missions | Upstream Collective 2/6

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.

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...

Self-Funding Missions Before and After Retirement Click here for part one of this article series and here for part two. Wise Advice When...

Being a fully-funded missionary is pretty awesome. Here are some of the benefits, along with a few unpleasant surprises.

One of the incredible opportunities we have right now in America is to reach an increasing number of internationals. Immigrants,...

The Two-Pocket Theory of Mission Support In part 1 of this series, we looked at several ways you can bring in extra income to help you...

Side Hustle: Supporting Missionaries in a Gig Economy For hundreds of years, the standard practice for funding mission work (at least...

A sending church involves the entire church by clearly and consistently teaching its missions convictions, vision, and strategy. This is...

As missions leaders, we work hard to get our people overseas on short-term trips and as long-term missionaries. This is an awesome...

If you’re a missions leader, then you’ve been stirred by the vision of Revelation 7:9: to see every tribe, tongue, and nation worshiping...

I just finished reading Jeremiah and Lamentations. Boy, am I glad that’s over! Ever feel that way? If it weren’t for reading plans, there...

A growing awareness of gospel needs around the world has produced a sense of urgency in the Church for reaching those far from Christ and...

In a previous blog post, I defined cross-cultural missional partnership as a kingdom-oriented relationship of culturally diverse groups...

There’s a lot of things in life that are really important but are also kind of boring: mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, filling out...

The best way to do missionary care is to put people on great teams. There are a multitude of reasons why missionaries leave the field:...

As a Sending Church, does it matter who you partner with? Pretty easy question, right? Of course it matters! However, as mission leaders,...

We hope this liturgy written by Upstream's Bradley Bell is an encouragement to you. This may be prayed alone, but it could be more...

The phrase “God can use me right where I am” is a reminder to steward our time well and make disciples of all nations wherever we are.

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

In considering short-term trips for 2022, there are facts about world travel and the COVID-19 vaccine that need to be considered.