Sandra, Paige and Rachael set up homework spaces inside the recreation center of Kirkland Heights apartments on a Monday afternoon. Kirkland Heights is a 180-unit complex that provides subsidized, low-income housing in Kingsgate. It is home to a large population of Hmong–a people group of East Asia–as well as Hispanic and Muslim families.
The clock winds down to 4 p.m. and a few elementary and middle school children start trickling in. Many of them come from multi-generational families, where their parents and grandparents work multiple jobs late into the night to support them. This after-school program is one place where they can spend two hours every week in a safe, helpful and consistent environment.
“Our Group just celebrated its second birthday. We even had balloons and hats,” Rachael laughed. “From the beginning, we knew we wanted to be a Group that was mission-focused. So we entered in where there was already mission work being done.”
“Antioch Bible Church has had a presence in Kirkland Heights for about twenty years,” Paige pointed out. “Al is one of the pastors on staff there, and this is one of his main ministries.” Sandra leaned across the table, “Al definitely pushed us off at first, like ‘this isn’t a ministry where you buy stuff and drop it off.’ He didn’t want any involvement that was just surface.”
Rachael nodded in agreement. “We, by God’s grace, partnered with a ministry that was very insistent that ‘I don’t need you. If you keep knocking on my door, then you can come meet these people.’” So when Kirkland Heights was initially brought up as a potential place for their Group to serve, they had a choice to make: opt into an open-ended commitment or find a more convenient way to serve.
“At first, I was like, no. I’m not into this at all,” Sandra said honestly. “Then I was just thinking–praying about it and being humbled by it. Sometimes you jump into things even if your heart isn’t in it, but put it into action, and your heart’s going to follow.”
And two years later, it is obvious that their hearts have followed.
Sandra began to explain what makes this homework club and these kids so special, “One thing is that they are a very tight-knit community. All the kids watch out for each other, they treat each other like family.”
“When I found out that Kirkland Heights was mostly Hmong people,” Paige piped in, “I was intrigued because I anticipated them perhaps being a little suspicious of outsiders coming in. Maybe even suspicious of Western churches. I was excited by the notion, because one of my spiritual gifts is compassion–that’s totally something that Jesus has given me, and I wanted to show the kids that people in the church have love.“
After homework club ended this year, Rachael, Paige and Sandra realized that the summer months meant less adult supervision and constructive activities for the kids. In response, they created a bi-weekly art club. “It was really exciting because different ladies from our Group were able to come and lead,” Paige said. “At the end of art club, it culminated with this showcase where we ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ and made the kids feel really good about what they had done.”
Sandra pulled out several pieces of that artwork from her bag, spreading them out on the table. She pointed to each child’s specific work, knowing them by name. “School is not something that’s a priority,” Rachael added as she looked over the art pieces. “They have no gauge for the importance of it, and some parents couldn’t even help if they wanted to.” Sandra nodded, “And they’re really talented kids.”
Interestingly enough, the Hmong culture does not have a written language. So as each of these ladies and their Group invest time to help develop skills in art as well as English, reading and handwriting, the irony is not lost. These women are introducing skills to this generation that their culture truly has no context for.
The conversation then wound its way to the heart of their mission: there is no context for Jesus either.
“They are very spiritual people.” Rachael explained. Historically, Hmong beliefs are deeply rooted in Animism, which embraces the spirit world and shamanism.
“These are people that don’t know grace,” Rachael explained. “They don’t know Jesus. The parents will not be telling these kids about Jesus. Even some of the Muslim families send their kids to Bible study because they trust the relationship they have with Antioch Bible Church. It’s just how God is working there.”
These women have unlocked a scripturally sound way of serving. Not only are they welcoming the outsider and sacrificing personal time to that end, they are also fiercely committed to supporting the Christian church as a whole, being humble in their posture and consistent in their care.
“We also partner with Antioch for their week-long Vacation Bible School,” Paige added. “Last summer, women from our Group were there every single day. So it was just us showing up and being there, being associated with the church. Whether we’re Antioch or not, they understood that we were Christians.”
And while these women shuttle off any iota of credit, it bears noticing that their work is no small feat in today’s cultural climate.
These homework clubs are the type of grassroots missions that Jesus prototyped: meeting a wayward woman who was already looking for water, asking the unseen to come down out of the tree, inviting the socially shunned to his dinner table. Rachael, Paige and Sandra are employing the type of intentional service that has the power to abolish social and cultural barriers and actually love people right where they are at.
And they just keep showing up where gatherings are already taking place.
“It would be very convenient for me to not do this anymore,” Paige confessed. “It would be very easy to just say I had my season with Kirkland Heights. But then I think about the women who were in my life when I was a little girl, and you remember the ones who were present and who were there for you.”
Sandra puts her finger on a problem with much of Christian service, “Whatever ministry you’re doing, if you think you and your tidy little world can walk in and help someone, that doesn’t work at all. Nobody needs that. Sometimes they don’t need what we think they need.” She shakes her head, “The reminder has to be that this isn’t about me. It is the straightforward act of stepping away from my day-to-day personal concerns and sharing my life and time with others.”
To encourage other Groups that are looking to serve their neighborhoods in tangible ways, Rachael pulls back the curtain a bit. “You don’t have to go and start something new. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming experience. It could be something as simple as getting to know the people in your neighborhood and growing to love them. Growing to a place where you can serve them.”
Next Steps:
JOIN A GROUP // Followers of Jesus, living as family, for the good of their city.
Sandra, Paige and Rachael set up homework spaces inside the recreation center of Kirkland Heights apartments on a Monday afternoon. Kirkland Heights is a 180-unit complex that provides subsidized, low-income housing in Kingsgate. It is home to a large population of Hmong–a people group of East Asia–as well as Hispanic and Muslim families.
The clock winds down to 4 p.m. and a few elementary and middle school children start trickling in. Many of them come from multi-generational families, where their parents and grandparents work multiple jobs late into the night to support them. This after-school program is one place where they can spend two hours every week in a safe, helpful and consistent environment.
“Our Group just celebrated its second birthday. We even had balloons and hats,” Rachael laughed. “From the beginning, we knew we wanted to be a Group that was mission-focused. So we entered in where there was already mission work being done.”
“Antioch Bible Church has had a presence in Kirkland Heights for about twenty years,” Paige pointed out. “Al is one of the pastors on staff there, and this is one of his main ministries.” Sandra leaned across the table, “Al definitely pushed us off at first, like ‘this isn’t a ministry where you buy stuff and drop it off.’ He didn’t want any involvement that was just surface.”
Rachael nodded in agreement. “We, by God’s grace, partnered with a ministry that was very insistent that ‘I don’t need you. If you keep knocking on my door, then you can come meet these people.’” So when Kirkland Heights was initially brought up as a potential place for their Group to serve, they had a choice to make: opt into an open-ended commitment or find a more convenient way to serve.
“At first, I was like, no. I’m not into this at all,” Sandra said honestly. “Then I was just thinking–praying about it and being humbled by it. Sometimes you jump into things even if your heart isn’t in it, but put it into action, and your heart’s going to follow.”
And two years later, it is obvious that their hearts have followed.
Sandra began to explain what makes this homework club and these kids so special, “One thing is that they are a very tight-knit community. All the kids watch out for each other, they treat each other like family.”
“When I found out that Kirkland Heights was mostly Hmong people,” Paige piped in, “I was intrigued because I anticipated them perhaps being a little suspicious of outsiders coming in. Maybe even suspicious of Western churches. I was excited by the notion, because one of my spiritual gifts is compassion–that’s totally something that Jesus has given me, and I wanted to show the kids that people in the church have love.“
After homework club ended this year, Rachael, Paige and Sandra realized that the summer months meant less adult supervision and constructive activities for the kids. In response, they created a bi-weekly art club. “It was really exciting because different ladies from our Group were able to come and lead,” Paige said. “At the end of art club, it culminated with this showcase where we ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ and made the kids feel really good about what they had done.”
Sandra pulled out several pieces of that artwork from her bag, spreading them out on the table. She pointed to each child’s specific work, knowing them by name. “School is not something that’s a priority,” Rachael added as she looked over the art pieces. “They have no gauge for the importance of it, and some parents couldn’t even help if they wanted to.” Sandra nodded, “And they’re really talented kids.”
Interestingly enough, the Hmong culture does not have a written language. So as each of these ladies and their Group invest time to help develop skills in art as well as English, reading and handwriting, the irony is not lost. These women are introducing skills to this generation that their culture truly has no context for.
The conversation then wound its way to the heart of their mission: there is no context for Jesus either.
“They are very spiritual people.” Rachael explained. Historically, Hmong beliefs are deeply rooted in Animism, which embraces the spirit world and shamanism.
“These are people that don’t know grace,” Rachael explained. “They don’t know Jesus. The parents will not be telling these kids about Jesus. Even some of the Muslim families send their kids to Bible study because they trust the relationship they have with Antioch Bible Church. It’s just how God is working there.”
These women have unlocked a scripturally sound way of serving. Not only are they welcoming the outsider and sacrificing personal time to that end, they are also fiercely committed to supporting the Christian church as a whole, being humble in their posture and consistent in their care.
“We also partner with Antioch for their week-long Vacation Bible School,” Paige added. “Last summer, women from our Group were there every single day. So it was just us showing up and being there, being associated with the church. Whether we’re Antioch or not, they understood that we were Christians.”
And while these women shuttle off any iota of credit, it bears noticing that their work is no small feat in today’s cultural climate.
These homework clubs are the type of grassroots missions that Jesus prototyped: meeting a wayward woman who was already looking for water, asking the unseen to come down out of the tree, inviting the socially shunned to his dinner table. Rachael, Paige and Sandra are employing the type of intentional service that has the power to abolish social and cultural barriers and actually love people right where they are at.
And they just keep showing up where gatherings are already taking place.
“It would be very convenient for me to not do this anymore,” Paige confessed. “It would be very easy to just say I had my season with Kirkland Heights. But then I think about the women who were in my life when I was a little girl, and you remember the ones who were present and who were there for you.”
Sandra puts her finger on a problem with much of Christian service, “Whatever ministry you’re doing, if you think you and your tidy little world can walk in and help someone, that doesn’t work at all. Nobody needs that. Sometimes they don’t need what we think they need.” She shakes her head, “The reminder has to be that this isn’t about me. It is the straightforward act of stepping away from my day-to-day personal concerns and sharing my life and time with others.”
To encourage other Groups that are looking to serve their neighborhoods in tangible ways, Rachael pulls back the curtain a bit. “You don’t have to go and start something new. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming experience. It could be something as simple as getting to know the people in your neighborhood and growing to love them. Growing to a place where you can serve them.”
Next Steps:
JOIN A GROUP // Followers of Jesus, living as family, for the good of their city.
