Citylight Omaha's mission is to multiply disciples and churches. From inner cities to suburban neighborhoods and small towns, real lives are being changed through Citylight churches. Families and marriages are being restored and communities transformed by the good news of the gospel. As we look forward to the next chapter of this unfolding story, we’re asking God to do it again in Sarpy County.
With nearly 3,000 people moving to Sarpy County every year, population growth is outpacing church multiplication. By God’s grace, two men have stepped into the calling to plant a reproducing church in Papillion that will allow the multiplication of more disciples and churches into the surrounding communities. Trevor Nashleanas and Ryan Meyer are co leading the new Sarpy County church plant. Trevor has served as West’s City Group Director for the past two years. Ryan Meyer has served in pastoral ministry with another local church here in Omaha for the past eight years. Ryan started with Citylight last week. Ryan has been married to Kelsey for ten years and they have four daughters ranging from 5 years and younger: Emma, Ava, Isla, and Mia who turned one this week! Happy birthday Mia!
Ryan grew up in a family of faith in Omaha. He remembered numerous times his mom unpacking the gospel for him. Ryan would describe his faith growing up as a “professing faith and not a possessing faith.” Being a decent athlete, he played football on scholarship at Northwest Missouri State. There he met three guys on his team who “bothered him at first.”
“I remembered thinking these guys were weird,” Ryan confessed. “They were joyful, intentional, and talked about Jesus like he was real. In college, I was trying to find my identity through my performance on the football team. I was intrigued at the time that you can meet different people who practice different religions. It put me on this journey of faith. Trevor was one of these guys who started to show up more in my life. I can remember going to a college party and then meeting another one of these guys, Dave. He asked me “Why are you here?” I told him I wanted to meet people and enjoy life and to have a good time. I asked him “Why are you here?” He was an FCA (Fellowship Christian Athletes) guy. He answered me immediately with “Because this is not satisfying, it is gratifying and the Lord has something deeper and more profound for your life.” The Lord gave him the sense to say this and he and Trevor and the other guys started to pray for me from that night on.”
In a few months, things started to change in Ryan’s life. He found himself more and more around the people of God. His desires, inclinations and affections for God’s people started to stir in his heart. Finally, months later, he concluded that he wanted to live his life differently and that he loved Jesus.
“I figured out that Jesus is my personal friend who I respected,” Ryan shared. “In Galatians 2:19-21, it describes this union with Christ, the fact it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. When you are trying to figure out your identity... it’s no longer I but Christ. The Lord changed the way I viewed and lived my life pretty instantaneously. I got baptized and started to lead and tell other guys about this faith.”
Around this time, Trevor encouraged Ryan “to stop consuming and to start contributing.” From that conversation and others, Ryan started to dive into serving the local church.
"It was in the local church that I started to feel a nudge and tug towards church planting. I started to fall in love with the idea of church planting” Ryan admitted.
After college, Ryan married the love of his life, Kelsey. They moved to Western Nebraska to start a business. God was using that time to prepare them for ministry.
“There was a guy in my life at that time,” Ryan described. “He thought I was being called into pastoral ministry. He was a professor of theology at Midwestern Baptist. I started to Google churches who had partnerships with them, and I came across a few in Omaha. From there, I had an opportunity to be in pastoral ministry in Omaha and that’s what we’ve been doing the past 8-9 years. Church planting has always been a desire and Trevor, and I stayed close.”
The Lord kept stirring Ryan’s heart towards the Church and church planting. For example, at a conference seven years ago, a pastor was on center stage and announced that we need more and more young men to take risks for their lives. Not risks in wealth or with side hustles, but for the kingdom of God. God grabbed Ryan’s heart in that moment and has used that as a reminder. Ryan has held on to those reminders...
“The more I have prayed over the past few years, the Lord has not just made it clear that I want to do this but that I need to do this. I feel indebted to the Lord that I get to plant a church with my best friend. I am deeply humbled and eager to plant a church but also intimidated. I have felt underqualified, but I am convinced that the Lord doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.”
Church... would you pray for Ryan and Trevor and their families? Please pray for favor from the Lord and that relationships are quickly built, and connections are made for their families. Also, that the Lord would continue to bear fruit, to give favor, and for more support to be raised. Pray that a team is built around them and that all that they do would glorify God. Ryan asked for protection against “the schemes of the evil one and that more and more he would remember that God is his sufficiency.”
Whether you’re interested in following the Sarpy County church plant or coming along, in-person or in-prayer, you are invited. This next year will be a season of preparation and development with a Core Team launch in Summer 2025 and a public launch in the first part of 2026. To receive updates on the Sarpy County church plant, sign up at citylightomaha.org/sarpycounty.