Stewardship at Stewart Avenue

Pastor Daniel Clark
Pastor of Stewart Avenue Lutheran Church
dnlclark22@gmail.com | 412-881-0171

I was recently informed by the offering counters that our congregation had received a sizeable donation. A gift of $1,800 was made in cash! I began to get excited. Maybe our recent emphasis on stewardship has been paying off. I was excited that someone at our congregation felt blessed by God and desired to share these blessings with Stewart Avenue Evangelical Lutheran Church.

It turned out that the donor was my six-year-old son using fake money that he constructed. Before receiving instruction on stewardship from Pastor Melissa Stoller, I would have quickly told my son not to put fake money in the offering plate. It is embarrassing!

Graciously, at this point I had already been equipped by Pastor Stoller with the new book, Abundance, by Michael Ward. The book makes the case that the heart of teaching about stewardship is telling the story of God’s abundance and allowing others to tell their own story. Therefore, instead of correcting my son’s actions, I had some questions.

I asked him, “You could have used that money anywhere else. Why did you want to give it to the church?”

He said, “My Sunday school teacher taught me about how some children do not have enough food and my teacher showed me the ways that the church helps feed people with the food bank.”

My son’s story highlighted the great ministry happening at Stewart Avenue, and I was happy that a portion of my real money was going to the offering plate.

I am also glad to serve a congregation that requested help from Pastor Stoller. While many congregations face financial issues, few ask for help. She guided our council to set up a yearlong stewardship plan that features one or two intentional actions a month, such as teaching a Sunday school class about tithing, writing a newsletter article about stewardship, having a temple talk, or changing the mission statement. Through this process, I have been personally energized to tell the story of Stewart Ave!

Thank you to the ELCA and SWPA Synod for supporting the work of Pastor Stoller in guiding congregations to a better understanding of stewardship. Through her work, Stewart Avenue is more equipped to tell the story of Jesus.