| "Hanging out and hovering around John 3:16" Mission Arlington, Arlington, Texas This Month's Best Practice September 2003 By Eric Swanson Leadership Community Director Externally Focused Churches Tillie Burgin is a remarkable woman. For several years she served as a missionary in Korea, but eventually found herself in Arlington, Texas, working as a school administrator. As Tillie saw the needs around her, |
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she asked herself the question, "Why can't we treat Arlington as a mission field?" And so she did. Her mission was simple--take the church to the people who were not going to church--"to hang out and hover around John 3:16." As she ventured out to meet and minister to her neighbors, she was immediately challenged by Jehovah's Witnesses who told her, "You're invading our territory. Get back into your church building where you belong." Fortunately for Arlington, Tillie did not listen and, little by little, ministries were started.
Today, Mission Arlington (www.missionarlington.org) is a house church movement of nearly 250 community house churches (and nearly 4,000 in attendance) serving thousands of people a week in the Arlington community with food, clothing, furniture, medical and dental care, school transportation, child and adult day care, counseling, etc. There is even a room where the underemployed who work nights can catch a few winks during the day. Although the square block ministry center is bourgeoning with love and compassion, the real ministry takes place in the 250 house churches scattered in homes and apartments around Arlington.
Each day hundreds of people come through the center with various types of needs which are addressed at the center. Then, these folks are followed up through the geographically located churches. Last Thanksgiving, Mission Arlington fed 9,000 people in their homes, having realized that people would rather eat with their families and friends than in a center somewhere. It's just another example of how Tillie and her co-workers treat all people with kindness and dignity. Last year over 16,000 people came through their Christmas Store, heard the Christmas story and then selected gifts (new, or nearly new products provided by local merchants and individuals) they would not otherwise have been able to afford. One little boy chose a brooch and then had it wrapped as a gift for his mother. He was seen unwrapping it and then getting back in line with the same brooch to have it wrapped again. This cycle was repeated a few times. Finally, Tillie asked him what in the world he was doing. He said he had never been treated so nice as those people were treating him and so he got in line just to feel the love!
Good deeds have become the bridge over which the good news travels. Mission Arlington sees hundreds of people come to Christ each year. Lives are being touched. Lives are being changed. Many who have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the ministry of Tillie now serve as volunteers. Mission Arlington is a model of community involvement leading to spiritual and societal transformation.
Tillie is a remarkable woman. . . unassuming with a deep faith. She has incredible energy and though she asserts that there is no grand plan, she is indeed a godly visionary and strategic planner. Her ministry is not unnoticed. People come from all over the country to volunteer and learn how to minister in such an extraordinary manner. If you want to be inspired by what a church can be, take a trip to Arlington. Last month's Into Action featured Colorado Community Church. Pastor Robert Gelinas took his staff to Arlington to learn from Tillie and Mission Arlington. She has been publicly recognized several times as one of Texas' outstanding women. At an age when most of us think about retiring, Tillie thinks about innovative ways to reach those without Christ.
Mission Arlington is an "externally focused church." In fact, the ministry grew out of First Baptist Church of Arlington, Texas. Externally focused churches are those churches that engage their communities with the good works and good news of Jesus Christ resulting in transformation of the community. They look for ways to be useful to their communities -- to be a part of its hopes and dreams. They build bridges to their communities. They determine their effectiveness, not just by "internal measures" -- attendance, worship, teaching, small groups, etc., but also by "external measures" -- the spiritual and societal effect they are having on the community around them.
In the coming months, Leadership Network will be forming several Leadership Communities (LCs) for leaders of externally focused churches. The LC is a process where peers work interactively through a series of gatherings, conference calls, web dialogues and planning tools to accomplish a significant leap in their personal and organizational performance. To these communities, Leadership Network brings a variety of resources and tools that address both the unique challenges of individual churches as well as the common "mega challenges" of the community as a whole. If you would like more information regarding Leadership Communities for externally focused churches, please write to Eric Swanson at eric.swanson@leadnet.org.
Today, Mission Arlington (www.missionarlington.org) is a house church movement of nearly 250 community house churches (and nearly 4,000 in attendance) serving thousands of people a week in the Arlington community with food, clothing, furniture, medical and dental care, school transportation, child and adult day care, counseling, etc. There is even a room where the underemployed who work nights can catch a few winks during the day. Although the square block ministry center is bourgeoning with love and compassion, the real ministry takes place in the 250 house churches scattered in homes and apartments around Arlington.
Each day hundreds of people come through the center with various types of needs which are addressed at the center. Then, these folks are followed up through the geographically located churches. Last Thanksgiving, Mission Arlington fed 9,000 people in their homes, having realized that people would rather eat with their families and friends than in a center somewhere. It's just another example of how Tillie and her co-workers treat all people with kindness and dignity. Last year over 16,000 people came through their Christmas Store, heard the Christmas story and then selected gifts (new, or nearly new products provided by local merchants and individuals) they would not otherwise have been able to afford. One little boy chose a brooch and then had it wrapped as a gift for his mother. He was seen unwrapping it and then getting back in line with the same brooch to have it wrapped again. This cycle was repeated a few times. Finally, Tillie asked him what in the world he was doing. He said he had never been treated so nice as those people were treating him and so he got in line just to feel the love!
Good deeds have become the bridge over which the good news travels. Mission Arlington sees hundreds of people come to Christ each year. Lives are being touched. Lives are being changed. Many who have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the ministry of Tillie now serve as volunteers. Mission Arlington is a model of community involvement leading to spiritual and societal transformation.
Tillie is a remarkable woman. . . unassuming with a deep faith. She has incredible energy and though she asserts that there is no grand plan, she is indeed a godly visionary and strategic planner. Her ministry is not unnoticed. People come from all over the country to volunteer and learn how to minister in such an extraordinary manner. If you want to be inspired by what a church can be, take a trip to Arlington. Last month's Into Action featured Colorado Community Church. Pastor Robert Gelinas took his staff to Arlington to learn from Tillie and Mission Arlington. She has been publicly recognized several times as one of Texas' outstanding women. At an age when most of us think about retiring, Tillie thinks about innovative ways to reach those without Christ.
Mission Arlington is an "externally focused church." In fact, the ministry grew out of First Baptist Church of Arlington, Texas. Externally focused churches are those churches that engage their communities with the good works and good news of Jesus Christ resulting in transformation of the community. They look for ways to be useful to their communities -- to be a part of its hopes and dreams. They build bridges to their communities. They determine their effectiveness, not just by "internal measures" -- attendance, worship, teaching, small groups, etc., but also by "external measures" -- the spiritual and societal effect they are having on the community around them.
In the coming months, Leadership Network will be forming several Leadership Communities (LCs) for leaders of externally focused churches. The LC is a process where peers work interactively through a series of gatherings, conference calls, web dialogues and planning tools to accomplish a significant leap in their personal and organizational performance. To these communities, Leadership Network brings a variety of resources and tools that address both the unique challenges of individual churches as well as the common "mega challenges" of the community as a whole. If you would like more information regarding Leadership Communities for externally focused churches, please write to Eric Swanson at eric.swanson@leadnet.org.