Giving Tuesday - Big Announcement Below

(But please read the story before the announcement. I want to give this the perspective and spirit of celebration that it deserves.)

I have recently been studying John 6 again. In fact, I took an entire week to sit with this one chapter, and I still feel like I am only scratching the surface of all it can teach me. This week of study was special to me.

I have always thought of John 6 as the chapter of the Loaves and Fishes, and it is. But it has also become a powerful reminder of something that has guided me personally, my family, and MTN OPS for many years.

The Beginning of a Miracle

I will never forget our early days of entrepreneurship. We were facing very challenging times. After multiple business failures, I remember sitting with my wife, Jenna, talking about how to feed our children. She carried a heavy burden, doing all she could to make something out of nothing. She performed miracles, cracking our own wheat, stretching every meal, and never letting anything go to waste.

As a husband and father, I was consumed with the question of how to provide even the basic necessities. Many things were going unpaid, but our children had to eat. That could not go overdue.

In those days, the miracles of Jesus were often on our minds. The one that stood out most to me was The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. I will never forget one night when Jenna and I knelt together in prayer. It might have been more pleading and begging than anything. We asked God to multiply our efforts, our abilities, and what little we had to offer. Our commitment to Him was simple: to be faithful, to be true, and to let Him prevail in our lives.

We decided to take $22, which was a sacrifice for us at the time, and used it to feed a child in Malawi, Africa, every 30 days. We committed to it and never looked back.

In many ways, we were like the “young lad” in John 6 who gave the small portion he had—five loaves and two fishes. Just as he turned his offering over to the Lord, we turned ours over to Him, trusting that He could multiply it. And that is precisely what He has done.

Lessons from John 6

As I have studied this chapter again, several things have stood out to me:

• There were masses of hungry people, just as there are today. God sees them, knows them, understands them, and desires to support them. They are His children and He loves them.
  
  
• Often His support comes through His children, you and me. He could easily perform the miracle Himself, but instead, He allows us the opportunity to be part of His work and His miracles.
  
  
• He gives us experiences that open our eyes and soften our hearts so we can feel empathy. That empathy moves us to serve others, often those in situations we once found ourselves in.
  
  
• Before distributing the food, Jesus gave thanks to God, a reminder to always recognize the true Giver of all.
  
  
• He allowed His disciples to help distribute the miracle, giving them the chance to bless others with their own hands.
  
  
• When all had eaten and were full, twelve baskets remained. He didn’t just provide enough, He provided abundantly. That is the nature of God. His blessings overflow when we choose to see them.
  
  
• And finally, when the people came seeking Him again, He gently reminded them that the bread He had given filled their stomachs, but that through Him, the Bread of Life, they would never hunger again.
  
  

“Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.”

Jesus was saying, Do not spend your life chasing what fades: food, status, comfort, or worldly gain. Pursue the bread that leads to everlasting life. Real, lasting life comes from Him.

From Loaves and Fishes to Millions of Meals

What Jenna and I started over 15 years ago with a few loaves and fishes has truly multiplied through the MTN OPS family.

Through Operation Conquer Hunger, we have held hundreds of events, beginning with a small youth group here in our hometown and now reaching across the country to places like Hawaii, South Carolina, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, and more. Together, we have packed not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of meals for families and children in need.

And here’s what makes this miracle even more powerful:
Every single order placed at MTN OPS provides a meal to a child or family in need through Operation Conquer Hunger.

That means every time you shop with us, you’re part of something much bigger. You are feeding the hungry. You are multiplying miracles. You are helping carry out the same kind of work Christ showed us in John 6.

Did the young lad in John 6 know what his small act of giving would lead to? Probably not. And neither did we. But what we did know, and what we now know more deeply than ever, is that the One we turn our offerings over to knows the math to multiply the miracle.

He knows the needs of the masses, and He cares for the one. Every meal counts. Every act of service matters. Every one of your orders makes a difference. And every offering, no matter how small, becomes something miraculous when placed in His hands.

A Question for Each of Us

Where am I spending most of my effort today, on things that perish, or on things that lead to life and joy?

On this Giving Tuesday, and every day, we are invited to be part of a miracle. Through Operation Conquer Hunger, we fill the bellies of some of God’s most vulnerable children. But more than that, we help remove the physical distractions that keep them from experiencing the connections that matter most.

Life in abundance is available to all of God’s children. Let us be part of distributing that miracle He so freely offers.

The Announcement

From the small and simple beginnings in the quiet of our bedroom, where Jenna and I decided to do something with the perspective we had gained, great things have been brought to pass.

And it is all because of you.

Because you trusted in our brand. Because you believed in our mission. Because you continue to shop with us, share the story, and be part of this incredible community.

We are thrilled to announce that Operation Conquer Hunger has now surpassed 11,264,868 meals served to God’s children in need.

This is your story. It is our story. It is God’s story.

Every purchase, every post shared, every act of faith has helped make this miracle possible.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being part of this modern-day Loaves and Fishes miracle.

With love and overwhelming gratitude,

Trevor Farnes
Founder & Chief Visionary Officer
MTN OPS