Blog | The Upstream Collective

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!

David McWhite

Dec 29, 20223 min read

The Top Upstream Blog Posts of 2022

As we come to the end of 2022, we are thankful for how God has allowed Upstream to equip the Church and encourage believers over the past...

Mike Easton

Dec 22, 20227 min read

Reflecting as a Missions Leader

The rhythms of the calendar are a gift from a good God who understands the heart and rhythms of his children. Each day provides the...

Mike Easton

Dec 19, 20223 min read

Year-End Reviews with Sent Ones

As a missions leader, you likely are having regular calls with your Sent Ones. These times are super valuable for catching up on their...

Annual Evaluations With Sent Ones: What They Should and Shouldn’t Be

Ellen Livingood

Dec 15, 20225 min read

Annual Evaluations With Sent Ones: What They Should and Shouldn’t Be

I can do real damage with something as simple as a screwdriver. Just a couple of weeks ago, I managed to get a screw jammed halfway into...

Mike Easton

Dec 12, 20223 min read

Letting Go of Partners

In our previous blog post, “Year-End Partner Evaluations,” we gave a template for evaluating partners. What do you do if the evaluation...

Ten Signs of Healthy Sending in Your Church

Bradley Bell

Dec 8, 20224 min read

Ten Signs of Healthy Sending in Your Church

Being part of The Upstream Collective means learning from sending churches around the world. Honestly, it means I do a lot less...

Mike Easton

Dec 5, 20224 min read

Year-End Partner Evaluations

In October, our theme was partnerships. What agency we partner with, what local field workers we partner with, who we partner with to...

The Upstream Collective

Dec 1, 20222 min read

We Are Thankful for You

We at The Upstream Collective have something in common with the apostle Paul that seems rather timely: we are tremendously thankful for...

Adventures with Larry & Caleb: What Are the Key Things That Help You in Contextualizing the Gospel?

The Upstream Collective

Nov 28, 20226 min read

Adventures with Larry & Caleb: What Are the Key Things That Help You in Contextualizing the Gospel?

Upstream co-founders Larry McCrary and Caleb Crider are living in very different places: for Larry, Madrid, Spain; for Caleb, Richmond,...

Anna Daub

Nov 21, 20226 min read

How to Do Missions in the Global South

Christianity continues to blossom in the Global South.[1] Our missions strategies and methodologies, while remaining unyieldingly planted...

The Upstream Team's Favorite Missiology Resources

Mike Easton

Nov 17, 20222 min read

The Upstream Team's Favorite Missiology Resources

There’s always more we could read, isn’t there? While there are endless books you could be reading, we wanted to provide an answer to the...

Why and How to Do Missions to the Global South

Matthew Hirt

Nov 14, 20225 min read

Why and How to Do Missions to the Global South

As we come alongside brothers and sisters around the world to engage in the missionary task, we need new terms and categories to describe...

Training Sent Ones for Multiplicative Discipleship

Mike Easton

Nov 10, 20223 min read

Training Sent Ones for Multiplicative Discipleship

We should teach our future missionaries the principles of multiplicative discipleship no matter which church model they encounter.

Training Church Members for Cross-Cultural Living in Everyday Life

Luke T.

Nov 7, 20223 min read

Training Church Members for Cross-Cultural Living in Everyday Life

Discipleship 101: Pray, read your Bible, go to church, participate in cross-cultural training . . . Wait, what? Isn’t that the kind of...

So You Wanna Be a Missionary—Who Are You Discipling?

Bradley Bell

Nov 3, 20225 min read

So You Wanna Be a Missionary—Who Are You Discipling?

I love the enthusiasm I encounter among aspiring missionaries. It drips from them like water from your hands when there are no paper...

Choose Your National Church Partner Wisely

Ellen Livingood

Oct 31, 20224 min read

Choose Your National Church Partner Wisely

The following is adapted from Your Focus on the World by Catalyst Services. This book includes guidelines on building church-to-church...

Exploring Alternative Pathways to Missions

Larry McCrary

Oct 24, 20225 min read

Exploring Alternative Pathways to Missions

Fourth Church is situated in a midsize city in the midwest. Their city has seen a lot of growth the last few years as people have moved...

Getting Members Involved in Local Partnerships

Jonah Fox

Oct 20, 20226 min read

Getting Members Involved in Local Partnerships

Mobilizing the Body for the Community: Micro vs Macro When I first stepped into the role of Missions Pastor, I often lived in my head in...

A Liturgy for When a Loved One Is Ailing Back Home

Bradley Bell

Oct 16, 20222 min read

A Liturgy for When a Loved One Is Ailing Back Home

Father, when first I set sail on this life in another land, I believed your promise, that for every house brother sister father mother...

Jonah Fox

Oct 13, 20225 min read

Establishing Ministry Partnerships

Establishing partnerships is one of the most important things a church missions leader will do in their role. For most churches,...