God calls us to care for the immigrants living among us, that they would be welcomed and well treated. In the book of Leviticus, he says, “You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 19:34). Recently, volunteers had a chance to fulfill this command in a very literal sense.

Last fall, Arlington Bridge Builders led a ten week Citizenship Class at Mission Nova. Several immigrants participated, and after months of study and preparation, we have some great news to share!

For the first time ever, the churches of Arlington Bridge Builders will work together to host a Vacation Bible School for at-risk kids in our community—kids who would otherwise not have a chance to participate in a VBS. From July 21-25, partner church Greenbrier Baptist will host the program, where children and adult volunteers will be exploring the life of Joseph, learning about his heartbreaking trials, God’s amazing provision, and the tear-filled restoration of his family. There are lessons here for all of us.

Volunteers are needed to help lead the small groups, crafts, worship, sports, and story times. Can’t serve every day? No problem!
We’ve designed the week to include volunteers who can serve for only a day or two.

In our last newsletter, we had some BIG news to share: the partner churches of Arlington Bridge Builders will now be hosting the Arlington Turkey Trot, a 5k event that was started by our partner Christ Church 20 years ago. Since then, it’s become a holiday tradition that thousands of people look forward to, raising over $250,000 for nonprofits who share our desire to seek the flourishing of the community. 

In the coming months, we'll keep you posted on what the race entails--not just the logistics, but how it helps connect all the various elements of our community for the common cause of flourishing. One such element is local businesses. Over the summer, we'll be identifying corporate sponsors to partner with us in caring for our vulnerable neighbors. Link below to learn more about that effort and ways you can help your business--or others--be part of this great event. 

Would you like to help your community flourish, but you’re not sure how? Check out our new Volunteer Opportunity page, which lists all the ways you can serve through Arlington Bridge Builders.

With more people facing food insecurity in the last few months, our food pantry is busier than ever. We're collecting and distributing more food to more recipients--and so we need more volunteers to help. And in response to requests from parents of at-risk kids, volunteers will be needed for our new summer program connected to Bridge Kids. 

To help coordinate the increasing number of volunteers, ABB will be launching a new volunteer sign-up process, which will make it much easier to learn about opportunities to serve our community.

If you live, work or worship in Arlington–or have a heart for the community–we invite you to make a difference in the lives of our neighbors. The “Flourish Campaign” is an effort to raise $50,000 to support the expansion of ministry and staffing necessary for the most pressing needs in each of our three ministry pillars:

1. Community Service: support the increasing costs of providing a food pantry for the rapidly growing number of recipients—a 31% increase since January!
2. Prayer: develop informative guides to pray “on-site with insight” for Arlington
3. Church Collaboration: develop fellowships of Lead Pastors and other ministry leaders

Our spring Citizenship Class wrapped up after 10 weeks of studying, coaching and review for the students who are preparing to take the naturalization test. To pass the civics portion, students must get at least six of ten questions correct. Sound easy? Studies show about only 40% of American citizens could pass the test!

On April 11th, the food pantry hosted a dozen members of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce for their annual Volunteer Day. We are so grateful for their help with gathering and distributing food, and writing welcome notes to our neighbors facing food insecurity.

The original plan to repair the trailer skirt and widen the entrance ramp had to be rescheduled due to rain. Volunteers are needed for this project, tentatively planned for Friday, April 25th.

Arlington Bridge Builders has a new look! As we’ve been clarifying our vision to work together for the flourishing of Arlington, we felt it was time for a new logo that reflected that vision. We’re thrilled with the design! Click below to read what the logo points us to. 

For nearly 20 years, Arlington pastors have been gathering together for fellowship and prayer. Over the years, this gathering has taken on various forms, but it has always centered on mutual support and prayer. Arlington Bridge Builders was recently asked to coordinate the monthly fellowship luncheon, and we were more than happy to agree. We invite you to pray this gathering would continue to help foster unity among our churches, just as Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion.

Our afterschool program continues to provide an important service to elementary students in South Arlington who want to learn English. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen many encouraging signs of growth!

Over 20 people expressed an interest in participating in our winter Coffee & Conversation classes, which began on February 7th. The ultimate goal is not simply English proficiency but relationships, as the real barrier for many people is feeling they don’t belong.

Our latest Citizenship class started February 7th, with about 10 students. In this class we lead participants through all the steps required to become United States citizens.

Several Yorktown High School National Honor students volunteered their time on February 15th to assemble “Magic Island” craft packages for the children of disadvantaged families who visit the food pantry.

Thank you to the amazing students from Veritas Collegiate Academy, who dropped off food from their school food drive and stocked the new steel shelves at our food pantry.

17,000 residents of Arlington face food insecurity, uncertain of how they will provide for their family’s most basic needs. Food pantries help meet that gap—especially when done with dignity. Thanks to the youth from Cherrydale Baptist Church and Yorktown High School for helping assemble the shelves and clean up the food pantry!