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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

Empower the Saints for the Work of Missionary Care

Jun 29, 2020
5 min

Empower the Saints for the Work of Missionary Care

Editor’s Note: Matt Clark will be leading a specialized cohort on Missionary Care starting in August. Find out more information here. I think I have one of the best possible jobs that anyone on a church staff could have. My entire focus is ensuring that the missionaries who are sent from our church are cared for well before they go to the field, during their time of service, and after they return home. If this is part of your role as a pastor or missions leader, I hope you fi

Helpful Resources for Missionary Care from The Upstream Collective

Apr 16, 2020
2 min

Helpful Resources for Missionary Care from The Upstream Collective

I was talking with a friend last week the way I’ve been talking to all of my friends and family lately—over a video call. However, video calls and texting are always the way I talk to this friend because she lives on the other side of the world from me, where she serves as a missionary in a large urban setting. Like me—and most of the world —she’s been sequestered in her apartment for the last few weeks. All of my other missionary friends are in the same boat. As I receive th

Multisite Missions Leadership

Dec 16, 2019
3 min

Multisite Missions Leadership

Multisite churches are a global phenomenon—with massive, often untapped potential for global missions. In Multisite Missions Leadership, former missionary and veteran missions pastor, Nathan Sloan, acknowledges the unique complexity of multisite churches, but also expresses the tremendous opportunities for leveraging them beyond their local impact. Along the way he invites readers into the journey of his own church (Sojourn Church in Louisville, KY) from “pillar” (one church

What Happens After “Here Am I. Send Me.”?

Nov 18, 2019
5 min

What Happens After “Here Am I. Send Me.”?

Isaiah 6:8 has often been formative in our call to missions. In a holy moment, Isaiah hears from the Lord and responds to the calling: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (NIV) Both the Old and New Testaments show God’s people positively responding to his call. Many of these instances are with individuals. But in Acts 13 we see a descriptive passage of a church’s important involvement in a