“Mission Discovery.” He read our display logo. “I’ve not heard of you, what do you do?” Last weekend I was at a conference with 3800 youth leaders in Atlanta. At the Mission Discovery booth, Matt, a booth operator with another organization, asked the question I love answering.

When I started Mission Discovery I wanted the name to explain exactly what we did. “Our mission is to discover what God is doing in the world, and simply join Him.”

This past year in 90 weeks of mission trips we connected people from the U.S. and Canada with work God is doing in 9 countries. In each of those, including the U.S., we connected those participants with pastors and ministries already doing His work.

In Guatemala teams saw and participated in the work of a small Christian school. In Haiti, groups’ hearts were broken as they repaired and replaced earthquake-damaged buildings at an orphanage that has been caring for children for over 20 years!

In the Bahamas, groups joined hands with a Christ-centered AIDS hospice facility to repair buildings and love people. And here, near our office, a partnership with local churches and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee allowed us to continue helping families devastated by floods with repairs, cleanups, and prayers for a better tomorrow.

I could see Matt was expecting some other answer. “Which of these ministries is yours? Do you own those orphanages or facilities?” I explained to Matt that we did not “own” a single one of those facilities; we simply joined a work in progress, connecting people who could serve with the vision of others.

Each year we ask friends to go and friends to give.

2012 is already shaping up to be a good “going” year. Sign-ups for trips are strong! Our giving has not been as strong as in years past. Each year we look for one $100 giving partner for each one of the participants who go. So a gift of $1000 means you will send 10 participants. A gift of $5000 and you make possible 50 “goers!”

Would you consider being one of those $100, $1,000 or $5,000 givers this coming year? “Wow, what a great work!” Matt concluded. Every participant has a someone who has invested in his or her trip. “Wow, what a great work!” Matt concluded.