Pastoral Letter: With Faithful Stewardship: Mission Possible
Dear beloved community,
The sun is still warm, yet the breeze has turned gentle and cool. We are walking between summer and fall. The trees are changing their colors, one leaf at a time, as if impatient for the season to come. Watching them drift like travelers beginning their journey, I find myself wishing these days could linger a little longer.
Recently, my son asked me:
“Dad, why do you need a membership card to get into Costco?”
“That’s just how Costco works,” I replied.
Then came the real question:
“So… is church giving like that? Is offering a membership fee? Do you have to give in order to belong?”
I smiled.
“No, not at all. The doors of the church are open to everyone. Offering is not a ticket or a fee. God has already welcomed us into the family. What we give is a response of gratitude for grace already given.”
He pressed on:
“But why give to God if God already has everything?”
“Good question. God is not lacking. In fact, everything belongs to God—The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it’ (Psalm 24:1). God invites us to give so that our hearts may draw closer. It is like when you use your allowance to buy a small gift for the family. We don’t need the gift, but the love expressed in it is precious.”
And then he asked:
“So where does the money go?”
“It keeps the light of worship burning. It opens spaces for prayer and teaching. It reaches out to those in need. What we give to God flows toward God’s children—especially those who need care the most. Offering is not simply paying money. It is sharing the love God first gave us. Through our hands, God cares for others.”
We talked much longer—about church, worship, giving, and serving. Yet even as I answered him, another question stirred in me: Do I live the way I just described? When my children look at me, do they see the life of faith I hope to teach them?
The world often deceives us into thinking that value lies in gathering more. I pray that, through my children’s eyes, my life may show a different truth: that the true worth of God’s Kin-dom is found in sharing what we have received.
That is why this Sunday’s theme, With Faithful Stewardship: Mission Possible, is not about finances alone. What we share becomes not numbers but stories of faith.
Not obligation, but gratitude.
Not ours to keep, but God’s to share.
God takes even our small offerings and turns them toward great purposes, continuing the mission through our church.
As the wind changes the season, so our prayers and acts of sharing renew the church. In tomorrow’s worship, we will ask together: Who is our true Master—wealth, or God? May we stand together in that question.
In Christ,
Pastor DH