UMCOR works through programs that address hunger, poverty, sustainable agriculture, international and domestic emergencies, refugee and immigrant concerns, global health issues, and transitional development.

MCOR was to "respond to the vast needs of human suffering worldwide" by analyzing critical needs in the world and relaying them to local churches who would in turn provide monetary assistance.

When UMCOR was first formed, the mission was, "to provide relief in disaster areas, aiding refugees and confronting the challenge of world hunger and poverty.

According to the United Methodist Book of Discipline, UMCOR's current responsibility is "To provide immediate relief of acute human need and to respond to the suffering of persons in the world caused by natural, ecological, political turmoil, and civil disaster.

Dixon was part of a group of six UMCOR missionaries and relief specialists caught up in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti.