A Gathering for Mission-Driven Leaders
November 16-18, 2026 | Frederick County, Maryland
Encounter Christ. Experience the Body of Christ. Return Renewed.
Mission-driven leaders spend so much of their lives pouring themselves out for others.
We lead teams. We serve communities. We raise money. We solve problems. We carry responsibilities that most people never see.
And somewhere along the way, it can become easy to forget that we were never meant to carry the mission alone.
Come and Behold was created to make space for something different.
For three days this November, leaders from ministries, nonprofits, schools, parishes, apostolates, and other mission-driven organizations will step away from the demands of leadership to pray, learn, build authentic relationships, and remember why we said yes to the mission in the first place.
This is not simply another conference.
It is a gathering.
A place to encounter Christ, experience the Body of Christ through one another, receive practical formation, and return home renewed for the work God has entrusted to you.
Why Come and Behold?
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Over the years, we have had the privilege of walking alongside ministry and nonprofit leaders across the country.
Different organizations. Different missions. Different budgets.
But we keep seeing many of the same things.
Leaders who deeply love their mission but feel like they are carrying too much.
Fundraisers who spend their days developing relationships for their organizations while quietly experiencing isolation themselves.
Executive Directors who are responsible for the vision, the people, the finances, the board, the donors, and everything in between.
Good people doing important work who rarely have the opportunity to simply step away, pray, think, learn, and be with other people who understand.
That is why Come and Behold exists.
At MRP Donor Development, we believe healthy fundraising begins with healthy relationships. Our work has always centered on helping organizations cultivate meaningful relationships with the people who believe in their mission, rather than reducing fundraising to transactions.
But over time, that conviction has led me somewhere even deeper:
The Kingdom of God grows through communion.
Our ministries flourish when people come together around a shared mission.
Our donors become more deeply invested when they are invited into authentic relationship.
And we become better leaders when we stop trying to carry everything by ourselves.
Come and Behold is an opportunity to experience that reality together.
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Come and Behold intentionally sits somewhere between a retreat, a leadership gathering, and a practical formation experience.
There will be teaching.
There will be conversations about fundraising, leadership, donor relationships, sustainability, and mission.
But there will also be prayer. Silence. Mass. Eucharistic Adoration. Meals around tables. Conversations that do not need an agenda. Time to listen. Time to laugh.
Time to remember that before we are executives, fundraisers, founders, development officers, pastors, or ministry leaders...
we are disciples.
My hope is that you leave Come and Behold not simply with more information, but with greater clarity, deeper relationships, renewed energy, and a stronger sense that you are not doing this work alone.
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Encounter
Time with Christ through prayer, Mass, reflection, and Eucharistic Adoration. Before we talk about strategy, we want to remember the One whose mission we are serving.
Communion
Authentic relationships with other mission-driven leaders. Not forced networking. Not collecting business cards. Real conversations with people who understand both the joy and the weight of carrying a mission.
Formation
Practical conversations and workshops around fundraising, donor development, leadership, sustainability, and building stronger organizations. MRP exists to help leaders create practical, sustainable fundraising strategies while strengthening the relationships that make those strategies possible.
Mission
Time to reflect on what God may be asking of you next. The goal is not simply to leave refreshed. It is to return home renewed and ready to serve your mission with greater freedom, clarity, and intentionality.
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Come and Behold is designed for people who carry meaningful responsibility within mission-driven organizations. You may be an:
· Executive Director or CEO
· Founder
· Development Director
· Fundraiser
· Ministry leader
· Pastor or clergy member
· Campus minister
· School leader
· Board member
· Advancement professional
· Nonprofit professional
· Catholic apostolate leader
You do not need to work specifically in fundraising.
You simply need to care deeply about your mission and want to become a healthier, more effective, more relational leader.
MRP Donor Development has deep roots serving Catholic and faith-based organizations. Come and Behold is being created from within a distinctly Catholic understanding of mission, communion, prayer, Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration. Leaders who are comfortable participating in that environment are welcome.
The Experience
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We will begin Monday evening with a welcome reception.
This is intentionally relaxed. Come in. Grab something to eat. Meet the people with whom you will spend the next two days.
Appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, and finger foods will be provided as part of your registration.
The purpose of Monday evening is simple:
arrive, exhale, and begin building community.
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Tuesday will be a full day of prayer, formation, discussion, and relationship-building.
We will gather for Mass, teaching sessions, practical workshops, roundtable conversations, shared meals, and opportunities to connect with other leaders.
Lunch is included with registration.
Breakfast is not included in event registration. Guests staying at our partner hotel will receive breakfast through the hotel. Those staying elsewhere should plan breakfast on their own.
Tuesday evening is intentionally open.
Dinner Tuesday is on your own. Use the evening to rest, spend time with new friends, explore the Frederick area, or simply have some quiet time..
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Wednesday continues the journey with formation, conversation, prayer, and time to discern how what we have experienced together translates back into our ministries.
Lunch is included with registration.
We will also share dinner together Wednesday evening, included with registration.
Then we will close Come and Behold where I believe we should: before the Lord.
Our gathering will conclude with Eucharistic Adoration.
Not another presentation. Not another networking reception. Simply time with Christ.
Registration$395 through September 30, 2026
$495 from October 1 through November 2, 2026
Registration closes November 2, 2026
Your registration includes:
· Admission to the full three-day gathering
· Monday evening welcome reception and food
· Tuesday lunch
· Wednesday lunch
· Wednesday dinner
· All sessions and workshops
· Prayer experiences
· Mass
· Eucharistic Adoration
· Gathering materials
· Access to the Come and Behold community
Hotel accommodations are not included in registration.
We are finalizing a preferred hotel arrangement and room block and will publish those details shortly.
Become a Come and Behold Sponsor
Come and Behold is being built not simply as an event, but as a gathering that strengthens the people carrying important missions. We are grateful to welcome mission-aligned businesses, organizations, and individuals who want to help make that possible.
Sponsorships help us create a hospitable, prayerful, and formative experience for leaders while helping underwrite the gathering and expand access for those serving important missions.
If you or your organization would like to explore sponsorship opportunities for Come and Behold 2026, please contact us at:
We would be glad to share the available partnership opportunities and discuss the best fit.
About MRP Donor DevelopmentMRP Donor Development exists to help nonprofit and ministry leaders build stronger, more sustainable fundraising programs rooted in authentic relationships.
Our work includes coaching, training, campaign strategy, fundraising-team development, and hands-on development support. Across those services, the consistent goal is to help organizations move beyond stagnation, create practical strategies, and cultivate enduring relationships with the people who believe in their mission.
At the heart of that work is a simple conviction:
Beliefs + Relationships = Funds.
People give because they believe. Relationships help those beliefs grow into meaningful participation in a mission.
Come and Behold is an extension of that same philosophy.
Because before we can build healthy relationships with donors, teams, boards, and communities, we also need healthy relationships with one another and with Christ.
A Note from Orlando
I have been around ministries and nonprofit organizations for most of my life.
For years, I wondered why organizations doing extraordinary good so often struggled for the resources they needed.
Eventually, my career led me from sales into fundraising and development, where I discovered that one of my greatest gifts was helping people build relationships around a shared mission. That conviction eventually became MRP Donor Development.
But the longer I do this work, the more convinced I become that fundraising is about something much bigger than money.
It is about invitation. It is about relationship. It is about helping people discover that they belong to something bigger than themselves.
And ultimately, I believe it is about communion.
Come and Behold is something I have wanted to create because I believe the people carrying these missions deserve a place where they can experience that communion themselves.
If you are tired...
If you are excited about your mission but carrying more than people realize...
If you want practical tools but also need space to remember why you are doing this...
Or if you simply want to spend a few days with people who understand...
I would love to welcome you.
Come and behold.
- Orlando Barros
Founder, MRP Donor Development
Frequently Asked Questions
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Come and Behold is a three-day gathering for mission-driven leaders designed around prayer, authentic relationships, practical formation, and renewal. It combines elements of a retreat, leadership gathering, and fundraising/development conference without trying to become a traditional conference.
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Monday, November 16 through Wednesday, November 18, 2026. The gathering begins Monday evening and concludes Wednesday evening following dinner and Eucharistic Adoration.
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Come and Behold will take place in Frederick County, Maryland, with the primary gathering hosted at Holy Family Catholic Church in Middletown, Maryland. Additional details regarding Monday evening's reception and hotel accommodations will be communicated to registered attendees.
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Registration is $395 per person through September 30, 2026. Beginning October 1, registration is $495 per person. Registration closes November 2, 2026.
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Registration includes the full Come and Behold experience, gathering materials, Monday evening's welcome reception and food, Tuesday lunch, Wednesday lunch, and Wednesday dinner. Hotel accommodations, Tuesday dinner, transportation, and breakfasts for attendees not staying at the partner hotel are not included.
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No. Hotel accommodations are separate from the registration fee. We are finalizing preferred hotel arrangements and a room block and will provide those details as soon as they are confirmed.
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Breakfast is not included with Come and Behold registration. Guests who choose to stay at our partner hotel will have breakfast provided by the hotel as part of their stay. Attendees staying elsewhere should plan breakfast on their own.
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Your registration includes food at the Monday evening welcome reception, lunch Tuesday, lunch Wednesday, and dinner Wednesday. Tuesday dinner is on your own. Breakfast is provided by the partner hotel only for guests staying there.
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Yes. Prayer and the sacramental life of the Church are intentionally woven into Come and Behold. Mass will be part of the gathering, and we will conclude Wednesday evening with Eucharistic Adoration.
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A little of both, but we intentionally call it a gathering. There will be practical formation and workshops, but we are equally committed to creating space for prayer, rest, relationships, reflection, meals, and genuine conversation. We do not want people leaving with a binder full of information and no time to process it.
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No. Fundraising and donor development will certainly be part of the conversation because that is the work MRP Donor Development knows deeply. But Come and Behold is broader. We will talk about mission, relationships, leadership, sustainability, community, and the realities of carrying responsibility within a ministry or nonprofit.
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Come and Behold is being created from within a distinctly Catholic understanding of mission, communion, prayer, Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration. Leaders who are comfortable participating in that environment are welcome.
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No. If you carry meaningful responsibility for a mission and believe this experience could help you, you belong in the conversation.
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Absolutely. Organizations may find it especially valuable to have multiple members of their leadership or development teams participate together.
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Come comfortable. Business casual is perfectly appropriate. This is meant to feel relational and hospitable, not corporate or formal.
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A lot. And that is intentional. We are designing the schedule so that relationships are not squeezed into fifteen-minute breaks between presentations. Meals, roundtables, the welcome reception, and open portions of the gathering will create real opportunities to get to know other leaders.
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Come and Behold is not being designed around a traditional exhibit hall. We are accepting a limited number of mission-aligned sponsors and partners, but our priority is protecting the participant experience and keeping the focus on prayer, formation, and relationship.
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Yes. We are accepting sponsorships for Come and Behold 2026. Businesses, organizations, and individuals interested in sponsorship opportunities should email info@mrpdonordev.com.
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You will have an opportunity to share dietary restrictions or allergies during registration. We will work with our catering partners to accommodate reasonable dietary needs whenever possible.
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We will publish comprehensive travel and ground-transportation guidance once our partner hotel arrangements are finalized. In the meantime, note that Middletown, Maryland is most easily accessed via Dulles International Airport (IAD) or BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, both roughly an hour's drive away.
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The final cancellation and refund policy will be published before registration closes. Questions regarding registration may be sent to info@mrpdonordev.com.
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For all Come and Behold questions - including registration, travel, accessibility, meals, sponsorships, or general event information - please email info@mrpdonordev.com.