The concept of contextualization is often misunderstood. Contextualization is the cultural translation of the gospel. Its goal is that people of every tribe would hear the good news in a way that they can understand and respond to. The idea is simple: no one should have to leave his culture (or learn a new one) [...]
Archive | September, 2009
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 [...]
Unbelievers on Mission
Usually, when you think of going on a mission trip, you consider there to be prerequisites. You know, things like: flexibility, motivation, and the ability to share one’s faith. But more and more, mission leaders are seeing faith in Christ as helpful, but not necessary, for participation. “We’re not saying lost people can advance the [...]
Jet Set Asia: “When We Reach 100…”
As usual, we were late for church. Maybe it’s me, but every time I’m visiting a church, I’m late. Sometimes I kid myself that it’s on purpose, you know, to get the feel for how visitors might feel coming into our church. But that’s not why we were late. We were late because we were [...]
Ethnolinguistic People Groups: Continuing the Case Study
In the previous article, we discussed the idea that among the North Africans (“NAs”) of Spain, there are really three different groups that we’ll call “new,” “veteran” and “second-generation immigrants.” Here are some of the ways our family has found we can connect with each group: New Immigrants: NAs that have arrived in Spain recently [...]
Official Jet Set Commentators List
We’re excited to have friends in the blogosphere who are following this week’s Jet Set Vision Trip to Asia and provide a sort of running commentary. The opportunity here is tremendous. We sat down and considered this: since our goal is to “put missions back into the missional conversation,” who would we want to take [...]
Departure Checklist
The countdown has begun. You’re busy packing suitcases, buying tiny toiletries, and loading music onto your iPod. When you’ve weighed your check-in bag and printed your boarding passes, you may be tempted to consider yourself ready for takeoff. Perhaps the most essential element of preparing for a trip like this is spiritual preparedness. Despite the [...]
The Next Best Thing to Being There
Maybe the timing just isn’t right. Maybe you used your missions budget on a trip this summer. Maybe you forgot to sign up. Whatever your reason for not coming on next week’s Jet Set vision trip to Asia, you’re in luck. We’re bringing the experience to you. This time around, we’re on a full media [...]
Re-Calibrate: Portland, Oregon
You may not be aware of this, but something has happened. While the church wasn’t looking, the world changed. Rules, expectations, common sense- everything that you used to take for granted- no longer apply. It turns out that you didn’t have to leave home to become a cross-cultural missionary. Are you up for the challenge? [...]
Developing Churches Network
If you’re of the opinion that there are already enough churches in your area, Developing Churches Network would kindly disagree. “If every evangelical church in the country were filled to capacity each and every Sunday, it would still only provide enough seats to accommodate a small percentage of the overall population,” says DCN’s Todd McMichen. [...]
Connect with Upstream
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.
