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10 Lessons I’ve Learned as a Missions Pastor

Aug 17, 2020
4 min

10 Lessons I’ve Learned as a Missions Pastor

As a missions pastor, these are ten lessons I’ve learned along the way as I’ve served my church in this role. 1. Take time to learn, dream, and build a good foundation. Before jumping into engagement and activities, take the time to building a good, well-thought-through foundation to mission engagement and activity. This is critical for long-term impact. I suggest developing mission convictions that will lead your ministry forward and help you know what to say “yes” to and wh

Training Sent Ones for Multiplicative Discipleship

Aug 10, 2020
3 min

Training Sent Ones for Multiplicative Discipleship

Editor’s note: Mike is the Director of Cohorts for The Upstream Collective. He is leading an online cohort this fall and next spring. If you’re interested in joining, click here to find out more information and to register. Most North American churches do an incredible job of reaching a people group with some basis of Christian foundation. Unbelievers still go to church in many places in our country. They are attracted by the worship, teaching, and the people. Members of chur

Together on Mission with God: Principles and Practices of Healthy Partnerships

Jun 18, 2020
4 min

Together on Mission with God: Principles and Practices of Healthy Partnerships

Cross-cultural missional partnership is “The Fellowship of the Bent Knees” (Phil 1:10–11). Partners meet because they mutually submit to King Jesus and then rise together to join in his mission to the nations. Mutual submission and striving form the foundation for healthy relationships among cross-cultural partners (Phil 1:6, 27). Based on previous posts about the theological basis for partnership and my definition of cross-cultural missional partnership, I now want to offer

Together on Mission with God: A Definition for Partnership

Jun 15, 2020
4 min

Together on Mission with God: A Definition for Partnership

“I thank my God…because of your partnership in the gospel.” Phil 1:3–5 In the previous blog post, we looked at some of the biblical foundations for cross-cultural missional partnerships. In this post, I will give a definition of partnership that clarifies goals, actions, and commonalities in cross-cultural relationships in missions. A partner, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a person with a joint share in something or who takes part with another in doing someth

Together on Mission with God: A Biblical Basis for Partnership

Jun 11, 2020
4 min

Together on Mission with God: A Biblical Basis for Partnership

“Two are better than one” is a statement most people would affirm, at least until the two are left fighting over a single cinnamon roll. Who would disagree that sharing, working together, or getting along with others is virtuous? When considering God’s mission to redeem a lost world, we must have a more substantial foundation for partnership than generic moral platitudes. Certainly, there are practical considerations that encourage Christians to work with others. Two people c

How to Prepare for a Virtual Short-Term Trip

Jun 8, 2020
3 min

How to Prepare for a Virtual Short-Term Trip

The article below is an excerpt from The Upstream Collective’s newest Free Download entitled, “Taking a Virtual Short-Term Trip.” There have been a lot of short-term mission trip cancellations this year due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak. Many people have been talking about other options they could consider in light of these cancellations. One option is a virtual short-term trip. We recently conducted a virtual short-term trip with one of our church partners and discovered se

Maintaining Your Church’s Sending Culture in a Pandemic

Apr 13, 2020
4 min

Maintaining Your Church’s Sending Culture in a Pandemic

Chances are “figure out how to cultivate sending during a global pandemic” didn’t make its way onto the whiteboard during our 2020 strategic planning meetings. COVID-19 and its implications are grinding the world to a halt and our churches and ministries are not exempt. Many of us have been scrambling to figure out online platforms, tightening up our means of communication, meeting needs, and caring for people. As we settle into our new normal, maybe you’ve felt the crippling

New Resource: Coaching Missionary Candidates

Feb 3, 2020
1 min

New Resource: Coaching Missionary Candidates

A significant part of how churches develop their own missionaries is by relationally coaching them through a sending process. This can be done by a church missions leader, but may be even more beneficial through a fellow small group member, someone in a later season of life, or simply a devoted friend. What exactly does this coaching look like? This 1-page PDF provides the answer, and does so in a brief overview that allows church leaders to easily train new coaches. What’s u

When Business Supports Missions: 4 Ways BAM Contributes to Missions Endeavors

Jan 27, 2020
6 min

When Business Supports Missions: 4 Ways BAM Contributes to Missions Endeavors

Editor’s note: For further reading on this important topic, check out Larry McCrary’s book, The Marketspace: Essential Relationships Between the Sending Church, Marketplace Worker, and Missionary Team. Mary sat in the audience of the church one morning listening to her pastor reading a request from some of the church’s missionaries. The missionaries were making an appeal for someone to relocate to their mega-city environment in order to develop a consultation business. Mary h

How the Doctrine of the Trinity Shapes Our Understanding of God’s Mission

Jan 13, 2020
4 min

How the Doctrine of the Trinity Shapes Our Understanding of God’s Mission

For many the doctrine of the Trinity feels a little intimidating. Honestly, there is something mysterious about the Triune God. After all, we are itty-bitty humans reflecting on an infinite, eternal God. On the other hand, by God’s grace, Christians really do know him in Christ. He has revealed himself to us, and there are some things we can say about him. In fact, our understanding of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gives proper shape to our view of his mission. God’s

A Holy Ambition: Finding Your Pathway to Mission, Part Two

Nov 11, 2019
5 min

A Holy Ambition: Finding Your Pathway to Mission, Part Two

By Ben Ward Holy Ambition: The Process In Part 1, we defined a holy ambition as the process by which God leads us to mission as our subjective desire is confirmed by the word of God and affirmed by the people of God in the church. In my experience, a holy ambition does not serve as a mission statement for your life. You don’t make a plan and work the plan. It’s part of the process by which God refines who we are and conforms us into a citizen of his kingdom. A holy ambition i

Missionaries Are Not Superheroes: How the Hierarchy of Missions Hurts the Gospel, the Church, and th

Jun 3, 2019
4 min

Missionaries Are Not Superheroes: How the Hierarchy of Missions Hurts the Gospel, the Church, and th

By Anna Price “You guys are like my spiritual heroes.” It wasn’t the first time I had uttered the phrase, but it was the first time I saw the missionaries to whom I said it wince. Growing up in church, many of us have heard the stories of the Christians with enough faith and boldness to move overseas as missionaries. We tell their stories of sacrifice and hardship, honoring the work they are doing. God doesn’t play favorites, but if he did… The sentence goes unfinished, but i