Happy Birthday!

Can you believe it? It has been a whole year since the first coupon-clipping session and initial shopping trip for 5-2 Ministry. After asking for people to donate their left-over grocery store coupons and extra pocket change for about 6 weeks, we were ready to get the ball rolling. We had enough resources to begin our journey, and off we went!

How exciting it was to experience such great success on our very first week: 1 shopper went to Publix and one went to Kroger. A total of 128 items, or $228 worth of groceries, was purchased for a total of $75.36! We knew without a doubt that God had blessed this ministry, and greater things were yet to come.

Little did we know what the Lord had in store for us over the course of the next 12 months. As the word began to spread about 5-2 Ministry, so did the enthusiasm. People began to make increasingly greater donations of not only their coupon flyers and finances, but also of their time and talents as well.

As I write this today, it is amazing to realize that ALL of our expectations have been exceeded in a HUGE way! In just one year, thousands of coupon flyers have been donated to 5-2 Ministry (215 flyers were received last week alone!). Thousands of dollars worth of financial contributions have been received as well (a little more than our initial request for pocket change!). Countless volunteers have answered the call to clip coupons, shop for, and deliver groceries to the co-op, and those numbers are increasing steadily.

Finally, and most importantly, it is a true joy to announce that 21,997 items have now been donated to the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry through 5-2 Ministry! There was never any doubt that God had His hand on this ministry from the very beginning, but to witness results like this is truly miraculous! It appears that 5-2 Ministry was appropriately named: just as the Lord blessed a meager offering of 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish and used it to feed many, He has blessed our efforts so that many have been fed as well. Happy Birthday, 5-2!


Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have poured out on 5-2 Ministry and on the families in our community who have been reached through it, and for the privilege of being called to do your work in this world. Amen.

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...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 the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied...

Matthew 14:19-20