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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!
Brian McClure
Mar 25, 20244 min read
Field Perspective on Advocacy Team Care
Human beings all have needs, and those who live cross-culturally are no exception. We can meet each other’s needs in many ways. I have...
Bradley Bell
Mar 18, 20243 min read
Leading the Advocates
I once had a turtle named Fred. Fred liked to eat watermelon. But I went on vacation and forgot to leave Fred any watermelon. When I came...
Mike Easton
Mar 12, 20243 min read
Microskills for Advocates
When you have a struggle in life, who do you go to? Is it a friend? A pastor? An older man or woman? A counselor? When someone in your...
Christian Townson
Mar 4, 20244 min read
The What and Why of Advocacy Teams: Nurturing and Supporting Sent Ones
The role of advocacy teams has become increasingly vital to global missions and church planting as a means of caring for missionaries as...
Jared Burwell
Jul 17, 20235 min read
How to Address the Impact of Inflation on Giving
I still wince when I go to the grocery store to buy fruit or meat, remembering what those prices per pound used to be back when I...
Larry McCrary
Jun 26, 20234 min read
How Can the Sending Church and Organization Work Together in Missionary Care?
A sending church provides ongoing care in partnership with a missions organization by building a relational structure that nurtures the...
Bradley Bell
Jun 22, 20234 min read
A Practical Way to Structure Your Church’s Missionary Care
When I was six years old, my parents accidentally forgot me at church. Both of them had driven that day, and they simply pulled away...
Shirley Ralston
Jun 28, 20215 min read
Healthy at Home: Helping Hands
Relying on the local church for travel, lodging plans, and fellowship has long been the norm for those sent out to deliver the Good News.
Shirley Ralston
Jun 24, 20214 min read
Healthy at Home: Healthy Souls
Maintaining healthy souls on reentry is a community effort that takes time and commitment.
Shirley Ralston
Jun 21, 20215 min read
Healthy at Home: Healthy Bodies
Providing for the needs of the body lays the groundwork for rest and renewal of the mind, alleviating stress in sent ones’ reentry process.
Shirley Ralston
Jun 17, 20213 min read
Healthy at Home: Healthy Minds Part 2—Professional Christian Counseling
Professional Christian counseling may be necessary for returned workers who have experienced trauma or levels of high stress on the field.
Matt Clark
Jun 29, 20205 min read
Empower the Saints for the Work of Missionary Care
We as missions pastors/leaders have the opportunity to equip lay members of our congregations to meet the needs of missionary care.
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