awareness | Upstream Collective

Upstream Blog

The Upstream Blog has a range of short articles on various topics around sending. Look through the tags to discover articles that meet your need.

When considering the Great Commission, is it prudent to entrust mission efforts to lay leaders? The missionary task is best accomplished whe

My family has an obsession—the Sacramento Kings basketball team. Despite fifteen years of marriage to a hardcore fan, I didn't cross the...

At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, there is a wonderful, descriptive paragraph on what Paul and Barnabas did as they returned...

How do you know if you are qualified and ready to practice business as mission (BAM)? Many members of our churches already have...

“Prayer does not equip us for greater works—prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher...

Is Your Church Ready? Care team, what do you do when one of your church’s global workers reaches out and asks for help? What if your...

I have the privilege of serving as the Lead Pastor at Cornerstone Church in Ames, IA. When this church was planted in 1994, the founding...

A few months ago, I had a conversation with the editorial director of one of today’s most highly trafficked Christian websites. I thanked...

The Sunday gathering is a great time to create mission awareness in your church. Assuming you are already using some graphics or slides...

I started wearing glasses in the fourth grade. The optometrist whispered to my mom, “He’s nearsighted in one eye, farsighted in the...

After serving in the church as a missions pastor for more than twenty years, I am often amused when I reflect on the variety of failures...

Mission Vision Toolbox: Tools for Casting a Great Commission Vision in your Church I think most pastors have the desire for their church...

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...

You don’t have to be an expert to share the hope of the gospel with someone who is much different than you.

These are three questions we need to answer when helping church members move from being new to missions to globally aware.

While it can be said there are no perfect Sending Churches, we do see some common practices of healthy Sending Churches.

A global missions display validates your efforts in global missions and shows your members what you are doing around the world.

Prayer is vital to the work of missionaries around the world. Here are some organizations that have developed prayer guides for the nations.

In the global information age a website can be a key part of your plan to cultivate global awareness in the life of your church.

Missions awareness starts with you. You can begin creating awareness by helping those close to you understand God’s heart for the nations.