As we head into the week, what are some needs you can trust God for this week

Repeat the Memory Verse Together Come up with actions to pair with the verse to help kids remember!

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.”

Prayer End the story by praying BIG prayers!

Say: God provides in so many ways for us, doesn’t He? He often works in ways we don’t expect so we easily recognize only He can provide for our deepest needs. Many times God involves us in His provision for ourselves and also for others – using our time, our money and our abilities. God wants us to know He is the ultimate provider even when it seems so impossible to us!

What are you relying on God for right now? What are you taking for granted that He is providing for you? Let’s take time today and think about any food you eat and water that you drink. Think about where you live, what you are wearing, how you came to church and even about the air you are breathing right now. Let’s pray and think about all the needs God has met today, in the past and we pray He continues to meet tomorrow.

Or Say: What a wonderful story! Thank you for helping reenact the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000! Let’s pray together and thank God for being able to do anything! Dear God, thank you for your love! Thank you for the Bible and this great story of a little boy being used for a miracle. God, we are so thankful you take what we have to offer, even if small things, and work a miracle to do BIG things with it. We love you. Amen.

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Enhance the Lesson with Activities! Activity Idea: Little List, Big Miracles! [Materials|butcher paper or poster board, markers]

Say: Jesus takes what we give Him and multiples it to build His kingdom. Jesus wants us to be a part of His miracles! Do you think the little boy enjoyed helping feed the 5,000? You bet! Let’s make a list of what your and/or your family has to offer your neighbors, the church or other kids around the world. List may include: toys, clothes, money, food, time, abilities, books, etc.

How might God use some of these gifts on this list? What miracles could Jesus do with these gifts? Do you think Jesus expects us to gather what we have like the disciples did and give it to Jesus, and ask Him to bless it? We get to watch the miracles be performed by Him – isn’t that amazing!?

Activity Idea: Ordinary into Exordinary! [Materials|paper, markers]

Ask the kids to draw something ordinary, that they use every day, on a piece of paper. Examples: spoon, hairbrush, pencil, etc. After about a minute, have the kids trade papers with each other.

Say: You were just passed a drawing of something ordinary. I want you to think of several ways you could use that ordinary item differently than what it is intended to be used for. For example, a fork could be used as a hairbrush, etc.

After kids have shared their answers, discuss the following: 1. Why might Jesus work with ordinary people to do big things like miracles? 2. What do you think God could do with something you feel is ordinary about you? Say: God used an ordinary boy to provide lunch for 5,000 people. We trust God to provide and meet our needs, and sometimes He uses ordinary people like us to do extraordinary things!

Activity: Put Together 5&2 Challenge Coin Banks! [Materials|coin bank cutouts, markers, crayons, any other bedazzling items!]

Say: Does anyone know what this is? We are going to decorate these amazing coin banks! Once you are finished, I will help you put it together into a hexagon where you can put coins in it! Our church is participating in the 5&2 Challenge! Just like Jesus performed an incredible miracle with five loaves and two fish, imagine what God could do with our small change that we fill these coin banks with! The 5&2 Challenge is raising money to be able to help other kids like you be able to go to school. Many of them cannot attend without help as their family may not be able to afford to send all the kids to school. Your change is going to make a huge difference in their lives and make sure they get to not only go to school but make sure they have proper supplies and clothes to attend too!

When you take the coin bank home today, remember to keep it in an important spot so you can remember to put as many coins as you can in it! Throughout the month of November, we have several church services where you can bring your coin banks in and dump the money right into the offering bucket for the 5&2 Challenge! How many coins do you think you can get in this thing? Think you can fill it to the top!?

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Games to Make the Lesson Fun! Game Idea: Little Offering, Big Meal Supplies: Two sheets of paper, marker, basket Prepare: Draw two fish on one sheet of paper and five loaves on the other paper. Fold each paper into a size that fits in a child’s palm. Let’s play another game to understand how amazing Jesus’ miracle of feeding the five thousand people really was. As we play the game, remember just as Jesus used the boy’s small offering of bread and fish, He uses your offering, big or small, to help others. Directions: 1. Children close their eyes as the teacher secretly hides the two drawings in the same place. 2. The children open their eyes and search for the drawings of food just as the disciples searched through the crowd for food. 3. The child who finds the drawings then brings them to the teacher. 4. The teacher gives thanks and tears each picture into four pieces. 5. Child then distributes the eight pieces to the other children who each tear off a small piece of the loaves drawing and of the fish drawing. Children tear pieces of paper as many times as it takes for each child to have one piece. 6. Finally, pass a basket to collect any leftover pieces. Children may keep a small piece of paper to keep as a reminder of this miracle.

Game Idea: Share the Love! Directions:

1. Have two teams line up in relay-style lines. 2. Say: Only one little boy brought fish and bread to lunch, but when he shared, Jesus used the food to feed the whole crowd. Everyone was happy. We’re going to see if you have a happy face you can share, because Jesus can use your shared smile to make others happy. 3. Instruct the first person in each line to make a happy, silly face and show it to the person behind them. 4. That person imitates the face and shows it to the person behind them until the face has made its way to the end of the line. 5. The person at the end of the line runs up to the beginning of the line and makes a different face. 6. Play continues until everyone has had a turn. 7. Say: You shared a happy, silly face with everyone until we all laughed! Looks like we have plenty of fun to go around and some left over, too! Game Idea: Fish and Loaves Confetti!

Supplies: Paper (or paper plates), timer

Prepare: On the paper, draw simple outline of five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Be sure the drawing fills the entire sheet of paper. Make enough copies for each team to have two papers. This paper stands for a meal of five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Say: How many pieces of paper can you tear from this one piece of paper in one minute? Let’s find out! Directions: 1. Form teams of three children on each team. 2. Give an identical sheet of paper to each team. 3. On your signal, start the timer. 4. As you time one minute, teams race to tear one sheet of paper into as many pieces of paper as they can. 5. At the end of one minute, tell the children to stop. 6. Each team counts how many pieces of paper they created from the one sheet of paper. The goal is to be the team with the most pieces of paper.

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7. After throwing away the paper from the first round, play again. Challenge children to discuss strategies to improve their scores before you start the game. If you had plenty of time, how many pieces do you think you could tear one sheet of paper into? (Children respond.) Do you think you could tear it into 5,000 pieces? (Children respond.) If so, how small would each piece be? (Children respond.) Now think about dividing up your food. How much can you eat for lunch? (Children respond.) What would you do if I told you to feed everyone at church (or school) with the same amount of food you eat for lunch? Could you feed everyone with that little bit of food and know that everyone would have enough to eat? (Children respond.) Jesus asked His disciples to feed five thousand people. All they had for food was five small loaves and two small fish. Let’s find out what happened.

Game Idea: Fill the Basket!

Place 12 baskets or small cups out on a table. Each has a number on it from 1-12. Provide precut bread shapes and fish shapes. The children should count the corresponding number of fish or loaves into each basket.

Coloring Activity Option:

Feeding the 5,000 with 5&2 See link on The 5&2 Challenge Resources Page.

Craft Activity Option: The 5&2 Basket See link on The 5&2 Challenge Resources Page.

Using the provided template, cut out the bread and fish. Cut out the basket and either staple together for a 3- D option, or glue onto a full piece of cardstock paper. The bread and fish can be colored and slipped into the basket. Encourage the kids to write the memory verse on it!

Other ideas:

“The Big Picnic” free curriculum including songs, message, and take home sheets by Lifechurch

https://open.life.church/resources/2776-the-big-picnic

Use playdough to make fish, bread, and a favorite food. Pray for those who are hungry.

Word search sheet - See link on The 5&2 Challenge Resources Page

Color by number sheet – See link on The 5&2 Challenge Resources Page

Easy fish craft:

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Resources Used: https://www.cokesbury.com/Pdf/Curriculum/Samples/69623T.pdf

http://freesundayschoolcurriculum.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/12503916/lesson_44_jesus_feeds_5000.pdf

http://childrensministry.com/jesus-fed-five-thousand-sunday-school-lesson

https://craftingthewordofgod.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/feeding-50004.pdf

http://www.sunday-school-center.com/support-files/lg3-lesson-7-jesus-feeds-the-5000.pdf

http://www.resourcewell.org/children-ministry/lesson/2lesson_5_feeding_the_five_thousand_6-12

https://open.life.church/resources/2776-the-big-picnic