Mission: Moving Mountains was founded in 1979 by Dr. Richard Patterson. Dr. Patterson, a dentist, had ministered in several countries and repeatedly saw problems and situations that he knew could be prevented. He believed that God’s love for people encompassed the whole person, not just the spiritual life, but the whole life situation that a person and community face. The vision grew in his heart to send Christians from different denominations as missionaries to work together with African communities. These missionaries would learn about the culture and language of the people, they would help the community to identify their challenges and resources, and equip them to solve those challenges; all while community members grow in faith for Jesus.

He didn’t think this ministry would be easy, rather it would require faith in Christ and working hand in hand with God. We see this kind of faith discussed in Matthew 17:20 which is where the name Mission: Moving Mountains comes from: “…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Our starting point in this ministry is faith in Christ and that with Him, the mountains can be moved, and the challenges of life can be overcome.

Dr. Daniel Fountain, a friend of Dr. Patterson’s and one of M: MM’s first board members, tells about a three year old boy in Zaire. The boy’s family carried the boy for three days to the mission hospital where Dr. Fountain worked. The boy was close to dying because of a problem in his abdomen. During the operation to save his life, Dr. Fountain found 500 worms in the boy’s intestines. The boy recovered and the family took him back home. A year later, this same boy was again brought to the hospital with worms and required another operation. Dr. Fountain realized that this family’s life could be different if there was a focus on prevention of this problem. This was not just a health problem. It was an economic problem because of the cost of the operation and hospital fees. The condition of the environment where they boy lived and played affected his health. This problem illustrates how complicated one illness is because many factors are related to the problem. It is true in this story and in our lives that each area of life has an impact on other areas of life. Dr. Fountain knew that if someone could go to the village and train the people how to improve the environment, sanitation, and personal hygiene practice, this boy and many others could live free of parasites, thus saving them from physical suffering and the great expense of hospitalization and surgery. We say M: MM has a wholistic approach in our ministry because we consider how many factors are involved making the issues individuals face a community wide problem.