The Children’s Stewardship Renewal: Inspiring Young Hearts to Share Their Gifts with God

We all know what a precious sight it is to see a child give freely to God and others. Their innocent hearts are so generous, and when in the state of grace, their souls easily radiate a unique sense of purity and kindness. And thanks to the Children’s Stewardship Renewal, we will be able to savor this sight more and more in days to come.

“In my mind, this is just the very beginning of renewing a desire for stewardship in our children,” says Parish Administrator Chris Peterson, who is assisting with the renewal. “We used to offer stewardship opportunities for the children about 10 years ago, but they have since faded away. The renewal is a way to bring them back. We want to teach the children what stewardship is all about, and help them understand that everything we have is a blessing from God and we are called to give back however we can.”

On Jan. 1 and 2, the Children’s Stewardship Renewal opened with the distribution of Magnifikid magazines.

“We asked how many families were interested in receiving a year-long subscription to Magnifikid, and then we ordered just over 200 subscriptions, leaving room for some extra families to get them as well,” Chris says. “We really want to give our parish children something interesting to pray with and help build a foundation of prayer. We are working together to teach them that stewardship starts at home, and that prayer is the base of it all.”

On the weekend of Jan. 8 and 9, the children received cards upon which they could write down their commitments in different areas of stewardship.

“Many children are not able to make a financial commitment, which is perfectly fine, but they can commit to things such as saying morning prayers and grace before meals, taking out the trash, doing the dishes, etc.,” Chris says. “We also ordered weekly envelopes on which they can write down what they have done and drop them into the collection baskets, letting us know what they have done that week for their family.”

Interestingly, the inspiration to initiate a Children’s Stewardship Renewal came about in the loving hearts of the children.

“In the past, the children have even filled out some adult stewardship commitment cards themselves, so there is obviously a desire and a need for them to be involved,” says Hannah Hach, Steward for Baptismal Preparation and Children’s Ministry. “It is also a deep desire of mine to help the children become more involved in parish life and be brought deeper into everything that is happening in our church family. We want them to feel that they are an important part of our faith community. We hope to help them grow closer to Christ through stewardship, service, and prayer.”

Overall, these efforts will plant seeds of faith and generosity in the hearts of our young people.

“We hope that this renewal will positively impact entire families in the future,” Chris says. “My vision for next November is that when we give the adults a chance to turn in their commitment cards, the children will do the same. We want to provide ongoing opportunities for them.”

If you would like more information about this beautiful stewardship effort, please contact Hannah Hach at 360-292-7114.