Specialized Cohorts

The Specialized Cohorts are for missions leaders that have been introduced to Sending Church Elements in the Foundations and Advanced Missions Leader Cohorts, or other Upstream trainings, but want to take a deep dive into these subjects. Upstream will offer online Specialized Cohorts in the Spring, Summer, and Fall on the following topics: Missionary Care, Assessment & Development, Local Missions, Local International & Refugee Ministry, Short-term trips, Business as Mission, Multi-site Missions Leader, and much more. We will also yearly host an on-site cohort in Madrid Spain with our founder Larry McCrary for a hands on deep dive into Missionary Care, Partnership, and Developing Sent Ones.

You can sign up at any of the registration links below, or you can contact us to let us know of a specialized cohort you would be interested in.

MISSIONARY CARE

FEBRUARY - APRIL 2024 | ONLINE

One of the most important aspects of a missions leader’s role is Missionary Care. The work of the sending church does not end at the Commissioning ceremony of a Sent One. It really is just the beginning. This specialized cohort will focus doing both proactive and reactive missionary care so that those who are Sent Ones stay connected to their local church and are shepherded well overseas.

Matt Clark, Missionary Care Leader at the Summit Church in Raleigh Durham, will be the facilitator for this cohort. This session will be held online and will include three half-day conference calls for training and group collaboration. Each individual will receive 3 individual monthly coaching calls with the facilitator during the cohort. The cost for the cohort is $750 per person and enrollment is limited to 7 participants. If you would like to have more than one representative from your church, subsequent participant rate is $100 per person. Use discount code, “Cohort100” to sign them up.

SHORT-TERM TRIPS

2024 | ONLINE

Short-term trips can be an incredible piece of the long-term vision of an overseas partnership when done rightly. When poorly executed they can be harmful for the field, the goer, the nationals and the church. This cohort will focus on principles for sending great short-term trips. We will learn from guest missionaries and guest mission leaders in the local church.

This cohort will be led by Larry McCrary, Co-founder and Executive Director for the Upstream Collective. Participants will meet 3 times for two hours each session. Members will also have 3 one-hour individual coaching calls with Larry over the course of a few months. The cost of the cohort is $750 for the first church member to sign up. Each subsequent member can signup for $100.

If you have questions, contact Larry McCrary at: larry@theupstreamcollective.org

DEVELOPING HEALTHY PARTNERSHIPS

2024 | ONLINE

During this three month cohort we will address key global partnership questions. How do you discover potential partners that fit into your mission strategy?

What do you look for in a partnership?
What expectations do you have?
How do you develop a healthy partnership?
How do you end a partnership that has run its course or is no longer a good match for your church?
How do you organize your mission team around your partnerships to ensure effective mobilization efforts?

Our Upstream Collective Specialty cohort “Developing Healthy Global Partnerships” will be led by Larry McCrary. Larry and his wife Susan live in Europe and work extensively with mission organizations and national partners all over the world. During the course of this cohort you and your church will be able to define what partnership looks like in your context. You will develop a customized grid that will help you discern where to partner. You will write a MOU template for your partnerships. Each session we will meet with an international partner that will help you learn to evaluate what a healthy partnership looks like. The cohort will be online. Cost for the Cohort is $750 for the first member of a church and $100 for each subsequent member.

MULTI-SITE MISSIONS

TBD | IN-PERSON

Multisite can be a confusing world to lead in. The missions leadership cohort designed specifically for those in multisite churches. We will tackle the opportunities and challenges of leading in the multisite polity and then chart a better way forward. We will use the Sending Church Elements as our guide toward sending church maturity.

This cohort is led by Nathan Sloan, the pastor of sending at Sojourn Church Midtown. This session will begin with an overnight in-person conference in Louisville, KY at Sojourn Church. The conference will be followed by three group conference calls and three individual conference calls from March to May. The cost of the cohort is $950 per person and enrollment is limited to 7 participants. If you would like to have more than one representative from your church, subsequent participant rate is $200 per person.

MISSION LEADER COHORT

MARCH - MAY 2024 | ONLINE

The role of missions in the life of the church can often be another niche ministry alongside the array of other ministries. And yet, we see that God is using his church to accomplish his mission—every single member should have a ‘sent identity.’ The role of the missions leader, then, is a key piece in helping to lead, train, mobilize, and send out the church’s members to be on mission both locally and globally.

This cohort is for new and seasoned mission pastors to be further developed in the head, heart, and hands of their unique and crucial role to help the church live on mission.

Larry McCrary will be the facilitator for this cohort. This session will be held online and will include four conference calls for training and group collaboration. Each individual will receive 4 individual monthly coaching calls with the facilitator during the cohort. The cost for the cohort is $750 per person and enrollment is limited to 7 participants. If you would like to have more than one representative from your church, subsequent participant rate is $100 per person. Use discount code, “Cohort100” to sign them up.

Other Specialized Trainings

The Upstream Team has a wealth of experience in other specialized areas of sending. We will be offering the following specialized cohorts based on interest including:

Assessment & Development - Deciding who should and who shouldn’t go overseas, as well as developing missionaries is a great opportunity and responsibility, But it can be a daunting task. This cohort will help define qualities for overseas Sent-Ones and provide assessment & development tools for future Sent-Ones.

Business as Mission - In the ever-changing world of global missions, business as mission is key to engagement of unreached people groups and involvement of every member in global missions. This cohort will dive deep into how to develop business as mission opportunities Stateside that lead to effective BAM endeavors globally.

​

SPECIALIZED COHORTS