Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “Follow-up” as something that “continues or completes a process or action.”  That meaning resonates for us at Mission Arlington^®, because follow-up is a critical component to every ministry we have.  We don’t believe that our work is finished until we have followed up with people after they have come through our doors.

As we turned the corner into this new year, teams of volunteers have already made their way across our community to follow-up with the parents who came through our Christmas Store.  We do report the numbers of people coming through our place as a way of quantifying or measuring our work, and we do this every year.  However, as our Director, Tillie Burgin, constantly reminds us, she “never saw a number walk through the front door.”

People deserve to know that someone cares about them, and that they are not just a “number being processed through a system.” The heart of this sentiment flows from the Lord who reminded his followers that whatever they did “for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,” they did for Christ. We see in our front room volunteers this kind of heart.  They listen to people’s needs, then connect them with needed resources, pray with them, and often enough, shed a few tears. People matter to us, no matter where they’ve come from, or what they are going through.

After someone comes in to see us in our front room with a wide variety of emergency assistance needs, we follow-up. Volunteers within Mission Arlington’s 349 Bible studies scattered across town make personal visits to homes.  They “check up” on people to see” if they got everything they needed from the mission, and whether or not something else might be helpful to them. Invitations are extended to attend one of our Bible studies, so that people can have a “family of faith” surround them – not just for a moment in time, but into the future.

We are grateful for the privilege we have of serving our Lord in this wonderful community.  We are so thankful for the myriad of ways you constantly follow-up with us. When we have been the recipients of such great support, how could we not pass along the same level of care for those in a moment of need.

Thank you for walking this journey with us in these days.

Mission Arlington^®‘s front door, open for business, early in the morning of January 1st, 2016. It is a beautiful, cool day to start the new year.  The “coffee is on!”  Come see us when you can.

Mission Arlington^® is “off and running” for the new year.

2016 has arrived, and we find ourselves grateful for the privilege we have of serving for another year in this community.  We will turn 30 years-old this August, and we are excited about that.

Tillie Burgin, our Executive Director, has been here from the start, and she still leads us, under God, with passion for God and for people, a commitment to excellence in every area, and to loving all people.  Tillie reminds the team here constantly that the most important word in John 3:16 is “whosoever,” because God’s love extends to everyone, so that there is “no one who should ever be left out.”

Our heart here is not just to “give out food and clothes,” but to treat people with the dignity and respect they deserve as people created by God.  We are passionate about the privilege we have here every day of loving people and, by God’s grace and your support, providing authentic help. We can do this, because of your faithful support.

We are open today, already helping families in need, and looking forward to greeting you when you drop by.  We will be here every day this year, 364 days, making sure we don’t miss the life of any person or family.

Your continued prayers, volunteer assistance, and financial support make such a big difference here. We are grateful for the privilege we have of walking this journey with you through this new year.  Daily, we thank God for you. Surely, our Lord “makes all things new” (Rev. 21:5).

We are grateful.

Students from Go Now Missions, from all across Texas, pausing to pose, before the start of another busy day during Mission Arlington’s Christmas Season.  These folks were a true blessing!

The Lord sent a group of college students here for a week during the Christmas season. They were sent by an organization called Go Now Missions, a team that sends college students out to do mission work around the world. Nineteen of these young people landed here mid-December. They were extraordinary young Christian leaders who helped us with anything and everything happening here during the Christmas season – from our front room, to out back, to our Christmas Store.  They were a blessing not only to us, but also to the many they served in our community.

Laura Cadena, a student from Angelo State University, served at Mission Arlington this Christmas.

Laura Cadena, a student at Angelo State University, shared her experiences with a news journal called The Baptist Standard.  Laura worked in our child care at the Christmas Store, then in our front room helping people in need.  She saw God working in miraculous ways, providing for people’s precise needs at just the right moments.   Laura, along with those she was helping, was moved to tears.

You can read Laura’s full testimony here.

As we look back on this past twelve months, from the perspective of our perch at year’s end, Laura’s testimony is also our own.  We see the way that our Lord has provided – not for us so much – but for the people who have specific needs coming through our front doors every day, and always at just the right time.

What we also know is that these resources come from and through you.  Because you give, we can, in turn, give it away.  As we enter this last day of 2015, as has been the case all week long, car after car is streaming through our drop-off out back.  There seems to be such joy in people as they give, and beautifully, we receive the hugs and the smiles, and the gratitude.  We are so humbled and blessed – as we have been all year long.

We are grateful for you, and the partnership we share as we respond to our community’s needs together.  We know that God is our ultimate resource, but we also know deeply that he has used your generosity, and your sacrifices to help people get the hand up they need.

Thank you so much for your support – your prayers, volunteer help, and your financial gifts throughout this year.  May God grant each of you, from our heart to yours, a . . .

“Happy New Year!”

Lines of cars dropping off items for people here at year’s-end. Your generosity makes a difference!

The after Christmas clean up in many homes has started, as families have time to go through closets, or as new gifts take the place of the old. Instead of throwing out things not useful at home anymore, our community generously thinks of others, and how clothes, furniture, computers, and so much more, can be given to someone in need.

Tillie and Barbara outside, praying together, then helping to receive gifts donated at year’s-end.

We love your heart, and we are so blessed as you drive through with donations.  It isn’t just that you bring gifts to those in need, but that you do it with such enthusiasm and joy.  Your investments here truly make a difference in the lives of real people.  You especially encourage us.  Thank you for your faithful generosity, and for your encouragement.

As you come in, we have extra volunteers outside, so that you can drive through as quickly as possible.  Be patient, where you can, because many people at year’s end find there way to us to make their last minute, much-appreciated donations. We will also have people outside to write receipts in these days before the new year, so that you will not have to get out and go inside to get the receipt, as you typically would.

We say constantly that we can be here, because we live and work in a community that long ago learned the blessing of giving.  Remember, when you give it, we give it away.  We don’t sell anything at Mission Arlington, and every service is provided free of charge.

Our front room has been full this week with people in need.  Thank you for the way you give, pray, and support our work with finances, so that more lives can be lifted in love.

We are ever grateful for you. We can’t wait to see you!

A group of ladies serving in the Christmas Store together had more fun helping parents get the Christmas gifts they needed for their children. The smiles on their faces both illustrates and symbolizes the incredible spirit of our volunteers this Christmas season.What a great community!

On this day after Christmas, we are pleased to share with you the results of your generous, faithful, and sacrificial support.

As most know, when you give to Mission Arlington^®, you are actually giving through us to someone in need. Our administrative overhead is a low 2.8 percent. This means that when you give financial support, 97.2 percent of every dollar goes directly in ministry to people, and not towards the administrative needs of the organization.

Tillie Burgin Director of Mission Arlington since the beginning, in the Christmas Store talking with a volunteer.

On the other hand, when you donated various items, such as food, clothing, furniture, and/or Christmas gifts for children, 100 percent of each contribution goes directly to the people. You give it, and we give it away. It has long been our policy not to re-sell anything you give. Truly, we are twice blessed – once when you give, and again when we give it away.

For this reason, among others, we view ourselves as a simple reflection of our community.  We can only give to others what you have first given to us.  We believe that the strength of our work here comes from the Lord first, and then in and through your generosity.  Individuals, families, civic groups, companies, corporations, churches, schools, and so many more, contributed Christmas gifts, bikes, food, and thousands of volunteer hours to make the holiday season so blessed for people in need. It was and is extraordinary to watch the outpouring of love coming from all directions.

Some of you adopted children through our “angel tree” process. Others adopted families, and still more gave in and through our Christmas Store. More than 7,000 of you showed up to help us give gifts away in our Christmas Store. Wow!

All in all, 7,351 families received help, representing 30,514 children.  We were able to tell the Christmas Story in five different languages (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Sign, and Arabic), and 368 adults indicated their desire to begin a walk with Christ, and another 743 adults rededicated their lives to Christ, or told us that they wanted to know more about faith.  Follow up begins with each family starting today.

We are so grateful for the privilege we have of serving with this community to help people in a moment of need.  Your prayers, your help, and your financial support make a huge difference here.  We wish we could express our thanks to each of you individually. As we pray for you this morning, our hope is that the Christ of Christmas has found his home in yours as well, and that your own Christmas moments were blessed, because you first helped someone else to be alright.

We are truly enjoying this season at year-end, and looking forward to the year ahead.

To God be the glory!

College students from “Go Now” Missions, from all across Texas are here serving for a week. We are blessed!

College students from across Texas and from all over North America are here this week and next, helping Mission Arlington in a variety of ways at Christmas.

Three hundred (301) College students from Shreveport Louisiana, Blue Mountain Mississippi, Campbellsville Kentucky Tyler and Wichita Falls, Texas, and Pryor, Oklahoma, among others have been here this week helping Mission Arlington^® in our Christmas Store, collecting and delivering bikes, picking up and delivering furniture, sorting & separating food, helping people park, and so much more. Nineteen college students are here from all across Texas (pictured above), sent to provide leadership at Christmas time.

These young people could be spending their Christmas break in any number of ways, but they chose to spend their well-earned vacation time and school breaks serving at Mission Arlington.

We are so grateful.

A Crowded Christmas Store on the very first day the store opened for Mission Arlington Bible studies and congregations.

It’s Christmas time at Mission Arlington^®.  Our front room is full of working families, just needing a little help to get by. Because you give, we can help.

Our dental and medical clinics are brimming with people. Volunteer doctors and dentists are here, using their gifts to make a difference. Our donated trucks, filled with furniture, are leaving here every fifteen minutes, taking what you have given out to homes of hard-working families in need.

Volunteers are here. Individuals, families, and various kinds of groups – from civic clubs to corporations big and small, to church groups of most every size and shape.  These volunteers include people of all ages – from young children, to teenagers, college students, and adults – some in their 90s.  Even more of you are driving in, donating Christmas toys, food, furniture, and so much more. Streams of cars fill our driveways almost every hour of every day. In these days before Christmas, we start early, leave late, and love every minute in-between.

When you add to this the number of children – over 7,000 – who have received Christmas gifts from the store so far, then it is easy to think about Mission Arlington^® in terms of volume, crowds, and big numbers. We love the experience of being surrounded by so many people helping and being helped, especially because we know that our Lord is in the mix.

Five year-old Natalie received her bike, and a special bike helmet this past Saturday. It isn’t about “the bikes,” but about each child that receives one.

At the same time, Mission Arlington® has always been, as Tillie likes to say, a “ministry of ones.” Motivated by our sense that “whosoever” is the most important word in John 3:16, we’ve never been able to consider anyone among us as less important. We are coached here daily “not to miss a life,” to the point where it has become the representative culture of our place.

This past Sunday morning, just prior to an early prayer meeting in Tillie’s office, sounds of gentle sobbing emerged just outside the doors. A young mom was in distress.  Her son had recently been in an accident,  and this mom didn’t have money or means to acquire the medical equipment he needed. As a few gathered around to listen, one staff member bolted to our medical equipment closet and brought back crutches and a walker.  Through the tears, the mom told those gathered in a circle around her that she was a believer, and that she not only knew she would receive help here, but that we would pray with her.

The day before, there were thousands in the Christmas Store. That morning, only one. Every life matters to God, and every life matters to us.

We are so thankful for each of you who walk along side of us in these days. Your support encourages and inspires us to faithfulness, so that each person who crosses our path every day will experience the love of Christ here.

Thank you for your constant prayers, gifts, and support. You are making a difference here.

Because you have given so faithfully and generously all year long, and especially in these weeks leading up to Christmas, we are ready for opening day. More than 3,000 people will go through our Christmas Store today, representing several hundred families.

Parents concerned about taking care of their children have lined up early. Some of them were here all night long.

The heart of the Mission Arlington^® family today  – staff and volunteers – is not only to support each family with Christmas gifts – we want children to have something under the tree on Christmas day – but also to receive people warmly, to listen to their stories, to learn the names of their children where we can, and to provide genuine, authentic care.

A childcare is open here today, so that those parents who don’t have anyone to care for their kids will have a loving, safe place for them while the parents search for gifts in the Christmas Store.  Each parent coming through the store will also have a volunteer assigned to them as a “personal shopper,” helping them find the right gift for their children. The final stop is a wrapping station, filled with donated wrapping paper and scotch tape, so that a family can have their gifts wrapped, as if they were purchasing these gifts in a department store.

We have prayed for, and worked hard at making the store a place where people needing help can feel special and loved.  Anyone can hand out toys, after all, but our heart is to treat people with dignity and respect.  The volunteers who come from across North Texas, North America, and our own community do just that.

Our favorite part of this free Christmas store is the Christmas story.  We often hear from people coming through that while they loved and appreciated the gifts for their family, they were truly touched by the story.  We have the great privilege of being able to share Luke chapter 2, the biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ, with every adult who comes through the store.  This past year, we were able to tell the story in six (6) different languages.

By the end of this day, the parents of thousands of children will have wrapped gifts hidden away somewhere which will go under the tree on Christmas Day.  We are so grateful for the way each of you have given, so that children and their families can truly have a Merry Christmas.  We are grateful for you.

As the store opens today, if you aren’t here helping, would you pray with us? Pray that each one coming through the store will receive the kind of care our Lord would want for them. Pray that the Mission Arlington family will be faithful, and that God will receive the glory in it all.

It is going to be a wonderful day.  We’ll keep you posted!

Assembly line, moving boxes of toys from storage into the Christmas Store across a couple of parking lots.

We are only days away now from the public opening of the store.

Last year, more than 32,000 children received toys.  Opening day of Mission Arlington^®‘s  Christmas Store is this Saturday, December 12th. The store stays open through December 23rd – every day, except for Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and it is completely free.

Fifth and Sixth graders from Oakridge School in Arlington move toys into position.

A beautiful, hard-working, group of people have been getting the store ready since it closed last Christmas Eve.  All-year, the mission staff and volunteers collected the donated toys you gave, and placed them in the store which had emptied of toys by Christmas day.

Even though we work for twelve months to get the store ready, preparation picks up in intensity the week or two prior to the pubic opening. This morning, around 100 fifth and sixth graders from the Oakridge School in Arlington have been here. Standing side-by-side in an assembly line, these bright, energetic young people moved toys out of trucks, across parking lots, and into the Christmas Store – one box at a time.

We are so grateful for the groups of people all year long who give and/or organize toy drives, so that this “store” will be filled and ready on opening day.

This community truly comes together to help:

Two fifth and sixth grade young ladies smile while moving boxes of toys through an assembly line into the Christmas Store.

Two fifth and sixth grade young ladies smile while moving boxes of toys through an assembly line into the Christmas Store.

It has been inspiring to watch children ask their friends to bring gifts for the Christmas Store, instead of something for themselves on their birthdays;

a team of ladies works on the restoration of dolls all year long, assigning each doll a scripture and a name. The dolls currently line an entire shelf – ready for moms and dads to pick them up for their children;

civic groups, neighborhoods, and so many more, have toy drives, gathering gifts for the store;

Employees in some companies provide resources from their checks each month, then employees purchase toys and send them on ahead. So many of you drop by with Christmas toys every day.

These are just a few examples of the sacrificial, generous giving of this community.

We are humbled to serve our Lord in this time and place. Your generosity moves us here every day. We give credit to our Lord for the way He puts all of this together, and we are thankful for you.

The opening of Mission Arlington’s annual (free) Christmas Store is “just around the corner.”

It is interesting to observe in our culture the various ways that people prepare for Christmas. There are Christmas “countdowns,” “tips for simplifying and getting organized,” “ideas about getting ready,” “ultimate Christmas guides,” and so much more. We haven’t linked to the sites online in this article, because often the connections lead its readers to advertisements, self-promotions, or gimmicks of some kind.  Add to this the discussions of “Christmas Creep,” and “Christmas too soon” conversations, and it is no wonder that people feel stressed  in this season. Holy days have become holidays after all.

On the other hand, there is a sense at “Mission Arlington^® that it is Christmas here every day and not just for a season, but all year long. The star which tops our main offices reminds us daily of the “Bethlehem star” which pointed the way to the Christ child.  On one hand, we remember the kind of people we are supposed to be.  On the other hand, we see incredible gifts, donated generously and freely, given to people in need. Because it is “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), we watch the smiles which start from deep within the heart on the faces of those who give. We also experience here each day the expressions of thanks, tears of joy, and hugs of appreciation from those who needed precisely what was given – not for extravagance, but for every day living.  Truly the spirit of Christmas, if not Christmas itself, lives in our place each and every day.

Preparation for the CHRISTMAS STORE begin each year on December 26th.  We receive new and/or nearly new toys all year long in preparation. Teams of volunteers work periodically throughout the year to get the “Store” ready, and more intensely as Thanksgiving passes and Christmas looms. This free “store” allows parents to choose the gifts for their children, and have them gift-wrapped, then carried to the car.  Each adults coming through the store also hears the Christmas story, told in multiple languages from Luke chapter 2.  Our Christmas Store still needs a few more toys in it, of course, but in general, we are ready to go.

This is an exciting time at Mission Arlington^®.  We have turned the corner from Thanksgiving toward Christmas. We are so pleased to be walking this journey together with you.