Committees on Ministry: Caring for the Whole Person – November 2025 Featured COMma Article

In the Gospel of Matthew 14:13-21 we read about Jesus feeding the five thousand. We notice that the disciples’ focus is on the limitations of their ability to provide food for the crowd (v. 17). Yet, Jesus ignores the disciples’ request for him to send the people away and instead says to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” It could be that Jesus was attempting to redirect the disciples’ focus from limitations to the gift of God right before them. The disciples had witnessed Jesus perform healing miracles with this same crowd of people, yet they didn’t think to ask Jesus to provide food for the people, nor how they might be instruments of God’s grace to the crowd. 

The disciples recognized physical needs; Jesus recognized both the physical and the spiritual needs. What similarities do Committees on Ministry have with the disciples in this section from Matthew? What are some needs of Members in Discernment (MIDs)? Here are a few examples that MIDs have shared with MESA: 

1. Need for clarity of expectations from COMs.  
2. Compassion for the challenges of the MID process collated with those of daily life, some of which are exacerbated by factors beyond MID control 
3. Sense of community with other MIDs 
4. Prayer 
5. Encouragement from the COM 
6. Support 
7. Mentoring 
8. Financial 
9. Spiritual (pastor, spiritual director) 
10. Peers 
11. Professional (mental health, medical) 
12. Cultural advocate 
13. Openness to feedback from MIDs

While not explicit in the biblical text, the disciples were probably anxious and irritable about their own needs for food and rest. In feeding the crowd, they also were fed. After they ministered to the crowd, Jesus sent them away and dismissed the crowd himself, thereby giving the disciples rest. COM members, being human, may not take time to attend to their own needs before launching into the days/evenings agenda. COMs are encouraged to  

a) offer hospitality by having water, coffee/tea, or a light snack available for themselves as well as those they will be meeting with,  

b) allow time on the agenda for COM members to check-in with one another and debrief difficult conversations when they happen,  

c) pray for one another before meeting with MIDs/clergy, and  

d) pray for the Spirit’s leading in discernment during and after the meeting. 

Reflections for COMs to consider: 

1. How often are our MID processes reviewed? Which recommendations for improvement from MIDs have we received and/or incorporated? 
2. How would we describe our engagement with MIDs: life-affirming or task-oriented? Spirit-led or following a business model? 
3. What might the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’ teach us about our ministry as a COM?