Why “Jet Set?”

We’ve had a few people ask us why we call the Upstream Collective vision tours “Jet Set” trips. Here’s an explanation:

The term “Jet Set” was coined in the late 1960s in reference to a wealthy class of socialites who had the time and money to hop a jet for lunch in Rome, shopping in Paris, and stopping for drinks in Prague on the way home to a penthouse apartment in Manhattan. Of course, these privileged few were interested in little more than their own social stature, their gallivanting around the world had a surprising side effect- The “Jet Set” learned about culture. As it turns out, visiting other countries affects how you see your own.

We would never condone such waste and frivolity. But relative to the rest of the world, we have ridiculous amounts of money and free time. We have access to places that we’ve never heard of. The opportunities are unprecedented. We want to redeem the term “Jet Set.” We want to bring responsibility to the opportunities we have. When we hop on a plane to see what God is doing among the nations, we do it not o climb a social ladder, but to get a glimpse of how God might use us outside our own cultures. We want to experience life from someone else’s vantage point. We want to cross cultures with intentionality.

These trips aren’t just for us. They’re for the people we lead and the partners we join. Jet Set vision trips are a privilege that bring tremendous responsibility. We want to be good stewards of what we see and do here. We feel an obligation to apply what we learn, to pray for those we meet, and to pursue the vision God gives us as we walk among unreached peoples.