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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!
Jerry Rankin
Dec 9, 20244 min read
How the Evil One Blinds Us to the Mission, Pt. II
I have many lingering impressions from forty years of missionary service and the privilege of leading the largest missionary-sending...
Jerry Rankin
Dec 2, 20245 min read
How the Evil One Blinds Us to the Mission, Pt. I
After twenty-three years of missionary work in Southeast Asia, I had a great deal of experience and insight into mission strategy, but...
Josh Duncan
Oct 7, 20245 min read
Funding Nationals or National Organizations: The How
In our previous blog post , we delved into why funding national work is a powerful strategy for advancing God’s mission among the...
Josh Duncan
Sep 30, 20245 min read
Funding Nationals or National Organizations: The Why
In late April and early May of 2015, the country of Nepal was struck by two devastating earthquakes, measuring 7.8 and 7.3 in magnitude....
Stuart P.
Jun 3, 20245 min read
The Opportunity of Digital Engagement in Modern Missions
Over 5 billion people, or more than 66 percent of the world’s population, use the internet, with almost the same levels using social...
Greg Mathias
May 6, 20245 min read
The Nations in Our Own Back Yard
Our world is closer and more interconnected in ways that require us to think and act like a missionary in our communities. When we look for
Greg Mathias
Jan 1, 20245 min read
Debriefing Short-Term Trips
Spending nine weeks in the Middle East during the summer of 1994 challenged my worldview, shaped my identity, and redirected my life’s...
Eric & Andrea Warren
Oct 30, 20235 min read
The Joy of Welcoming Internationals for Thanksgiving
Inviting international friends to Thanksgiving is one of the best cross-cultural missions opportunities available to American Christians....
Bruce Mewbourne
May 22, 20235 min read
Providing Cross Cultural Opportunities Locally
Immigration and migration represent a Great Commission opportunity for the church. Migration is not a new phenomenon. A casual reading of...
Chris Howles
May 15, 20235 min read
How National Christians Can Bless and Teach Western Churches
Have you ever heard of a “truncated icosahedron”? If not don’t worry—you’re not alone. I’m informed it’s a “bitruncated order-5...
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...
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...
Anna Daub
Aug 7, 20224 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...
Ryan Martin
Jul 31, 20226 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...
Shirley Ralston
Jul 14, 20224 min read
Marketplace Ministry from Experience, Pt. I
Expatriates: Our Accidental Pathway to Missions Life in the Oil Patch A poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs...
Matthew Hirt
May 23, 20225 min read
Cultural Sensitivity in the US Context
A large movie poster of Shah Rukh Khan was not what my wife and I expected to see as we walked into the movie theater in southern...
Mike Easton
May 19, 20223 min read
Developing an International Ministry
One of the incredible opportunities we have right now in America is to reach an increasing number of internationals. Immigrants,...
Mark Zwemer
May 12, 20224 min read
The Art of Being Bi-Cultural in an American Context
Being a bi-cultural Christ-follower means being able to comfortably move in and out of cultures, sometimes even a variety of cultures....
Mike Easton
Apr 28, 20223 min read
The Importance of Local International Ministry in Mobilization
As missions leaders, we work hard to get our people overseas on short-term trips and as long-term missionaries. This is an awesome...
Mike Easton
Sep 23, 20214 min read
The Sending Pipeline Part 4: From Global Christians to Potential Goers
Here are some questions to ask as you develop programs in this transition phase from Global Christians to US Senders or Potential Goers.
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