Citylight exists to multiply disciples and churches. We are a church on mission to be “a city on a hill” and “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). We seek to love, serve, and make disciples of neighborhoods and networks of people in Omaha and the surrounding communities. To equip the Church with what living in the Kingdom of God can look like, we have created Kingdom Pathways as an easy on ramp into reaching our community. These Kingdom Pathways include programs and ministries that are working to see God’s Kingdom come into people's lives, across our region, and in the world.
One of these ministries is what the neighborhood kids call “Saturday Play.” Saturday Play, formally known as Walnut Hill Neighborhood Team (WHNT), serves the youth, a large majority being first generation refugees, who live around the Midtown neighborhood of Walnut Hill. Every Saturday afternoon in Walnut Hill, a group of volunteers led by Katie Arnold, gather children and play for two hours with free activities and community.
What started with one apartment building and a few kids, has grown into a close family and community of hundreds of children and parents and volunteers.
Katie was a young woman from a church in the Walnut hill neighborhood when God called her into this ministry thirteen years ago. Her church prompted their members to do local ministry. One Sunday after church, Katie walked to the apartment building across from the church. She had no idea what she was doing nor what to expect. She had never done something like that before. She knew God was inviting her to see and love the unseen.
“That prompt from church gave me the yes,” Katie described that Sunday afternoon walking around the apartment communities. “It gave me the moment to say “Okay Katie, stop and see people who aren’t seen and have those interactions." A few of us prayer walked along 48th street on a Wednesday after work with bubbles and balloons in our pockets. Right there was a brick apartment with a courtyard. 15 kids were running around in this small, dirt courtyard. We walked up and started talking to them. When we left, one of the kids asked when are you coming back. I immediately said we will be back next week. We went back. And the week after. It was getting too dark since it was at 5:30 after work. So, we changed it to Saturday afternoon. That’s why the kids call it Saturday Play.”
What Katie and the whole team figured out quickly is that play is a powerful connection tool and need for any kid. Kids know how to play even if they don’t know English.
“Play is a universal tool to love others with,” Katie declared. “The things like bubbles and chalk were so extremely exciting to them. We were bringing excitement. And they loved seeing us every week. The moments we got to talk to them, pray with them and learn a little bit about them were special. You can get language out through play and time. I was beginning to learn that if I just give my time and play, things will happen.”
Soon, others in their church and neighborhood ministries found out what Katie was doing. Embrace the Nations, a local non-profit, invited them to use one of the apartments they rented in the same building that next summer. Katie and the team did a Vacation Bible School with 70 kids from the neighborhood. The following summer they began coaching soccer teams of neighborhood kids through PACE (Police Athletics for Community Engagement) supported in part by inCommon Ministries. That summer program has continued and is also offered on Fridays starting every March. Also, kids from WHNT were invited to come to Citylight Club and Student Ministry on Wednesday nights. Katie and the team use the Church’s vans to pick up the kids for all the activities.
Over 13 years of ministry, the WHNT volunteers have learned so much. One was to be flexible and open handed with their plans. Most of their ideas come from the kids.
“I tell the kids if you have an idea, if it makes sense, we will do it,” Katie explained. “One year one of the kids wanted to do an Easter egg hunt at their apartment courtyard. You could see the eggs because there was nowhere to hide them but that didn’t matter to them. The point was that they had never experienced it. And they never thought they would either. It’s something American to them. They want to experience American things. We allow the kids to have those experiences. The joy on their faces, finding those Easter eggs, was so amazing! The joy you can’t imagine because you grew up with those kinds of things.”
They have also learned the context behind their kids and the families. For example, a significant amount of the kids had trauma. A lot of them saw and heard things that only adults should. Most of the kids had hefty responsibilities in their home. Expectations that included all the cleaning, cooking for the family and care for their younger siblings. Saturday Play became even more of a special time for them.
“Those older kids, 8–12-year-olds, especially the girls, have so much responsibility,” Katie explained. “Saturday play became a time in their week when they get to be a kid. Even today, one girl in a Muslim home with eight brothers, is expected to cook and clean for her family. She comes on Saturdays and plays. We get to show her that she’s important. We want to be silly and play and learn about one another. Saturday play has become a space of trust and something to look forward to. Even more why we must be consistent by offering it every single Saturday. They don’t have to question it. Rain or shine, we do Saturday play.”
The team has also learned that community is important to the families they serve in the neighborhood. The team described, “In America, it’s easy to stay hidden. It’s a ‘me’ culture. But the families we serve and do life with who aren’t from America have a ‘we’ culture. As we get to see and know people who are overlooked in our culture, the more we have turned from ourselves, the ‘me’, and toward others, the ‘we.’ Time is the most precious thing to give away. It’s a commodity that is gone when it’s gone. Every time we have given this neighborhood time, we have never regretted it. Maybe in the moment it might feel that way, but afterwards, it’s always worth it. All the musical performances, birthdays, weddings, baby showers, graduations, dinners ... we get to go to, the more perspective we have been given back.”
There is so much to celebrate from the past thirteen years of ministry. All the children they have served – 500 and counting—are stories of kids stepping out of darkness and fear and into healthy community. Some into a relationship with Jesus. Stories of God’s favor on the WHNT volunteers as they now have trust and respect from the families and kids. Many times, they are invited into homes to have tea and talk about life. Lastly, the team celebrated how God has united them as a family. They extend an invite to others to join them.
“Our team is a family. We lead by serving next to you. Katie is the leader, but there’s also Jennifer, Becca, Frances and others. Come serve with us. We lead alongside with you. You will not be alone. What you are most comfortable with we won’t call you into something you are not comfortable with. We work together. It’s not a burden. We all want to be here. Every Saturday is a commitment, but the fact is it is not all on one person. We boost and encourage one another. It feels easy. The flow is good. There is so much trust on our team. It’s a blessing to serve with these people. We depend on one another, and we communicate well.”
One WHNT team member, Frances concluded why serving others and at WHNT is vital:
“I had an image of someone sitting alone in an apartment with their closed door. I always think of that person being out there in our community and it just motivates me to get out there and serve others. Jesus said to Zacchaeus come down from that tree and I am coming to your house. He told him I am going to show up to your door. And Zaccheus questioned and said you are coming to me and my house? Well, there are people who are waiting for someone to come onto their path, into their life and see them. I want to be that person. God wants us to be that person.”
You, your family, and your City Group are invited on the path towards others. To show others what living in the Kingdom of God is like and to invite them to abide with Him in His Kingdom! God is on mission and the church is called out, sent, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to participate in His mission to proclaim and to demonstrate the marks of the Kingdom of God. For more information on how to serve with WHNT and other ministries >>> https://citylightomaha.org/kingdom/