1,300 students are here this week, serving at Mission Arlington. Pictured here is the team from Fellowship Church, Neosho, Missouri. They are putting Easter eggs together for our big Easter egg hunt this April.

By Jim Burgin, staff writer

When Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the Sunday of Holy week, the historian Josephus tells us that 2 million people were in and around the city. Crowds gathered to worship the Lord as he entered the city on a donkey.  When he taught in the Temple during the week, hosts of people listened to him teach, and watched the religious leaders try to chip away at his integrity through a variety of tricks and traps.

Yet, Jesus’ eye had a way of seeing through the crowds to the needs of individuals.  One of his accusers was amazed, and also touched, by the Lord’s responses to the constant interrogations. Jesus told him that he wasn’t far from the Kingdom of God.  In the midst of the temple’s noisy clatter, and the constant motion from the swarms of people, Jesus notices a widow putting her tithe into the box. He gathers his disciples to teach them about the beautiful hearts in this world. “This woman,” he said, didn’t just give from her surplus, but with her “mite” had given more than all of the others put together.  In the midst of constant motion and crowded places, Jesus could see into the heart of individual people.

Mission Arlington® has had a busy week.  If you’ve been down to our place this week, then you will have noticed the buses, the flocks of students, (1,300 of them) young and old, volunteers from every corner of the Metroplex hustling and bustling to serve, and a host of people in need.  Literally thousands of people come in and through our front doors every day.  The weeks of Spring Break beautifully are among our busiest times. WE LOVE IT!

Yet, Mission Arlington®, as busy as things get, isn’t about the crowds, but about the Lord, and about the people.  We believe, and always hope to be, a “ministry of ones.”  Every life and each individual matters to our Lord, and therefore, to us.  We believe that anyone can hand out food and clothes, but our heart isn’t just to give things away, but to connect with each life.

A woman in her early 20s sat quietly at our back door early this week. She was thin and shaking, because it had been a while since she had anything to eat.  Because of her own choices, she admitted, she had come to a place in her life where she didn’t have a place to stay.  Her only transportation was an old bike.  She wondered if we might have something to eat?  Quickly, we gathered the food she needed, and asked her to let us help her find shelter.  She refused all help, but the food.  While she sat there, one of our volunteers sat quietly beside her, pouring love and encouragement into this young life.  We watched her ride the old bike out into the night.  It was just a moment in time, but many of us here are still praying for this young lady today.

Later in the week, a young man volunteering with us had a medical emergency. Andrea, our medical clinic director, was there in a flash, as was Tillie, our executive Director, and two staff members.  There was a tenderness in the hearts and hands of the team, as they held this young man until he was ok again. The family was called, and we transported him home.  “Holding people” when they have a moment of need in their lives, is really what we do best.  Every life matters to the Lord, so each and every life must matter to us. We talk about this here every day.

When I was a child, I had a Sunday school teacher who was fond of saying that someone was “too big for their britches.”  It must have been a common saying at the time, because I seemed to hear this said a lot. She meant by this that someone thought too much of themselves, or had become self-important, to the exclusion of others around them.  Occasionally, I was the subject of the conversation too, apparently needing a bit more humility in my life.

Sometimes when organizations grow, they become an institution or a bureaucracy. Patterns become codified, and somehow the numbers themselves become more important than the people.  Yet, it isn’t the numbers that matter to our Lord.  It’s his people.  Jesus died for the people. It was the people He came to save.   Tillie reminds the team here often that she “has never seen a number walk through the door” and that “there is never a life that can be thrown away.”  I am grateful to be part of a place  that is growing, and yet where the needs of people still matter.  This is still true here every single day.

May we never be “too big for our britches.”

Rainbow Express picture at an East Arlington apartment community.

What an incredible week this has been at Mission Arlington®.  We hear so much in our day about students who get in trouble over Spring Break, or use their Spring Break to go to the beach.  That’s usually what makes the news, isn’t it?

Yet, this past week, in our own community, hundreds of students gave up their week to serve the Lord, and to make a difference here. These students (from across the country and from multiple cities around Texas) came to lead Rainbow Express, Mission Arlington®’s version of a “backyard Bible club.”

They arrived at the mission early each morning, then spread out across the community to play games, sing songs, create crafts, and to teach God’s word with the children who attended.  They would do this twice a day, from Monday – Thursday and get back into their Mission Arlington® hosted beds (places to sleep on the floor) each night.

These students led Rainbow Express® in 92 locations this week. 5,829 children attended a Rainbow Express® event altogether, and 213 of these children accepted Christ.

It has been an incredible week to serve our Lord here.  We are so grateful for your constant support.

Rainbow Express in Action at a central Arlington location – using puppets to teach God’s Word.

Rainbow Express® begins again on Monday. Spring Break has finally arrived, and student groups from around the country, like a mighty wind,  are making their way to Arlington to lead these creative and fun events for children and youth.

Rainbow Express® happens in 90 locations throughout our community next week alone.

Rainbow Express® is Mission Arlington®’s version of a backyard Bible club.  Crafts, snacks, games, music, and Bible stories form the foundation of this work with students.

Through the month of March, 3,339 people from 149 different groups are scheduled to arrive at Mission Arlington® to help. These groups are coming from multiple Texas cities, and many states across North America.  They will be leading Rainbow Express and work projects. They will serve in our health clinics, and help us get ready for Easter.  Most importantly, they will help us spread the love of God throughout our community.

Would you please pray with us through these next three weeks?  We are praying that we can share God’s love with our community with as many people as possible, and that many people will come to know the Lord personally.

Truly, at Mission Arlington®, March has come “in like a lion.”  It all starts Monday morning. Aren’t we grateful?

Mission Arlington in the snow. Even on the coldest days, the light still shines.

The Shorthorn has been UT – Arlington‘s main news source since 1919. Yesterday, Cassie Logan, a Shorthorn reporter, came to Mission Arlington® to see what happens around here when it gets cold and icy like it was yesterday.  You can read her interview with Tillie Burgin, and our medical clinic director, Andrea Wilson, along with the testimony of people who were being helped here yesterday.

Read the article here!

It is important to the Mission Arlington® family to be here on the coldest of days, because that is often the time the people need the most help.  We are so grateful for the privilege we have of serving our community together.  Thank you for all the ways you support our work. We are grateful.

A student works on his math skills at an “after-school” program in a central Arlington apartment community.

According to various agencies who do research on childcare, After-school programs help students find success with employment later in life, keep them out of trouble during their school years, and bless hard working families who want to provide the best for their children.  According to one report:

Children who spend time in enrichment activities have better grades, better work habits and more positive relationships with their peers. After-school programs give children the opportunity to develop creative thinking, problem-solving, communication and self-direction skills that are linked with success in the workplace.

Mission Arlington® hosts after-school programs in 34 locations. More than 1,500 (1,683) students attend a homework help session with us each week.  We are so blessed to spend time with the students, and to be one contributing factor towards their success in school.  When they begin to do better in school, they tend to succeed more at home, in their relationships, and to feel better about themselves.

Working on homework and learning God’s word is an important part of Mission Arlington’s “after-school” programs.

Most of Mission Arlington®‘s after-school work involves snacks, creative games, and Bible stories, in addition to homework help.  The volunteer after-school teachers encourage these young people, and listen to what is going on in their lives.

Driving to the basket at a Mission Arlington youth gym night.

More than just a “relief” organization, Mission Arlington® invests in the children and youth of our community on a weekly basis. We recognize that providing emergency relief, such as food, clothing, household items, furniture, medical care, and emergency financial assistance, is so important. When a family has had a crisis of some kind, they need a little help to get them through the crisis.  We love being a conduit for our community, so that when you give, we can give it away – directly to the people who need it – and at no charge.

Yet, it is also important to walk besides our children and youth as they grow and learn to live in this world. Many of us growing up had someone special in our lives – a coach, a teacher, a mentor of some kind – who was there for us, when we needed advice, support, or just a shoulder to lean on.  The army of volunteer Bible study leaders for Mission Arlington® fulfill that same role for the students of our community.

In the same way, Mission Arlington® also provides ongoing supportive services to these same children and youth.  We host 7 camps each summer, children’s and basketball leagues, wrestling and soccer teams, and Bible study teachers who teach God’s Word each week – right where the students live.  We have Bible study leaders who teach God’s word in 349 locations across our community.

Twice a month, Mission Arlington® hosts “youth gym night.” Bible study leaders drive donated Mission Arlington® vehicles across the community to pick up the young people.  They gather in a central Arlington gym to play basketball for a few hours on a Friday night.  The exercise is good, of course, as they run up and down the gym, and the students learn how to work on teams.  All across the gym, you will see adults talking and laughing with the young people.  It is a lot of fun.

It is a beautiful sight.  Of course, with all events sponsored by the mission, it is absolutely free, and the students also listen to a Bible study sometime during the evening – a Bible study designed specifically for them.

We are so honored and humbled to be partners with you as we walk alongside, and share Christ’s love with the young people of our city.

Tonight is youth gym night again for Mission Arlington®.  If you think about it, somewhere between 6 and 9 tonight, say a prayer for our city’s youth.  God bless you for your faithful support.

Joining hands to pray – next to the carport – at Mission Arlington. Will you join us?

By Jim Burgin, staff writer

Some of you reading this post may be old enough to remember a popular question used as a public service announcement on television across much of North America during the late 1960s and into the 70s.  The question was, “It’s ten o’clock. Do you know where your children are?” When I was a teenager, I remember the local broadcasters asking this question just prior to the start of the late local news.

A few months back, one of Mission Arlington®’s congregations began asking its parishioners to pray for the church and for Mission Arlington® at 10:00 each morning. The image was beautiful. Even though everyone would be spread out across the city, metaphorically, everyone would be joining hands to pray. Various Mission Arlington® Bible studies began to join this ever growing circle, and then Tillie asked the Mission Arlington family to join in.

Today, we would like to ask each of you who already love and support Mission Arlington® to join hands with us – from wherever you are – at 10:00 a.m. central standard time.  Please pray that we would remain faithful to the Lord. Pray that we would hear His voice as He leads us day by day. Please pray for resources, so that there will always be enough food, furniture, and finances to help the people. Pray for more volunteers and Bible study leaders to join the team, so that His Word can be spread throughout our community.  Pray that our Lord will be lifted up and glorified through this place. Please pray however God leads you.

There was another song from my childhood which I remember. The refrain called for the “circle to be unbroken.”  It was a song about heaven, and a lot of fun to sing.  In this context, I wonder if we could create an ever-growing and unbroken circle of prayer for Mission Arlington.

We truly covet your prayers in these days?  When it’s ten o’clock, will you pray?  May this circle be unbroken.

Praise His Name.

We tend to be a forward looking group of people, always thinking about what’s in front of us, or “what’s next.” At the same time, we appreciate the opportunity each year to look back at what the Lord has done, and to glorify Him for what he has done here.  Your faithful and generous support of our work has been a big part of the footprint for this past year.  We are truly grateful.

With the reporting of each individual event through the year, it is often easy to miss the big picture.  We believe, therefore, that it is important for us to communicate the big picture as clearly as possible.  Here are a few of the highlights.

Twenty (20) New Bible Studies started
Mission Arlington® has started and sponsored 329 Bible studies across our community for some time.  This year, the Lord helped us to push outward, starting twenty new Bible studies & congregations.  At the end of 2014, the total number of congregations supported by the mission is 349.  On Easter Sunday last year, 13,000 people attended one of those congregations.

Medical Ministries Continue to Grow
The number of professional volunteers who support our dental and medical clinics is such a blessing. This past year, our dental clinic treated 1,434 patients who were treated in the clinic 4,961 times. The clinic performed 1.4+ million dollars worth of free dental care. The medical clinic treated 8,591 patients and provided 1.3+ million dollars worth of free health care and more than 729 thousand dollars worth of free prescriptions. Diabetes was the number one concern treated, followed closely by hypertension.  This year was the first year of the new diabetes education and prevention programs installed in partnership with UTA. The goal is to help people discover ways that they can prevent diabetes in their own life.

Emergency Assistance Stabilizes Some
Mission Arlington’s “front room” is our first line of defense for helping people in need. Working people, in a moment of crisis due to a job loss, a health crisis, or an unexpected, broken relationship brings them to our front doors.  This year, Mission Arlington® provided assistance to 42,739 families, representing 152,344 people.  Obviously, this is still a huge number, but it represents a slight drop in need over last year, hopefully an indication that people’s lives are doing a little bit better. We are truly grateful.

Rainbow Express® Continues to Expand
Rainbow Express® is Mission Arlington®’s version of a back-yard Bible club. Crafts, snacks, music, games, crafts, and Bible stories form the fun.  In 2014, we hosted Rainbow Express in 492 locations. 39,638 children and youth attended at least one of these fun-filled, Bible-centered events.  That’s a lot of children, and we were so blessed.

Volunteer Teams Continue to Lend Support at Mission Arlington®
Schools, civic clubs, churches, businesses, individuals, families, and other non profit groups all sent people here to volunteer with us in 2014.  Altogether, nearly 1,500 teams (1,492) came to support our work in the community.  This represents nearly 42,000 people (41,859).   We hope and pray that, as a faith-based organization, we will always be Spirit-led.  At the same time, we are also volunteer driven.  On average, 2,500 volunteers each week help Mission Arlington accomplish its goals. 

Administrative Costs Continue to be Low
Mission Arlington® is governed by the Lord, under the supervision of a Board of Directors. The organization is audited annually by a well-respected, local team of auditors, and we also voluntarily partner with various charity watch organizations.  Our administrative overhead for 2013 was 3 percent. This means that 97 cents of every dollar given goes directly in ministry to people in need.  We will report our 2014 numbers as soon as our audit is completed once again in early 2015.

New Prayer Initiative Began in 2014
Mission Arlington®, we have said continuously, runs on the prayers of the people. In 2014, we began asking people to join us in prayer, no matter where they are, at 10:00 a.m. every morning.  This effort began in one of our mission congregations, and has now spread mission-wide.  The Mission Arlington® family covets your prayers for us, and for our work here.  If you haven’t joined in on this beautiful effort, we invite you to begin this year.

Furniture Ministry Continues to Grow
Our furniture ministry is a big part of what we do. Our community continues to give so generously from what they have.  Beds, couches, kitchen tables and chairs, dressers, refrigerators, washers & dryers, and so much more, come into our place every day.  One of our great privileges is to receive what you give, then turn right around and give it away. Mission Arlington® always gives, and never sells any thing we receive.  In 2014 we gave furniture to 10,417 people. 

Holiday Ministries Continue to Bless Thousands of People
In 2014, Mission Arlington® delivered Thanksgiving food to 5,743 families (23,404 people).  You gave the turkeys and the Thanksgiving food.  Six thousand of you showed up to help us deliver that food.  We enjoyed the amazing privilege of being the ones in the middle.  Christmas was a special time as well. Through our “adopt a family,” “angel tree,” programs, and our Christmas Store, 7,522 families (32,246 children) received Christmas gifts.  Because of your generosity, we were also able to give away 4,000 bikes.

Ministries with Children and Youth Stay Strong
Many people know that we help with emergency assistance at our main campus, but not everyone knows how much happens here to support the children and youth in our community. For example, 4,182 children (with their parents) came to our giant Easter Egg hunt last Spring.  Mission Arlington® hosted 7 summer camps for young children through older youth. 1,162 children and youth attended these free camps.  One of the most exciting new ventures we began in 2014 was a wrestling league.  Every Tuesday and Thursday nights, wrestling coaches teach young boys to wrestle, while teaching them God’s word.  Dozens of young students participated in this free wrestling league.  It is beautiful to watch God use these ministries with young people.

And So Much More!
So much more happened here this year than we can put into one blog post like this.  Please take a look at our 2014 Annual Report to get an overview of the year.  Or, you can take a look at the reports from the past decade if you like. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or if there is any way that we can be supportive to you.

We are grateful to you for all your help this past year.  We are grateful for the privilege we have of walking together through 2015. You make a difference here. Thank you.

To God be the glory!

Student play a game which helps them learn a particular scripture verse at Mission Arlington Bible Olympics

Two students participate in a Bible drill, looking up particular scriptures as fast as they can.

Mission Arlington® has been hosting Bible Olympics for a number of years, and today’s event was likely one of our best.  Bible study leaders arrived early at the mission to pick up vans, then drove all across our community to get the children who were eagerly waiting for the day. Permission slips in hand, these excited young people loaded into buses headed for a day of events which were a fun way to help them learn God’s word.  Bible Olympics started at 10:00 a.m. this morning.

Students were divided into teams upon arrival. After an opening assembly, these teams headed to different parts of the central Arlington facility to play games, run races, and to enjoy friendly competition in ways that would help them know the Bible better.

The children also watched a film about the Bible, and enjoyed a free meal along the way. Hot dogs and chips always taste good at a Mission Arlington® event.  Two hundred thirty one (231) children attended today’s event, along with another 49 adults, making it a very special day.  We are especially grateful for children’s ministry of Lake Arlington Baptist Church for all of the wonderful volunteer help they sent today and for the Church on Rush Creek who came last night to help us set up.

We love the privilege of working with the children and youth of our community, and we are so grateful for your  constant, generous support.  We know, without a doubt, that these gospel efforts are something that we are all doing together.  Your prayers, and gifts of love are making a difference here.

Student group from UTA helps out at Mission Arlington.

Hundreds of volunteers, young and old, made Martin Luther King Jr. Day very special at Mission Arlington yesterday.  Church groups brought their youth; the Boys and Girls clubs of Arlington brought their children, and more than 200 students and other volunteers from the University of Texas at Arlington flowed into Mission Arlington® all day long.  The energy and excitement was amazing to watch, and we were able to get so much work done that helps people in need.

It was also fun to watch lines of cars driving in and through our place, dropping off clothing (childrens, winter clothing, etc.), couches, household items and more.  People were so excited to have the privilege of blessing someone else with the items they were giving away.

We are so honored and humbled to be a part of this generous community.  When you give it, we get to give it away.  It is so wonderful to have the privilege of doing it together.  Martin Luther King Jr. day was just another way that we can come together to help people in our community who need just a little help to be ok.

We are ever grateful for your support.