21 March 2022 | St Albans, UK [Maureen Rock with NAD news and Adventist Review]
How can we teach stewardship to children and when is the best time to begin? If you ever wondered how to help children experience the outcomes of their generosity and the faithfulness of God, you are not alone. Stewardship is not just for adults! Teaching children just requires creative tools and practice, but it yields great results.
The Mysterious Note, a feature film produced by the North American Division (NAD) Stewardship Ministries department and One Mustard Seed, is one such creative tool. The film, directed by Rich Aguilera, known to Adventist children as “The Mud Guy”, teaches parents and children what it means to be a good steward of God’s gifts.
The film premiered on April 4 on Hope Channel. “The Mysterious Note is a great film because it takes practical principles of stewardship and shares them using a very unique way of teaching, a movie with children in it,” said Jason Miller, Hope Channel Planned Giving director. “The movie is great for the whole family to watch and can either teach or help remind people of all ages how to take care of the things God has given us. Many times, we think about stewardship as a bit of an old-fashioned word, but the film takes this word and brings it to 21st-century meaning.”
The film’s executive director, John Matthews, said he wanted to present the topic of stewardship in an impactful, innovative way, “It was my intent to help children and parents live a satisfied life by understanding and living the principles of stewardship.” Matthews, who has extensive experience as former NAD stewardship director, also wanted to “create a movie that parents would find safe for their children to watch,” without secular innuendos that might harm children.
How to Watch the Film
After the April 4 premiere, Hope Channel has scheduled additional showings of the film on DirecTV 368 in the U.S. and the Hope Channel website for the rest of the world. There are showings scheduled for April 21 at 4:00 pm EDT (09:00 pm BTS) and April 28 at 11:30 pm EDT (4:30 am BST).
More resources:
- Teaching Kids About Biblical Stewardship
- Stewardship for Kids: An Introduction By Lynne Sesinye-Samwinga
The original version of this story was posted on the North American Division news site.
