For the 11th year in a row, Charity Navigator – the “largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities” nationwide – awarded Mission Arlington /Mission Metroplex^® it’s 11th annual 4-STAR award.

The 4-STAR designation is the highest honor the respected charity watchdog bestows, placing us in the top 1 percent of charities they rate nationwide.

We are humbled to receive this honor once again, and we appreciate so much the faithful, sacrificial support of this community. You can view their annual report about our work here.

In a May 1st letter, Michael Thatcher, the President and CEO of Charity Navigator, says that this honor indicates to the public that we adhere to “best practices,” and that we “execute our mission” in a “financially efficient way.”

According to Thatcher, Mission Arlington /Mission Metroplex^® “exceed industry standards,” outperforming “most other charities in America.” We are humbled and honored by this designation.

We can be here, now in our 31st year, because of the way you constantly give your time, prayers, and financial support day after day.  When you give, we are able to give it away.

We believe that the honor we have received through this designation is a credit to the heart of a great community who cares about people in need.

We are grateful for the privilege we have of walking this journey with you.

 Transparent  – Each year about this time we pass along to you the same report our Board of Directors receives from the auditors.  This local & respected team of men and women review the books here each spring, then submit their findings.  Today, we are passing along this news to you.

 In Good Standing  – We are pleased to let you know that we have been given a clean bill of health – in accounting terms “a clean opinion.”  We recognize the value of your trust, so we work hard to do things well and right. This has been our heart for over 30 years.

 Low Administrative Overhead  – We also know that your hard-earned dollars are given sacrificially for the purpose of providing help for people in need.  We never take your generosity for granted. We pray over our expenditures here, and under the leadership of our Director, Tillie Burgin, we continue to watch the pennies we spend.

Our administrative overhead for 2016 (the latest reporting period) was 2.79 percent.  This means that more than 97 cents out of every dollar goes directly in ministry to people in need.

 Accountability  – In addition, we are pleased to work with a number of charity watchdogs who evaluate our work. You can find the links to their reports at the bottom of each page of this website.

 Effective Ministry Results  – Finally, we provide a ministry report every year which details the results from each of our ministries over a specific year.  Usually, this report is published in January of each year. You can find the report for 2016 published here. You can find reports through the past 12 years or so listed here.

 Our Gratitude  – We are grateful for the way you give you time and resources here. Thank you.

These days have been special at Mission Arlington^®.  We love so much the opportunities we have to serve this community alongside of you. We especially love the privilege we have of serving children, youth, and their families.  The Easter season here provides us ample opportunities to do just that.

Since you were the ones who gave the plastic eggs filled with candy, and since you were the ones who came here to put them together for the kids, and since so many of you who couldn’t give or come prayed with and for us all the way through, we wanted to provide this Easter report for you.

1.  Easter Store – 1,012 people attended; 
2.  Maundy Thursday Youth Service – 182 youth attended; 
3.  Easter Egg Hunt – 4,702 people attended. 

In our Bible studies and congregations this past Sunday, thousands gathered to worship a risen Lord. Thank you so much for your faithful generosity. You are making a difference here.

A Bible study family from central Arlington came to the Easter Egg Hunt together. In the background you can see a Dipert bus donated to help carry children to and from the Egg Hunt. We are grateful for so many who support this ministry with children.

For Christians, every Sunday is a reminder of Christ’s resurrection, but there is something very special – holy – about the annual celebration of Christ’s victory over death, and its implications for our faith (1 Corinthians 15:4). As Easter draws near, Christians around the world join hands to worship. The Mission Arlington^® family looks toward Easter too with great anticipation and joy.

Because we have been loved so much, our hope and our heart is to share God’s love as far and wide as we possibly can.  Every day we are providing food and emergency financial assistance to families who find themselves in a moment of crisis. Every day we volunteer dentists and doctors are providing medical assistance to people struggling with their health.

Every week, we are assisting students with their homework, so that they can be successful with their education now and in life later on. Every week, we are loving young people through sports in multiple venues – including wrestling, baseball, basketball, and now volleyball. Every week we have the privilege of teaching God’s word in accessible Bible studies & congregations spread out in nearly 350 places across our community. We are so incredibly blessed by your support and for the privilege we have to serve our Lord in this community day by day.
As Easter draws near, we have many opportunities ahead of us to share God’s love in a few special ways:

• Our Easter Store is designed to help families have a few of the extra things they may need at Easter. The store opens April 12th and 13th from 10 to 6 each day;
• On Maundy Thursday, at 6:30 p.m., we host an annual service designed specifically for 7th – 12th graders who attend our Bible studies & congregations each week; 
• Our giant Easter Egg Hunt, affectionately called the “world’s largest,” happens on Saturday, April 15th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This event is open to the public. Easter eggs and candy are still needed for this event; 
• On Easter Sunday morning, our congregations will gather all over the city to worship a risen Lord. Contact us if you have an interest in joining a Bible study near you.

Everything that happens in and through Mission Arlington^® can happen because of your faithful and generous support of this ministry. We want you to know every day how grateful we are for you. May our Lord bless each of you in and through this Easter season.

Psalms 105: 3b “. . . .so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.” Children serving at Mission Arlington

Spring Cleaning really is a “thing” in our community, but it isn’t only a local phenomenon.  Spring Cleaning occurs in many cultures around the world. It refers to a kind of “deep cleaning” people do each spring.  You may not know this, but advice about Spring cleaning is abundant – from tips, checklists, and guides to simple shortcuts.  You can find the information almost anywhere and everywhere. If you haven’t started your spring cleaning yet, you might be just a little behind.

At Mission Arlington^®, we know that the cleaning season is underway in our community, and that it has been for some time.  As you clean out closets in your home, or your business, you have been donating items to people who could use something special for their home.  Around this time every year, our donation bins stay full, and the line of cars coming through never quite empties.  We love it, because generosity is in the air, and the way you give continues to bless us. When you come by to “drop off,” you are always such an encouragement to us. Thank you.

Spring Cleaning  can also refer to a person or organization who is “getting their affairs in order” before a big event or a new season in life. For Christians, Easter is a time that many revive or rededicate themselves to faith. 40 days before Easter, Lent begins. This is a time when many will set aside something of value to them to focus on Christ and his journey to the cross. Easter can truly be a way for some people to begin their journey of faith, and also for many to renew their commitment to Christ.

Easter is an important time for the Mission Arlington^® family too. In this season, we host an Easter Store, designed to bless families with specific needs for this season. On Thursday of holy week, we gather youth from our Bible studies for a Maundy Thursday service, one designed specifically for them. On the Saturday before Easter, we host what we affectionately call the “World’s Largest” Easter egg hunt.  And on Easter Sunday morning, our congregations gather with faithful believers here at home and all across the world to commemorate and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.  This is a season, we pray, when many can come clean before the Lord and to have a fresh new start.

We are so grateful for each and everyone of you who give, volunteer, and pray for us – not just in this season, but all year long.

A Rainbow Express during Spring Break last week.  Student groups from across the country came to share God’s love with thousands of children across our community. We are so grateful for each team and every person who came to serve.

 More than 7,000 children attended Rainbow Express over Spring Break, an average of 1,764 every day. 212 children and youth accepted Christ, including a few who came with their team.  

The phrase “boots on the ground” is attributed to General Volney F. Warner who gave the phrase new meaning around 1980 in reference to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The phrase indicates ground forces who are actually fighting in a war or conflict as opposed to other military action created from a distance, such as the Pentagon “think tanks” or air force strikes from the sky.

Through these weeks of Spring Break and on into the summer, teams of people from across Texas and around our country are landing in this community to share the good news of Christ. As we’ve watched a sea of buses/vans arrive in our city this past week (over 1,600 students), “boots on the ground” is one image that seemed relevant.  Instead of a battle, however, this large team of people had landed here to share God’s love

One of Mission Arlington^®’s twin values is “taking church to the people.” Instead of waiting, or hoping, that people will come from their homes into our church buildings, we’ve believed from the beginning the believers should leave their places of comfort and take the Lord’s love into each and every home across our city. That’s what has happened here this week.

Of course, these teams are following the marching orders given to all Christians,  from the Lord himself – to go into all the world making disciples (Matthew 28: 18-20). These student groups come to lead Rainbow Express^®, our version of a backyard Bible club. Children have fun, enjoying snacks, crafts, active games, music (including some silly songs), snacks, and a Bible story.

Each Rainbow Express^® lasts for a couple of hours over four days. We are so grateful for each and every volunteer who leaves their comfort zone to move throughout this community to share God’s love. In a very real sense, you are the “boots on the ground,” in God’s army, to spread His love and peace in this community – one life at a time.  We love the privilege we have of serving alongside you each and every day. Many more weeks ahead.

 It’s Spring Break at Mission Arlington^®

 Spring at Mission Arlington®  means the start of Rainbow Express^®. If you haven’t heard of Rainbow Express^® before, it is our name for a “backyard Bible club. ” Student groups come from around the nation to help, and it is always so much fun.
  1,600 students  will arrive
here to lead these events in  93 different locations . Several groups are already here this week – serving here each morningand leading Rainbow Express^® every afternoon.

What is Rainbow Express?

Each event lasts around two hours, and happens over a four-day span of time in each location. Fun songs, outdoor activities, crafts, and Bible stories make up the experience. Plus, there is a lot
of individual love and attention given to each child.

Sharing Jesus

Where do these student groups stay?

Some of the teams coming into town stay in local hotels, of course, but many of the 65 different groups who come need a place to stay.  In order to make it easier for churches to bring their students, we will house them in as many of our facilities as we possibly can. Staying in a Mission Arlington^®  location basically means that each student will have a clean and safe place to stay where everyone sleeps on the floor. They will have access to restrooms, showers, and a small kitchen.  We provide these facilities free of charge, and they are spartan.

How you can help

The best and most important service you can offer us through this week, Spring Break, and the weeks to come is to pray. Please pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit, for the right connections to be made between church youth groups and individual children & youth in the community. Pray for safety in travel, and above all, please pray that there will be no distractions from the message of the gospel of Christ.  We are praying specifically for people to be saved. May our Lord be glorified through it all.

We are grateful for you!

If you have followed us for very long at all, you will know that we express appreciation often for those who give and volunteer, and also for those of you who pray for us.

We publish “prayer circles” each week, a kind of guide for collective prayers, and we have asked that people “pray without ceasing” on the one hand, but also that those of us who pray could metaphorically join hands each morning at 10:00.

We have a beautiful sense of the covering provided for this place, because people pray. We are truly grateful.

On the last Thursday of each month, the Mission Arlington^® family gathers to pray. Last night, we watched taped testimony from a worshipper at Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn, New York who had reached the heights of success in the world of fashion, but lost it all through an addiction to drugs.  It was the power of prayer in this man’s life which saved his life, and connected him to Christ. It was a direct reminder of prayer’s power, and that we should never give up on any one. No one is beyond the reach of God’s love.

Tillie Burgin, our Director, spoke to the team last night, reminding us that most Christians believe in prayer. However, she wondered  “how many know intuitively and practically prayer’s power?” ?   Our prayer time together was significant and strong.  We prayed for the Bible studies we lead throughout our city. We prayed for each other personally, and we prayed for revival to come to our city, beginning with us.

In the Old Testament, after Job suffered so much, he demanded an audience with God multiple times (Job 10:2; 13:3; 13:22-24; 19:7), God shows up and answers Job.   When the Lord finishes, Job says “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. (42:5).

We are writing today specifically to say “Thank you for your faithful prayers on our behalf,” and to request that you continue.  Our heart’s desire is that God find us faithful and in tune with His will for our lives personally and for the Mission collectively.  May God move in and through each of us to make a difference in our homes, our neighborhoods, our city, our country, and our world.

We are grateful for your support.

 Mission Arlington®’s children’s basketball leagues begin tomorrow, and continue each Saturday in February from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

In 2016, seventy (70) children played ball with us over four different Saturdays, adding up to a total attendance for the month of more than 400.

Children from Mission Arlington Bible studies enjoy playing basketball in a safe and fun environment

Bible study leaders drive mission vans out across our community to pick up children early on Saturday morning.  The Bible study groups form the teams, and through the years, they have enjoyed playing half court games against each other.

A couple of years ago, Jerry McCullough, former Superintendent of the Arlington ISD, and currently a Bible study teacher and team leader at one of our apartment congregations, took the lead.  The Lord led Dr. McCullough to enlist skilled volunteers from across the community, along with the Bible study teams, who would give their time and talent to coach the children.

When the leagues begin tomorrow, these volunteer coaches will lead a miniature basketball camp, teaching children the fundamentals of the game. These future basketball stars will learn how to dribble, pass, work on a team, all along getting great exercise and positive feedback from the coaches and their Bible study leaders.

Please pray with us as we gather the children through Saturdays in February. We are always thankful for your faithful support.

A balloon game to help children learn the scriptures at Bible Olympics in 2016

We live in a day where biblical literacy is on the decline.  In fact, some consider the rate of illiteracy so alarming, they refer to it as an epidemic. From working in apartment ministry through the years, we have seen too that many people who are new to faith, or close to beginning their faith journey, simply haven’t had much interaction with or awareness of the biblical message.

Bible Olympics has been a part of Mission Arlington’s repertoire for as far back as any of us can remember. It is our effort, as the book of Proverb contends, to “train up a child” in the way that they should go.  The Olympic efforts of Mission Arlington^® are designed to teach the children God’s word in creative and fun ways.

This annual event uses creative games, crafts, and loving mentors to educate children about biblical organization and content.  The point, however, isn’t Bible trivia, but introducing students to Christ, and to the transforming power of God’s word.

With free food and transportation, we are looking forward to a great day. We are grateful for your constant, faithful support. Thank you, and all glory to God.