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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!
Cross-Cultural Missional Partnership: Some Perils of Neglect
The one-sided reality of failed cross-cultural partnerships may lead to the following errors.
Joshua Bowman
Oct 19, 20234 min read
How to Communicate Missions Giving to Your Church Members
When you communicate and celebrate missions giving you communicate vision and priorities to your people.
Mike Easton
Jul 27, 20234 min read
Four Church Giving Practices for Supporting Global Missions
The budget is one of the best ways to reflect the values of a church. Giving to global missions usually falls in one of four categories.
Mike Easton
Jul 20, 20234 min read
When and How to Stop Financially Supporting Missions Partners
No missions leader enjoys the part of their job where they let go of partnerships financially. Inevitably, if you want to be a strategic sen
Mike Easton
Jul 13, 20234 min read
Why Giving to Global Missions Is Helpful for Your Church Budget
There are biblical and pragmatic reasons that giving to global missions is helpful for your church's budget.
Mike Easton
Jul 6, 20233 min read
Sending Does Not Mean Letting Go
Sending someone does not mean letting them go. It means holding on tight to the relationship so that the nations may know the glory of God.
Caleb Alford
Jun 15, 20233 min read
10 Lessons I’ve Learned as a Missions Pastor
As a missions pastor, these are ten things I have learned in my role as I have served my church.
Nathan Sloan
Mar 16, 20235 min read
Getting Sent Ones Established—As Committed Church Members
Some missionaries go up to a mountain village to evangelize secluded cattle ranchers. For a day or two, these self-invited Christian...
Jason Apon
Feb 6, 20235 min read
How to Prepare for a Virtual Short-Term Trip
If you’re considering planning a virtual short-term trip, here are some things you might consider as you plan and prepare.
Larry McCrary
Feb 2, 20233 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.
Mike Easton
Nov 10, 20223 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...
Ellen Livingood
Oct 31, 20224 min read
Together on Mission with God: Principles and Practices of Healthy Partnerships
Cross-cultural partnerships happen because they mutually submit to King Jesus. Here are principles and practices of healthy partnerships.
Joshua Bowman
Oct 10, 20224 min read
Together on Mission with God: A Definition for Partnership
Cross-cultural missional partnership is a kingdom-oriented relationship of culturally diverse groups of believers who share common values.
Joshua Bowman
Oct 6, 20224 min read
Together on Mission with God: A Biblical Basis for Partnership
Partnership is necessary because the gospel is universally relevant and provides the plan of redemption for sinners separated from God.
Joshua Bowman
Oct 3, 20224 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
Fully Funded or Support Raised? The Pros and Cons of Each, Pt. II
I have been a support-raised missionary. It’s pretty awesome. Here are some of the challenges, along with a few pleasant surprises.
Bradley Bell
Jul 11, 20226 min read
Fully Funded or Support Raised? The Pros and Cons of Each, Pt. I
Being a fully-funded missionary is pretty awesome. Here are some of the benefits, along with a few unpleasant surprises.
Bradley Bell
Jul 7, 20226 min read
How to Care for Sent-Ones Learning a Second Foreign Language
The missionary task requires understandable communication of the gospel. Depending on the context and the complexity of the language...
Matthew Hirt
Feb 14, 20225 min read
Questions to Ask a Sending Organization
What a Former Missions Pastor (Who Now Serves an Agency) Wishes He Had Known to Ask In scripture, we learn that the Church is being...
David Wilson
Jan 20, 20225 min read
Writing an MOU
There’s a lot of things in life that are really important but are also kind of boring: mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, filling out...
Mike Easton
Jan 10, 20224 min read
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