This is a video produced this year by the good folks at the Official BEST of team from Hollywood, California. They provide TV and web viewers with the official best places to visit in a growing number of states across America.

After an organization is nominated, the research team from the organization consults with local Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Chambers of Commerce and other experts in the field to determine which nominations will be named the “best of.”

Mission Arlington^® was nominated and selected to be the “Best Charity of DFW.” We are humbled and honored by this designation.

You can view the video here (Press play):

Thank you so much for your support.

Leaving East Hall, First Baptist Church Arlington, September 29th, 1956.

Today, Bob and Tillie Burgin celebrate 59 years of marriage.  Bob grew up in  the small Texas town of Jewett, located in Leon country, about 1/2 way between Dallas and Houston off of Interstate 45.  the youngest son in a family with seven children, Bob grew up on a farm.

Tillie was the daughter of Erman and Bonnie Lester who hailed originally from Pittsburgh, and New Boston respectively.  Erman started and ran his own gas station after he moved to Arlington in the 1930s, and the family lived and worked in the heart of what has now become Downtown Arlington. Erman ran that station for 45 years. You could always get service with a smile, and he kept bubblegum handy for the kids. The offices of Mission Arlington^® are just one block from the Lester’s old homestead.

Bob and Tillie met, dated, and eventually, got married  in what is now called the “East Hall” of First Baptist Church, named after Henard East, a former, long-time pastor of the church. Bob entered the military in 1958, and was assigned to South Korea for a two year tour. Tillie followed Bob to Korea, living in missionary housing with the Methodists, because she wasn’t allowed on the base.  This experience in the war was part of their story a few years later when God led them back to South Korea as missionaries. By the time this couple (now with their two boys), retired, they had spent seven years in Korea, and ten on staff with the Foreign Mission Board of Southern Baptists.

When their oldest son entered college, the Burgins came home. Bob and Tillie were educators, so they jumped right back in to education in Arlington. There was a growing sense in their own hearts, however, that “if you can do missions in Korea, why can’t we do it in Arlington?” Bob served as a Vice Principal at Gunn Jr. High, then became Principal at Nichols Jr. High, and finally served at Arlington High School.  Then Bob taught and ultimately became the Associate Dean of the school of education for Dallas Baptist University. Tillie worked in various positions with the Arlington Independent School District, including Director of Personnel, and then in 1986, left to start Mission Arlington^®.

Today, Bob and Tillie have been married for 59 years. Their commitment to Christ first has strengthened their love for each other, and through them, they have faithfully served the Lord in this community.  Those of us who love them, near and far, are grateful for their influence in our lives, and for the legacy of faithfulness they are building in our community.

Happy Anniversary Tillie and Bob.  We wish you “many, many more!”

Seventy five (75) fifth and sixth graders from Gateway Church came to serve at Mission Arlington before they invested 3 hours of hard work this past Saturday morning.

This past Saturday, the Mission Arlington^® family was enveloped by hundreds of students, aged from elementary school through college, who gave their time to help here.   Guided by effective leaders, these student groups engaged their world in a personal way, so that they could contribute to real solutions for people in need.  We hear from these leaders, and it is our observation too, that the students learn more effectively, and that the “lessons learned” last longer, when the students experience their world in real time.

We began the morning with seventy-five (75) fifth and sixth grade students from several campuses of Gateway church.  Their motto was to “grow and go.”  As they grew deeper in Christ, they wanted their students to get personally involved in helping others.  As one leader said, “You’re never too young to start learning.”   It was beautiful to join their worship time, and to hear their prayers for the Mission.

Dallas Baptist Students engaging in Mission work at Mission Arlington. Here, they are moving Thanksgiving food into position.

Likewise, as a part of an “Engage Mission” conference, two hundred (200) Dallas Baptist University students spent their Saturday here, helping move Christmas toys, organize food, and generally position us for the upcoming holiday season.  One goal of this conference was to help students realize that “missions isn’t a trip,” but a way of life.  The energy and enthusiasm they brought more than demonstrated the heart behind their work.

In the same Spirit, Pantego Bible church sent sixty (60) student to Go Beyond their walls and into the community. Thirty ladies from Cornerstone Baptist joined in, as did “Old Bethel Baptist,”  and the first Wesleyan church from Euless.

It was quite a day, and so much work was accomplished. Many people received help, because of several hundred young people who gave their day, and themselves to make a difference.

We are grateful for the constant support of this community.

Ernst and Young family serving in the food pantry at Mission Arlington

It is a constant at Mission Arlington^®. Companies across the spectrum incorporate service into their core values, then put it into practice. The tag Line of Ernst and Young, for example, is “A Better Working World.” Today, they put these values into practice here at Mission Arlington^®, working all day to help us serve people in need. It’s hard work, and it is a full day, but dozens from the Ernst & Young team came anyway – just to make a difference.

Unloading food from a community pickup.

We also had another team here from the Securadyne Systems. In their every day life, this team of people provide specialized security services which protect “secure, prized assets.”  One of the companies core values includes “giving back” to their community. Around sixty (60) of them served here today, providing security and access for people in a moment of need. They stayed all day, sorting food, moving supplies, picking up furniture, and giving themselves in multiple ways to make a difference.

We are grateful for the corporate cultures which encourage support and personal investment in the community. We are especially thankful for the positive energy, hard working teams of the individuals in these companies who lend their energy to help others.  These are great days to serve here! #BetterWorkingWorld”

       Safe at the plate! Children learn the fundamentals of baseball at today’s baseball camp.

Mission Arlington^® started its baseball leagues today, a kind of coaching clinic for children, free of charge.  These young people learned the fundamentals of baseball – catching, running, hitting, and more.  They ran, played together on a team, and had fun too.  Best of all, they had an opportunity to learn more about the Lord and his love for them.  These leagues will run throughout the Fall.

Smiles all around at Mission Arlington’s baseball camp

We are grateful for coaches who volunteer, for a Mission Arlington^® congregation which allowed their land to be used, and for Bible study leaders within Mission Arlington^® who drove across the city today picking up the children, so that they could participate in the league.

We are grateful for each of you and the way you support our work day in and day out. Thank you so much for your encouragement. We are still working hard and having fun every day.

To God be the glory.

Click on the this link to see a few more pictures – on our FACEBOOK page.

By Jim Burgin, staff writer.

There is an old (1993) hymn, written and performed by gospel singer Andrae Crouch titled “My Tribute.” The first, and most often recalled, verse begins with a question: “How can I say thanks for the things you’ve done for me?” Crouch is expressing the sentiment of Christians worldwide who want to express their love to God for all he has done.  The lyrics to this tune adequately and effectively expresses the heartfelt sentiment within the Mission Arlington^® family this morning.

We know, and we believe,  that it is the Lord who sustains each of us in this place, and who provides for Mission Arlington^® day by day. We know that his ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9), so it has been important to us to look to Him for our support and provision, and not to the plans of men.  Generally, over the past 29 years, we have depended on prayer and not fund raisers or marketing strategies to do what we do here every day. You can read more about these core commitments here.

Yet, when a day comes along, as it did yesterday with the North Texas Day of Giving, put together by good people wanting to support the important work of more than 2,000 non-profits across North Texas, we have been blessed to join in as a participant.  We are especially eager for each of you who prayed, helped, and gave to know how much your support means.  The word for encouragement in the Bible actually means one who has been “called along side” another to provide support.  In the truest sense of the word then, each of you has encouraged us this week.  The words we find bouncing around in our own hearts, to the tune of “My Tribute,” is “How can we say thanks?

We want you to know that because of your support, prayers, and gifts, 171 people provided financial support through the North Texas Day of Giving yesterday, providing more money from this offering than we have ever received before.  We are giving praise to our Lord this morning, but we are also especially thankful for you.  In a day when gratitude seems to be on the wane, we want you to hear loud and clear our expressed thanks.

With our audited administrative overhead at 2.8 percent, more than 97 percent of those funds will go directly in ministry to people in need. This feels good to us, and to a lot of people.  This means that ordinary people in a moment of need will continue to receive the help that they need to be ok., and that they will also hear of God’s love for them, communicated in personal and careful ways.

Of course, our journey is not over, and there are many more days to come in this year. We value and appreciate so much your support here not just on a special day of giving, but all year long. Thank you, and “to God be the glory for the great things He has done.”

North Texas Giving Day for
Mission Arlington / Mission Metroplex

• This Thursday, September 17th, from 6:00 a.m. until midnight your gift to Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex will go farther on this day.  Click the link above in order to give. We are so grateful for your constant, faithful support.

The Communities Foundation of Texas has created an event which has become a movement. They have organized a giant giving day designed to support multiple charities in the North Texas area.

The heart of this day has been:

1. to create an awareness of non-profits and their work in the North Texas area for people who might not have known about them previously;
2. to create an atmosphere of giving, so that some might start giving in a way that they hadn’t before.  The gifts for this day can be as low as $25;
3. to provide an opportunity for people to do a little more for the charities which they already support, or at least,
4. to make a donor’s financial support go farther through participation. The Communities Foundation uses a formula to distribute extra funds to the charities who receive designated gifts on this day.

We want you to know that:

1. Although we don’t solicit funds, and never have, we are participating in this day;
2. If you choose to give in this way, your gift to Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex on this day will go farther, because the CFNT will add to it;
3. Your gifts will be used to minister to people in need. As most know, our administrative overhead is a low 2.8 percent;
4. Mission Arlington cares for ordinary, every-day working people in a moment of crisis. 600 people each day come through our front doors for help.

If you are led to give, and/or to share these links with others who might provide support, we would be honored and humbled by your partnership in our work.

We are already so grateful for the way this community generously and faithfully provide for the people in need through this ministry.

Thank you.

Christening of the “Tillie,” a fire rescue boat for the Arlington fire department. Chief Don Crowson and Chaplain Don Coker look on.

Watch the Video (Click this link):

On the 14th anniversary of September 11th, we were honored to spend time with Arlington’s firefighters at Lake Arlington’s Richard Simpson Park..  Arlington’s Fire Department honored Mission Arlington^® by commissioning their new fire rescue boat in the name of our director, Tillie Burgin.  This open, inclusive and caring team, who describe themselves with words like “duty, honor, compassion, and excellence,” has long been a partner and friend of Mission Arlington.^® Both groups work hard and long in order to care for the citizens of our community.

Fire chief Don Crowson with Tillie Burgin at the christening of “Tillie,” the new rescue boat for the city.

After a dedication by Chaplain Don Coker, Chief Don Crowson, and Assistant Chief Jim Self recognized Tillie for her “dedication and commitment to the citizens of our community.”  Tillie’s name on the boat was unveiled, and she christened the boat with a bottle of diet Dr. Pepper, her favorite drink.  Afterwords, shared with the group these words of appreciation:

When you live as long as I have lived, and had different opportunities in our community, I think about an honor like this as at ‘the top of my list.’  To be able to be out here with a group of folks who serve this community in a way that no other does, I can promise you this is probably ‘the greatest honor’ I could possibly have – and for my name to be on that boat – I just think it’s huge. I am extremely humbled and grateful.

According to fire department specialist Mark Maginnis, “this is the very first time we have ever named a piece of apparatus, much less one of out boats, after anybody, and it is our honor to name it after Ms. Tillie.”   We feel the same way. The mission family is honored to serve alongside civil servants such as these men and women in our Fire Department, and so grateful we have for partnering with our community to help ordinary families in need who come through our front doors for help.

We are grateful for the privilege of these partnerships, and we look forward to serving together into the future.  Thanks to everyone who prays, gives, and serves to make a difference here.

To view the video of the event captured on the City of Arlington website, click here.

Keri DeCay, international business French junior and UTA Ambassador and hurricane Katrina survivor expresses appreciation for Mission Arlington.

Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, changing the course of so many people’s lives.  Mission Arlington^® was honored and humbled to join other non-profit communities, churches, and city agencies, to provide assistance to those whose lives had been tragically propelled into our community.

In addition to playing our part in collecting and distributing the items which people would need, and joining the medical community to provide medical and dental care for those who had been displaced and bused into Arlington, we were also able to open and maintain two shelters to house, sleep, feed, and transport the Louisiana families who so desperately needed support.

Those of us who were here at the time will never forget the outpouring of love, generosity, and sacrifice which came day after day from this community.  You gave of what you had, out of your abundance, and you gave out of what you didn’t have, your own basic necessities.  Our community came together as never before, and treated our neighbors as if they were family.  It was a time which we will never forget.

This week, a student from UTA who was displaced and affected by this storm personally, wrote of her experiences now a decade later.  Her name is Keri DeCay, and she was 10 years old when Katrina hit her hometown.  Today, she is an international business French junior, and a UTA ambassador.  In a article published by the Shorthorn, Ms. DeCay says that she is grateful for the support she received from Mission Arlington^®, and that she loves to volunteer here when she can. It shows each of us once again how people who receive help are often the very ones who give so much more to help others.  We see that beautiful circle over and over again here.

We are grateful for the kind words published by Ms. DeCay about our work, and we wanted you to hear how much your generosity and sacrifice helps real people in need.  Thanks to each of you who keep on giving, so that someone else can have what they need to survive and thrive.  The same community who gave so much ten years ago, still provides support here, day in and day out.

We are humbled, amazed, and inspired by your generosity. Thank you.

Read Ms. Dekay’s insightful, and challenging article in the Shorthorn here!

Home sweet home. Returning after a day at school. Students and families appreciate Mission Arlington transportation. Many students are transported to and from school every day.

Mission Arlington^® coordinates with the Arlington Independent School District to transport students to school in neighborhoods where those students are too close for the school bus to pick them up, but also far enough away that the students would have to cross busy and dangerous intersections in order to arrive safely at school.

Twice a day, five days each week, Mission Arlington^® drivers pick up and deliver students from their home to the schools, and then back again. This provides help to working families who otherwise would have to let their children walk to school.   As you can see from the picture of happy children above, being a part of this ministry is quite a blessing.

The mission also takes the children of AISD teenagers to childcare, so that the mother can stay in school, complete her education, and build a better life for themselves over time. Something as simple as transportation makes a huge difference.

Through the summer, the transportation ministry slows down a bit, but when school starts again in the Fall, as it has now, it ramps up in a big way.  We are grateful for the individuals and organizations that donated the buses and vans which the mission uses for this work, and for the volunteer drivers along the way who help us to provide a fun and loving experience for the students.

We are grateful for the multiple ways that each of you support our work. It is precious cargo, indeed. Thank you.

For a short (3 minute), but strong video of our transportation ministry published a few years ago, click here.