“We don’t need anybody who just sits on the pew like Andrea, so be thinking about what missions opportunities you’d like to be involved in.”

Andrea was 19 when she went along with a friend to a new-member class about missions that long-time family friend, Tillie Burgin, was leading. She still remembers hearing the phrase above, and she knew it was true. She could do more, so she started teaching Bible Study at a north Arlington apartment complex the next week and continued throughout college, nursing school, and graduate school.

It took time for Andrea to take the step to volunteer at the Mission Arlington^® Medical Clinic, but when she finally did, she knew it was the place she needed to be.

For a time, she had a job as a nurse practitioner and was volunteering at the Mission Arlington^® Medical Clinic three days and one night per week. Then, as God allowed, she was able to come to Mission Arlington^® full time. Now the clinic is opened five days and one night per week. Andrea is there every minute coordinating patient care. She gently guides the volunteer medical students and assist the doctors in finding the most efficient plan of care for each patient using resources across the Metroplex. The clinic has about 10,500 visits yearly, completely free of charge for the patient.

Andrea loves working with the population that comes to the clinic. It reminds her of her first job at Parkland in Dallas. She explains, “You have to meet basic needs before people will be receptive about God.” While receiving care, people are very opened to the Gospel.

Andrea also helps by breaking down barriers to get people to a Bible Study near them. If someone doesn’t have a car, they likely have a Bible Study close by. Also, when patients realize that Andrea personally knows the Bible Study leader in their community, they feel so much more comfortable with their medical care. They know they can trust her and the clinic staff.

Andrea explains, “It’s my dream job. If there was ever a job made for me, it was this one.” The medical clinic has stayed fully open during these days of the COVID-19 pandemic, treating people from all walks of life, and making a difference.

The clinic is always in need of clerical and medical volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, please call the Mission Arlington office at 817-277-6620.

Originally Published February 12, 2017

Mission Arlington^® is a God-driven organization. Each volunteer and staff member does their best to see how we can help each life find what they need and draw closer to God. Often, it takes teamwork from many parts of the body to help meet the needs of one life.

This past year, a phone volunteer named Kelly answered the phone to hear a woman in distress. Through tears, the woman asked if someone could pray for her. The volunteer panicked for a moment, looking for a staff member who could pray over the phone, but quickly realized, “It’s me. I need to do this.” Kelly took about 10 minutes praying with this woman and listening to her story.

In the course of conversation, Kelly realized the caller lived in Dallas, not Arlington. But what made her think to call Mission Arlington^®? The caller explained, “I used to live in Arlington, and you guys helped me once.”

Just because someone was nice to her, she felt Jesus’ love, and knew she could call for prayer.

After the call, Mission Arlington^® staff was able to give the woman’s phone number to the Dallas police department, who arrived within minutes to check on this young woman in person and help her with much needed resources.

We are so grateful for sensitive volunteers and important partnerships across this Metroplex that ensure needs are meet – physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional needs – so that people can be right with God.

Originally published January 9th, 2019.

Whitney first came to Mission Arlington^® at age 8 when her mom started working in the childcare. She and her brother grew up going to Mission Arlington^® Bible Studies, doing Rainbow Express over the summer, and Whitney started teaching at an east Arlington complex when she was 12 years old.

After she graduated from high school, Whitney married and moved to North Carolina. After a time, Whitney knew the marriage was not healthy. Her husband had left the faith. Whitney felt God telling her to come home to Texas, but, worried about what people might say or think, she stayed in North Carolina. “My mom was telling me, ‘Come home, it doesn’t matter, just come home.’ and all it took was Tillie calling me saying, ‘Come home. We miss you.’” Whitney says she started crying and knew she had a place back in Texas where people would love her unconditionally.

When she came back, Whitney stopped by the Mission to bring her mom lunch, and Tillie chatted with her. Tillie told her that another Bible Study leader had just left and that she really needed Whitney to fill in the gap.

So for two years, Whitney has lived and done church at an apartment community. The first year, she says, was very difficult. Someone broke into the church apartment once per month.

But one day, an older woman came to Bible Study, the first adult that had attended since Whitney arrived. At first, the woman was upset, struggling, and embarrassed to share, until finally the woman blurted out, “I’m going through a really bad divorce and I need prayer…I know you’re so young, you can’t relate.” Whitney said, “I really hadn’t gotten to share that with anyone. That opened the door, and I had to say something.” They set up a regular time to pray together and ministered to each other that way.

From that moment, Whitney told God, “Okay – I know this is all you. This is totally where I need to be.”

Since then, Whitney met her new husband and has a brand new life. She works in the food pantry daily, sorting and preparing food for all the people that come each day. Her daughters are a part of Mission Arlington, too, working alongside their mom. Through a few tears, Whitney says, “For my daughters, I wish this could be a family tradition because of how much it blesses me.”

God brought Whitney home, and Mission Arlington^® is stronger, people are coming to Christ, because she followed him.

[Originally published October 9th, 2016.]

When Jim Monroe retired twenty years ago, he contacted Tillie about volunteer opportunities. He said, “I’m available.” And that’s all it took.

In the beginning, he held several posts, from furniture delivery, to teaching a Bible Study, to sorting clothes. He was available just like he said he would be. In the end, he started helping in Mission Arlington’s^® Front Room, where people come to ask for assistance with food, clothing, financial assistance, and other needs. In spite of how emotional it can be, he took to it immediately. He says, “It meant something to me, because of the people we were seeing. Not as a big group, but one-on-one.”

His current role is to be at the front desk whenever he is here, helping answer questions and directing people in need. He sometimes helps facilitate financial assistance, calling the utility companies to pledge support, etc. The needs are great. He points out that although Mission Arlington^® is in the middle of signing up people for school supplies, people are already asking for Thanksgiving and Christmas help.

His favorite thing is helping people one-on-one. He likes helping people problem solve. He says some people find themselves in need because of an emergency, a death in the family or loss of job, and some need help and aren’t sure how they got to this point. Jim finds joy in helping people problem solve: teaching them to save money, showing them life-skills, like how to budget. He says, “You see light bulbs come on. When they came in, they didn’t see how it could be done.” The work in hard, but joy comes from the Lord. “It’s somber, heartbreaking but satisfying. It’s good, all the time. And nothing surpasses that kind of joy.”

Recently, in conjunction with Jim’s birthday, the Mission Arlington^® staff and volunteers celebrated Jim’s twentieth-year volunteering anniversary. We are grateful for this long-term commitment and the way Jim cares for the people.

The Front Room assisted, on average, 160 families per day in 2018. This takes a large team of volunteers, and we need you. If you feel called to help counsel and pray with people in need, please call 817-277-6620 or stop by to see how you can help.

In 2008, Jean was enjoying her retirement from the Arlington school district until her mother passed away in March. By that June, she realized she needed to do something to keep herself occupied, so she visited with Tillie. “I knew I needed to get busy. I needed to do something so I would quit feeling sorry for myself.” Tillie introduced her to the medical clinic, and Jean began to work with Andrea, the nurse practitioner and one of Jean’s former students. Jean never left.

Jean does not have a medical background, but her skills as an administrator come in handy with the day-to-day clinic operations. She keeps excellent records, schedules appointments, and countless other necessary duties. Her favorite part of the job, though, is helping patients get reasonably-priced or free medications.

As the cost of prescriptions rise, Jean helps patients navigate pharmaceutical companies’ discount programs. She helps the doctors find the most accessible, most effective way to get patients the medications they need. She often stays late to fill out forms, make phone calls, and communicate with patients, but because she sees how much it helps the clinic’s visitors, she knows it’s worth every minute. “I feel it’s very important that they get their medications. There’s a real obligation in doing that because people need to be cared for in a timely manner.”

Every patient that visits the clinic gets to see God’s love through the time that Jean pours into them. We are grateful for her love and care for the people.

(Originally published February 2017)

God is at work in East Arlington – specifically, using Regina and her church to visit and share the gospel with families across the area.

Regina has been visiting people in the area for years. Mostly, their visits have been to people who have come to Mission Arlington^® for assistance. She says, often, people affirm that God ordained the visit. She says, “We show up in just the nick of time. People say all the time, ‘How did you know to come now? I was just saying I wish I had someone to pray with.’ Those are moments when know we are being used by God.”

Meeting people whose entire experience with church is attending a wedding or funeral, it’s thrilling to share the full truth of Christ with someone who has never heard.

Recently, the church has been focused on equipping the saints that have been attending to go and make visits themselves in the community. The leadership asked the congregation how they were feeling about visiting for the first time. Regina says, “What we heard was ‘It’s exciting, but I’m a little nervous, a little scared.’ But when we are confident in scripture, God will do what he set out to do.”

In addition to visiting three times per week, Regina holds an afterschool program for students from Sam Houston High School, leads a Bible Study at a nearby apartment complex, and a Wednesday night youth Bible Study for anyone in the area who may want to attend. On Saturdays, you can find her spending time with the teenagers. The teens are ready to visit, too. As many of them are bilingual, they will be place with monolingual church members to translate and share.

We are excited about the work God is doing across the city. Regina sums it up this way, “I’m a work in progress. Philippians says the work God has done with me, he will be faithful to bring to completion.”

Patti began volunteering at Mission Arlington^® and attending Celebrate Recovery several years ago. Read part of her story here.

Nowadays, Patti is happy with the changes she has made. As one example, she says she had been able to keep a gentle attitude in every aspect of her life, save one: driving alone in her car. If another car cuts her off, she still had a hard time keeping her anger under control. While no one else would know about this vice, Patti knew it was an issue that needed to be addressed. When she finally gave it up to God, he helped her to change. Now, Patti prays and can forgive drivers who used to upset her, even when no one else is watching.

This week, in particular, was special for Patti. She has lived for many years just a few blocks from Mission Arlington^®. Every Thanksgiving, she would look out her window and see the lines and lines of cars being loaded with turkeys. The bustle of activity looked like so much fun, she says, “I longed to be a part of it.” But with the heavy issues she was carrying, she couldn’t bring herself to go volunteer.

Now, Thanksgiving is one of Patti’s favorite days of the year. This week, all the volunteers who drove through to pick up a turkey saw Patti’s smiling face directing traffic and answering questions at the parking lot entrance. The smile was there in the morning, and continued until the last turkey was delivered.

“It brings tears of joy to my eyes,” Patti says. What a reminder of how far she’s come and how God is using her today.

Originally published in November of 2017. Update: Patti now serves the Lord part time with Mission Arlington, lending a hand every weekend.

Psalms 36:5
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.

God has always shown his faithfulness by allowing Mission Arlington^® to partner with local businesses to ensure that people’s needs are met. One example of this is, long-time friends of the Mission, Tony and Stan.

More than 20 years ago, Tony became aware of Mission Arlington^® when his children were engaged volunteering. Around 2000, Tony and Stan, business partners, decided to contribute to Mission Arlington corporately. After much prayer, and meeting with Ms. Tillie, they decided to contribute towards the annual Thanksgiving meal giveaway, and have continued to do so each year since.

They saw the great need and wanted to help. Stan says “We can’t do what they are doing, but we can do this. God gave us a part.”

In fact, as they networked with other businesses, several other companies have begun contributing along with Tony and Stan. Tony says, “Those folks, on an annual basis, contribute to Thanksgiving. It’s humbling. I don’t have to ask twice. They call me and say, ‘Isn’t it time to order turkeys?’” God prompts them to give generously so people can have what they need. In 2018, 6,324 families received turkeys thanks to God’s provision.

These kind men have given in other creative ways as well. When Mission Arlington has needed a little extra space, Trailer Leasing Solutions has donated trailers for temporary storage. A few years ago, the men donated a large amount of office furniture. They helped load it at their office and then followed Mission Arlington’s truck back to help unload. The first thing unloaded was a refrigerator. Tony remembers, “Immediately it was headed out to a woman who had called that morning because her fridge had gone out. I don’t think it ever hit the pavement. It makes it easy to want to partner up with Mission Arlington^®.”

We are so grateful to God for connecting Mission Arlington^® with people who want to prayerfully give their first fruits to help others. Stan sums up the heart of giving in this, “It’s not what you give. It’s how you give it. Giving is an act of worship.”

In 1994, James was pastoring a church 20 minutes away from Mission Arlington^®, but he meet Tillie Burgin at a conference far away in south Texas. Tillie was the speaker, and everything she said touched James’ heart so profoundly, he began to respond from the back row, “Amen!” Afterwards, they realized they were practically neighbors. A ministerial connection, and a friendship, was born.

James wanted others to avoid the mistakes he had made when he began preaching and caring for people in the Woodhaven area of Fort Worth. His church gave away food and clothes to the surrounding neighborhood, so he felt at home at Mission Arlington^® where he found people with the same heart.

The years have taken James across Fort Worth, into different ministerial roles, through medical issues, and past an amputated foot. For a year he literally had to be off his feet, but during his time of illness, the Lord showed him that he needed to get back to the people, back to serving on the ground. He says, “I do not want to punch my clock out of here and not be significant, not make a difference. Not by numbers but by impact.”

About a year ago, James found himself driving through Arlington, hurting, around 4:00 on a Sunday, which has been the time of the Mission Arlington^® Worker’s meeting every week since 1986. He knew where to find his family. James slipped in the back of the meeting, crying, into open arms. After the meeting, Tillie told him to come visit during the week.

Since then, James has been as active as he can at Mission Arlington^®. Despite continuing health concerns, he says he has to keep reaching out, ministering directly to the people. “I’m too old just to do church. I’m too old just to preach three points and a poem. I don’t want to leave without fulfilling God’s mission for my life.

“There are other places I could be, other things I could do. But I don’t think there’s any place I would be more significant, any place I would be more loved, any place I would be more appreciated, or any place that I care more about.”

Originally published in February of 2016.

Tori grew up at Mission Arlington^®. She attended Grace Street Fellowship, a Mission congregation, and her mother has been involved in many capacities for all those years.

Last spring, Tori graduated from Arlington High School, and, after applying for work at a few places, she realized Mission Arlington^® was the perfect fit. She started full time this past summer doing clerical work and Bible Studies every afternoon in Grand Prairie.

Toni, Tori’s partner in Grand Prairie, has nothing but praise for Tori and the good work God is doing in that city. Toni says, “I prayed for helpers, and God provided a young lady from among our own kids!  …She uses her energy, creativity, compassion and servant’s heart to work beside me in Grand Prairie! God exceeded my expectations when He called her to the ‘mission field next door.’”

Tori says, “I love teaching. That’s something I wanted to do regardless of where I was working.” She teaches on Sundays and helps plan crafts and activities for their weekly meetings. Toni is great at listening to Tori’s ideas, and they work together well.

Since coming to Mission Arlington^® to work, Tori says she has learned to “put everything in God’s hands. After I did that…everything was much more peaceful.”

Tori will be leaving after our Fall Festival this year to join her mother in Oklahoma to help care for her ailing grandmother.  We have been so blessed to watch Tori grow into the beautiful young lady she has become, and into the maturing Christian servant of the Lord.  We will miss her, of course, but we are excited about this next part of her journey, and we look forward to her return.

{First published 1 year ago, October 29th, 2017. Edited and republished October 23rd, 2018.}