2014 Annual Report

Letter from Seth Barnes

It’s hard to believe another year has gone by; 2014 has been filled with incredible things. From the growth we’ve seen in our international bases, Long-Term Missions teams, Gap Year program, and Center for Global Action enrollment, we’re finding a generation being raised up to radically live the Gospel throughout the world. Our three-year discipleship journey as based on Jesus’ model – community, discipleship, and listening prayer – couples all the tenants of a mission “trip” with the reality of living missionally in every moment. Their excitement is contagious.

Adventures in Missions is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. We’ve mobilized over 107,000 missionaries to the field, seeking to live the real and relevant Good News of Jesus Christ while practically feeding the hungry, hugging the fatherless, and helping the hopeless in some of the most broken places of our world. Our missionaries are families, parents, teenagers, 20-somethings, and baby boomers, defined by their hearts to serve God in major cities, on the African savanna, from the international Church, on the ground of a natural disaster, and everywhere in between.

Maybe you supported a participant on a trip. Maybe your youth group spoke at church after a summer mission. Or maybe you joined hundreds of others from your generation on the World Race. But you might not know much about us as an organization beyond the piece you’ve seen. Each year we compile this report as part of our effort to be transparent and accountable to you. You make it possible for us to bring God’s Kingdom on earth through missions. Thank you.

Your generosity makes a difference as we seek to mobilize and disciple both those we send and the nations we send them to. Check out the blogs and stories on our website. You’ll be encouraged and challenged by how God is moving in our world today. Enjoy this small glimpse of how God used you this year.

Seth Barnes
Executive Director
Adventures in Missions

THE PEOPLE OF ADVENTURES:

Center for Global Action

Community. Discipleship. Apprenticeship. CGA is a community of World Race and Passport Alumni that are pursuing their calling while working alongside Georgia Staff.

90

Apprentices

Ambassador

Ambassadors are 14-18 year olds who venture overseas for 2-4 weeks every summer to represent Jesus, his kingdom and his heart for the world.

98

Missionaries

Long-Term Missions

Adventures Long-Term Missions is the third year of a 3-year discipleship process. Just as Jesus walked with his disciples for 3 years before launching them into their full-time ministry careers, Adventures seeks to walk with those called to missions.

112

Missionaries

Georgia Staff

The bulk of Adventures’ staff finds their home in Gainesville, Georgia. This staff is committed to seeing God’s kingdom come on earth. Along with our program and development departments, Gainesville currently hosts training and leadership camps, the Project Searchlight conference for Alumni Racers, and the Center for Global Action classes.

167

Staff

Passport

Passport is Adventures in Missions’ program for college-age (18-22 years old) individuals. Passporters spend 1-6 months alongside local churches and ministries overseas. Living out the gospel, contending for justice on behalf of orphans, the poor, and the trafficked mark the ministry experience of Passport.

245

Missionaries

Parents

Parent Ministry gives the parents of participants, primarily World Racers, a place to connect with each other and with Adventures in Missions. Not only does it allow a platform to answer parent questions, it gives parents a place to be fully alive alongside their sons and daughters in their own season of ministry. This year, 343 launched as missionaries on Parent Vision Trips. 775 attended Parent Launch, with 58 participating in both ministries.

1060

Parents

World Race

The World Race is a journey to 11 countries in 11 months to serve “the least of these” while amongst real and raw community. This trip is a challenging adventure for young adults to abandon a traditional lifestyle in exchange for an understanding that it’s not about you; it’s about the Kingdom. With launches happening every January, July, and September, a total of 1,113 racers were on the field throughout 2014.

1,113

Racers

Short-Term Missions

Adventures offers many types of short-term mission trips, including youth, college, adult, family, and custom trips.

2,452

Missionaries

Total Missionaries

Because of generous supporters, Adventures had over 4,000 people serving the nations this year.

4,620

Missionaries

Financial Supporters

Adventures’ programs, staff, and missionary participants would not be mobilized into the nations without the generosity of financial supporters.

43,131

Supporters

HOW WE FUEL OUR STAFF IN GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA:

4,250

gallons of coffee consumed

352

hours in corporate prayer

5,700

slices of bacon

196

hours in corporate worship

FINANCIALS

Because of the generous financial support in 2014, Adventures in Missions mobilized more than 4,600 missionaries to the field. This helped disciples of Christ grow deeper in their faith as they shared the gospel and the love of Jesus to the lost and encouraged the kingdom–builders around the world

Total Expenses: $18,891,436

Program: $17,077,427 – 90.4%

Support Services: $1,814,009 – 9.6%

Administration: $1,414,651 – 7.5%

Fundraising: $399,358 – 2.1%

Of Adventures total expenses, 90.4% goes directly to program needs.

Total Revenue: $19,742,000

Program Revenue: $15,594,000 – 79%

Staff/Long-term: $1,889,000 – 9.5%

Orphan Care: $1,437,000 – 7.3%

other: $822,000 – 4.2%

FINANCES

Although the majority of our employees raise all or a portion of their own salaries, Adventures has ongoing material, administrative, and technological expenditures associated with maintaining the organization. We take great care to make sure we conduct our finances with integrity.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Fiscal transparency and accountability direct the financial actions of Adventures in Missions. We are members in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and commission an independent auditor to conduct a thorough annual audit. In addition, our board of directors meets routinely to regulate ministry management and performance.

STEWARDSHIP

As an organization, we work diligently to keep expenses low. As a ministry, we see the available resources as gifts to be judiciously administered. Our desire is to make the greatest eternal impact by making resources go as far as possible.

Adventures: Swaziland

Adventures in Missions began working in Swaziland in 2004, and is currently Adventures’ largest international ministry project.

Since that time, Adventures: Swaziland has been involved in hosting a variety of mission teams anywhere from 1 week to 9 months.

In 2007, a partnership formed with Children’s Hopechest to begin supporting children’s ministry at neighborhood care points across the nation. Over the past seven years, this partnership has provided a safe haven, food, and discipleship for a growing number of 6,000 orphans and vulnerable children.

Adventures: Swaziland partners with several surrounding neighborhood care points serving needy families in the area. The base hosts a local church, pre-school, community garden, sports fields, a medical clinic providing care to the community and free care to as many as 100 orphans per month. For more information, visit adventures.org/swaziland.

6,000

fed daily

in swaziland

which means

42,000

every week

180,000

every month

2,190,000

every year