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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!
Vetting National Partners
See our previous articles on the why and how of funding national partners or organizations and on how to find them . Vetting indigenous...
Josh Duncan
Oct 28, 20245 min read
How to Choose the Right Partners
“We seek partnership with your church in reaching souls with the Word of God in …” If you’ve led your church in missions engagement, you...
Bruce Mewbourne
Oct 16, 20235 min read
Building Healthy Multinational Teams
A young man from a West African country asked me, “How can I be a missionary? Missionaries do not come from my place.” The only...
Matthew Hirt
Oct 2, 20235 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
Marketplace Opportunities in Missions
“What do you mean I don’t have to choose between work and missions?” Michael* (name changed for security) was initially perplexed as I...
Sean German
Aug 14, 20236 min read
Global Professionals Can Reach the World for Christ
Let me tell you a little about Joe. Joe was a business student at a university in the U.S. He spent one semester studying abroad in an...
Larry McCrary
Aug 10, 20234 min read
Using BAM to Impact Unreached Peoples
Business as Mission (BAM) is becoming a popular strategy in countries around the world today. BAM is a holistic ministry model that...
Hatley Hambrice
Aug 7, 20234 min read
How to Inform the Church on the Impact of Their Giving
We as church leaders want to see our people practice radical generosity. We want our churches to be intentional and wise in directing...
Ashlyn Portero
Jul 24, 20235 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
How to Think About Funding One-Time Requests
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul testifies of the Macedonians that “according to their ability and even beyond their ability, of their own...
Ryan Martin
Jul 3, 20235 min read
Language Learning beyond Babel: The Biblical Redemption of Local Languages
I hope that we never let go of the strategic value of learning language as missionaries seeking to demonstrate that the gospel is for all.
Matthew Bennett
Feb 9, 20234 min read
The Benefits of Going to the Same Place Year after Year
We have been involved in global missions for over twenty-two years now. For most of those years, we have served in Europe, though the...
Larry McCrary
Jan 23, 20235 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
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...
Larry McCrary
Oct 24, 20225 min read
Leveraging Your Missions Funds Most Effectively in a Small Church
For eighteen years I spent the first hour of my day listening to country music. My mom’s alarm clock was set (loudly) to the local...
Bradley Bell
Jul 28, 20223 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
Upcoming Upstream Book: Holding the Rope
This is an excerpt from the forthcoming book Holding the Rope: How the Local Church Can Care for Its Sent Ones by Ryan Martin, set to be...
Ryan Martin
Jun 28, 20226 min read
Aligning Local and Global Missions Engagement
The following is an adapted excerpt from The Sending Church Defined. A Holistic Mission Think globally, act locally. Chances are, you’ve...
Bradley Bell
May 16, 20225 min read
Organizing Your Missions Leadership Team
Many churches have a mission team or committee that is too narrowly focused in its responsibilities and primarily tasked with overseeing...
Larry McCrary
Mar 1, 20224 min read
Reaching Oral Learners with the Gospel
If you stepped into my office, you could make two observations about me—I love to travel, and I love to read. I have collected many...
Ryan Martin
Feb 24, 20225 min read
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