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UPSTREAM BLOG
The Upstream Blog is published two times a week and contains content from missions leaders, pastors, missiologists, and the Upstream team on a wide variety of topics pertaining to being a sending church. Leave us some comments or questions!
Resources for Cultivating Missions Awareness in Kids
My family has an obsession—the Sacramento Kings basketball team. Despite fifteen years of marriage to a hardcore fan, I didn't cross the...
Jenny Marcelene
Apr 1, 20245 min read
Cultivating Missions Awareness, Part Four
SENDING CHURCH ELEMENT 01: CULTIVATING MISSIONS AWARENESS The church becomes progressively aware of the lost world around them, both...
Bradley Bell
Sep 28, 20238 min read
Cultivating Missions Awareness, Part Three
SENDING CHURCH ELEMENT 01: CULTIVATING MISSIONS AWARENESS The church becomes progressively aware of the lost world around them, both...
Bradley Bell
Sep 21, 20236 min read
Lunch and Learns
At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, there is a wonderful, descriptive paragraph on what Paul and Barnabas did as they returned...
Mike Easton
Sep 18, 20235 min read
Cultivating Missions Awareness, Part Two
Sending Church Element 01: Cultivating Missions Awareness The church becomes progressively aware of the lost world around them, both...
Larry McCrary
Sep 14, 20233 min read
Cultivating Missions Awareness, Part One
Sending Church Element 01: Cultivating Missions Awareness The church becomes progressively aware of the lost world around them, both...
Andy Jansen
Sep 7, 20234 min read
Personalizing Your Awareness Strategies
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how...
Christian Townson
Sep 4, 20234 min read
How to Design a Mission Space in Your Church
The Sunday gathering is a great time to create mission awareness in your church. Assuming you are already using some graphics or slides...
Larry McCrary
Aug 25, 20224 min read
Why Every Church Member Needs Glasses: Fostering a Missional Lens
I started wearing glasses in the fourth grade. The optometrist whispered to my mom, “He’s nearsighted in one eye, farsighted in the...
Bradley Bell
Aug 22, 20224 min read
Creative Ways to Cultivate Awareness, Pt. II
In part one of this series, we highlighted the unhealthy and often counterproductive use of emotions and reason in cultivating awareness...
Dave & Lorene Wilson
Aug 18, 20226 min read
Creative Ways to Cultivate Awareness, Pt. I
After serving in the church as a missions pastor for more than twenty years, I am often amused when I reflect on the variety of failures...
Dave & Lorene Wilson
Aug 15, 20226 min read
Leading Your Church to Think About the Global Church
The global church offers Western Christians hope in what feels like hopeless times; however, because many Western Christians do not see...
Anna Daub
Aug 8, 20224 min read
Resources & Suggestions for Cultivating Missions Awareness in Your Church
Mission Vision Toolbox: Tools for Casting a Great Commission Vision in your Church I think most pastors have the desire for their church...
Matthew Hirt
Aug 4, 20225 min read
Cultivating Missions Awareness Through Local International Ministry
A little over a year ago, my family and I transitioned churches. This was not the first time either my wife or I had sought a new church...
Ryan Martin
Aug 1, 20226 min read
Involving the Entire Church in Global Missions
A sending church involves the entire church by clearly and consistently teaching its missions convictions, vision, and strategy. This is...
Mike Easton
May 2, 20223 min read
Why Everyone Should Be Friends with Missionaries
I'm convinced that everyone should be friends with a missionary—or at least have some kind of contact with a sent one. Here's why.
Meredith Cook
Aug 30, 20215 min read
Tips for Creating a Global Missions Display
A global missions display validates your efforts in global missions and shows your members what you are doing around the world.
Mike Easton
Aug 25, 20214 min read
Questions to Ask for Understanding Culture and Worldview
Culture and worldview are complicated. Here are some questions that should guide your understanding.
Larry McCrary
Aug 23, 20214 min read
Resources to Help Guide Your Prayer for the Nations
Prayer is vital to the work of missionaries around the world. Here are some organizations that have developed prayer guides for the nations.
Meredith Cook
Aug 20, 20212 min read
Pray for Afghanistan and Haiti
Pray for Afghanistan and Haiti. Pray for these countries. Pray for their citizens. Pray for the church, its leaders, and believers.
Meredith Cook
Aug 18, 20213 min read
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