Student volunteers help Mission Arlington minister in apartments

ARLINGTON—During spring break, more than 1,700 students from 15 states helped Mission Arlington fulfill it primary purpose—sharing the love of Christ.

The students worked on various projects and conducted Backyard Bible Club-style ministries called Rainbow Express at 132 apartment complexes during the week.

The number of volunteers is about a 20 percent increase over previous years, but Mission Arlington Executive Director Tillie Burgin said that follows an across-the-board pattern in all facets of the ministry, including people seeking help last Thanksgiving and Christmas and those who show up seeking assistance daily at the mission center headquarters.

Likewise, Mission Arlington has seen a sizable increase in the number of apartment complexes served.

“Apartment managers and owners are continuing to say, ‘Come here.’ And we pray, asking God to send people here to help us reach the people in the fields, because obviously if God invites folks here, he’s got a plan for them,” she said.

The 1,700 student volunteers arrived in Arlington at God’s invitation, Burgin added.

“We’ve never invited anybody, but God does, and that makes the invitation even more special,” she said.

The logistics of organizing the work and scheduling more than 1,700 people would be staggering, but again, Burgin said, God takes care of that.

“No man could do this,” she said.

Mission Arlington enjoys a positive relationship with the managers of the apartment complexes it serves, as evidenced by the fact that they provided rooms for more than 1,200 of the students to stay for the week at no cost to the volunteers.

Volunteers lead Rainbow Express, a children’s ministry of Mission Arlington, in an apartment complex on Arlington’s north side during spring break. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Mission Arlington)

The students, who ranged in age from junior high through college, began each day with a time of worship and training, conducted a backyard Bible club, ate lunch and then did the same thing in the afternoon. Many groups also worked into the evening on additional work projects.

Dennis Toney, a Shorter College student who came with a group of 26 from West Rome Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., said he wished he had enjoyed a similar experience as a child.

“I come from a rough lifestyle, an inner-city lifestyle,” he said while working at the St. Charles Apartments. “I wish someone would have lit a fire in me before I had made some of my mistakes. I also want to let the kids here know that, in the love of God, they are loved even in their mistakes.”

The students took away a great deal from the experience, said John Moore, college minister for West Rome Baptist Church.

“It’s been amazing to watch them,” he said. “I’ve seen God change their lives—seen God break their prejudices and seen how ministry happens. We’ve seen God do amazing things.

“We pray for the kids by name each evening. These kids are in their hearts now.”

Rebecca Strickland, a volunteer at Mission Arlington, has worked daily at the St. Charles complex the last 12 years. She leads five Bible studies each week, teaches English three days a week, facilitates a medical clinic there once a month and takes the high school students who live in the complex to and from school each day.

“I didn’t know Spanish when I came here, but I’ve learned it from being immersed here,” she said.

Shorter College students from West Rome Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., talk with a circle of kids at an apartent building.

Each day, she provides after-school activities for about 80 children. About 80 people, including a number of adults, also attend the Bible studies she sponsors each week.

She has developed a strong bond with the people who live in the complex. “My kids text me as much as they do their friends, and I’m thankful for that,” Strickland said.

She also gives thanks for the college students who came to help during their spring break.

“It gives me a bit of a breather and a chance to connect with some people on a different level,” Strickland said. “It’s refreshing, like spring, it brings new life.”

Also, the week is a harvest week of sorts. While she shares the plan of salvation weekly, and an invitation to follow Christ accompanies each presentation, many residents choose to take their final step toward salvation during spring break.

“Even though I could tell that God has been working on them, that’s when they step out and start that relationship with Christ. It’s kind of like a revival at church, and they’re a bit more open to making that decision,” she said.

Average daily attendance at the spring break Rainbow Express sites was just over 3,000, and 300 children accepted Jesus Christ as Savior during the week.

“We’ve asked people all over the world to be in prayer this week, and really this month because it’s spring break somewhere for somebody,” Burgin said. “So, up to and through the month of April, we’ll have people here. So, we’ve called on people to pray—pray for the salvations, for us to be able to disciple, baptize and grow up leadership. It really looks a lot like the New Testament church.”