20 years ago, Christ Church of Arlington started the Arlington Turkey Trot as a practical way to serve their neighbors and raise money for local charities. 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. But the Trot’s growth and scope led Christ Church to ask Arlington Bridge Builders to consider hosting the event.

And we said yes. Link below to learn why.

Arlington is one of the most ethnically rich areas in the country, with over 100 languages spoken in the nation’s smallest county. And so it’s quite common to connect with neighbors with vastly different experiences and perspectives. How should we respond to the increasing ethnic diversity surrounding us? Of the competing voices in our culture today, who will we listen to? This post continues our series on Arlington Bridge Builders’ five areas of Community Service.

In this series of reflections on Arlington Bridge Builders, I look at our second core value of “Humble Influence.” In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls his followers to be “salt” and “light” as they seek to serve and change the world. The most powerful example of humble influence I’ve ever witnessed took place a few days after a devastating earthquake in Iran.

Poverty Alleviation is a key focus of our community service efforts, as it was in Bible times. In fact, God designed a social safety net to provide for those who could not afford to buy food. Read more about how our food pantry is a modern application of God’s ancient commands, and how you’re making improvements at the pantry and how you can “remember the poor” by serving.

All organizations have values that shape their work. Not the nice-sounding platitudes that are quickly created in a conference room, hung on a plaque in the hallway and just as quickly forgotten. But the real ones, that actually animate everything you do. Things you’d bang the table for if they weren’t happening. Things you’d consider resigning over if not being pursued. Our network of churches believes true flourishing happens when our lives are most aligned with God’s design for us. Thus, our values are drawn from Jesus’ description of life in his kingdom, most famously summarized in his Sermon on the Mount. This post features the first of our five values, Holistic Concern.

When your life or your community is in need of repair, where will you go?

The foundational verse for Arlington Bridge Builders tells us to “pray to the Lord on behalf of the city where God sent us” (Jeremiah 29:7). But what does that even mean, other than a vague, “God, please bless Arlington”?