ORLANDO (BP)- During the 2026 SBC Ministers’ Wives Luncheon, Amy Hannon urged ministers’ wives to consider a fresh perspective of the biblical story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.
Instead of the points of view of Jesus, the little lad, the people receiving the food, or even the spiritual significance of the fish and loaves, she focused on the disciples’ experience, from which she discovered two truths: “As long as they kept returning to Christ, there was always something to give” and “We must go to Him before going to them.”
The June 9 event in the Valencia Ballroom of the Orange County Convention Center featuring Hannon, was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando.
Amy Hannon is a preacher’s wife and the face of Euna Mae’s, a hospitality brand that includes a daily cooking show on Northwest Arkansas’ NBC affiliate, three books she has authored, an online community, and ongoing culinary tours across the nation.
After a comical recollection of her and her husband’s early years in ministry, Hannon said she understood what it was like to be a ministers’ wife, which was more than just the huge number of responsibilities.
“You live in a fishbowl, with everyone’s eyes on you, and opinions so generously shared with you,” she said. “You are expected to know everyone’s names and needs and to always respond.”
She continued, “I expect that you have seasons where you feel inadequate. Intimidated, overwhelmed, under sourced, and underqualified. And if you’re like me, you’ve served out of duty and not delight,” she said, acknowledging the hearts of the women before her can feel empty. “I see you. I understand you. You are not alone.”
She added, pointing to the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14:13-21. “You don’t have to do it on your own, and praise God, He doesn’t ask you to!”
Jesus told the disciples to feed the people, she explained, but He was the source of all the food. She shared how she tried to contemplate what it looked like for the disciples to deliver food to the 18,000-22,000 people (5,000 plus each family unit) being fed.
She visualized, “Go to Jesus, get a basket full of food, deliver to the people. Return to Jesus, get a basket full of food, and then go deliver to the people. Go back to Jesus, have Him refill the basket and take it to people.”
Over and over.
Hannon’s husband had calculated the number of trips this would require in this story: 12 disciples and 20,000 people in groups of 50 would mean 400 total trips – 33 trips for each disciple.
She envisioned their first deliveries were “half-hearted and listless because they were exhausted and felt like they had nothing to give.”
She asked the ministers’ wives, “Does sound familiar?”
As they obeyed Jesus, doing the ministry He put before them, returning to Him repeatedly, the disciples witnessed firsthand the miraculous work of God.
“I bet they picked up the pace, almost running! Were they giddy with amazement? Did their weariness fade in the wonder of the work? Did they pass each other in those comings and goings with wide-eyed joy?”
Hannon considered, “I wonder how many trips back and forth they took before they realized, He is enough. How long did it take the disciples to realize that Jesus is the One who satisfies? At what point in that back-and-forth thing, did they understand that Jesus was the One who was sourcing their service?”
And the greatest question: When did they finally make the connection that as long as they keep returning to Christ, there would always be something to give?”
She pointed to the ladies in the room, “As long as you keep returning to Christ, there will always be something to give.”
Jesus was using this opportunity to show His deity and minister to the crowds, but He also was using the opportunity to reveal to His men about how life and ministry work.
“We must go to Him before we go to them,” she said.
Similarly, being a minister’s wife requires sacrifice and makes a lot of demands. There are highs and lows, seasons of fruitfulness and stretches of spiritual famine.
“I am reminding you that we can find renewed joy and strength from this basic truth taught in Matthew 14, that as long as we keep returning to Christ, there will always be something to give.
“We bring our empty baskets to Jesus, who is the source of our faith, the source of our service, and the source of our strength.
“He will miraculously give us all that we need,” she concluded.
During the luncheon, ministers’ wives awarded Anne Wright, wife of Bryant Wright, former pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, the 2026 Willie Turner Dawson Award.
Each year, the Dawson Award recognizes a minister’s wife for making a distinct denominational contribution beyond the local church and for her Christian character and service to others.
Philip Nation, vice president at HarperCollins Christian Publishing, shared about the NKJV Women’s Study Bible gifted to each luncheon guest. He dedicated it to the memory of Rhonda Kelley, former author and wife of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) President Chuck Kelley, who was instrumental in producing the study content. Kelley passed away on Feb. 17, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.
The 2027 slate of officers include Brigitte Harrison, wife of John Mark Harrison, the senior pastor of First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, Tennessee, as president; Tami Hubler, wife of Chris Hubler, pastor of New Day Baptist Church in Alexandria, Indiana, as vice president; Terrica Smith, wife of Clay Smith, senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, as secretary; and Libby Phillips, wife of Chris Phillips, lead pastor of Riverside Church in Denver, Colorado, as treasurer.
The next Ministers’ Wives Luncheon, to be held June 15, 2027, in Indianapolis, will feature national speaker, author, and Bible teacher Tara Dew, wife of Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Tickets go on sale in February. Stay tuned to sbcwives.com.
Shannon Baker is director of communications for the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/South Jersey and editor of the Network’s weekly newsletter, BRN United.
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