If you come by Mission Arlington^® enough, you will start to notice some of the staff members look very much like each other. It could be from the years of being together as most of the staff have been working side by side for decades.  But in some cases, yes, your hunch is correct: they really are related.

Mariescha and Cassie’s parents began volunteering at Mission Arlington^® when Cassie was 5 and before Mariescha was even born, so the sisters have a combined 60 years of ministry experience.

When Mariescha and Cassie were old enough to make a choice about where to spend their Sunday mornings, they started teaching in the apartment ministries.  Mariescha still teaches where she started, at South Street Church, (now Parkview Fellowship), but she’s added several other ministry points in the past years.

Cassie ministers at an east Arlington apartment complex and makes home visits across the city, trying to connect people to a Bible Study near them.  She also works alongside her husband Matt, and her family, at Heritage Church, a Mission Arlington congregation in central Arlington. As Cassie and Mariescha finished school, they both took on responsibilities within the Mission office, helping things to run smoothly behind the scenes so that other Bible Study leaders can reach out effectively.

“When you grow up actively ministering in the community, you don’t know what else to do on Sundays, or any weekday for that matter,” Cassie says.  A few years ago, she had to spend a few months away for a medical concern and says it felt odd not teaching a Bible class somewhere.

Why did they stay?  Mariescha says it best, “Mission Arlington^® is both the safest and most challenging place I’ve ever been.  Challenging because we live missionally, and the parts of you that aren’t surrendered to Christ don’t stay that way for long.  Safest because you really are surrounded by a family that loves you as Jesus does.”

Originally Published September 2014.