One month ago the world was held captive as a Hollywood-like chase scene unfolded before our eyes. The possibilities of soon discovering the identities of the Boston Marathon bombers and the reasoning behind why they did such a horrible thing kept us all on the edge of our seats. The moment the authorities announced the [...]
When one thinks of the Middle East, seldom do images of T-shirts, skinny jeans and the tortured, daring, contemporary sounds of post-punk rock music come to mind. But Lebanon’s varied and cosmopolitan city of Beirut has a reputation for smashing traditional perceptions of the Middle East against the walls of its rich cultural, religious and [...]
A helpful approach to reading culture is to analyze its art and its stories. Analysis of a culture’s films is one of the best ways to understand what and how its people think. The films a culture produces and those it responds to reveal a lot about how its people see the world and understand [...]
This Fall, Upstream is teaming up with the North American Mission Board to host a Jet Set Trip to Portland, Oregon. Why should you come? Because Portland is ground zero for new Bohemian culture in America. If you want to learn about how urbanization, bicycling, the artisan economy, and hipster culture are impacting your church, [...]
Part of getting to know an area and the people therein involves asking questions. One route some churches choose to take in this aspect of mapping is that of the community survey. This research technique is a practical way to gather information from individuals within an area in order to know how to most effectively [...]
While we like to think we come up with a few good ideas every now and then, the concept of mapping didn’t originate with the insightful minds at The Upstream Collective. Police have been known to use this technique to gather information in communities. However, this proactive form of crime-fighting has undergone scrutiny. About a [...]
Moving to a new city can be awkward. Nothing is familiar, getting lost can happen within steps of your front door, and it seems like you have a neon arrow reading, “I’m new here,” flashing above your head. So what do you do? “Play the tourist card and ask locals tons of questions about everything,” [...]
Understanding a city’s meeting places, edges, points of intersection and districts offers insight into how and perhaps why people of an area think and act they way they do. It may help reveal where and how one might be able to effectively communicate the gospel, and can provide a record of where God is working [...]
Mugs Cafe will not open solely to serve great quality products and help boost the local economy as a well-run business. But it is designed to. The driving force behind the coffee shop will neither be to offer attentive customer service, nor to help fund a local church plant. But it should. “People who are [...]
You’ll learn how to dive to the depths of your city to see it like never before. Make plans for you and your team to attend Tradecraft Training March 21-25 in Portland. It’s basically spelunking–in a metropolis. “This notion of ‘urban spelunking’ is taking a group of intrepid learners on a journey to explore the [...]
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