Upstream Cohorts are designed to help missions leaders lead their churches to become better sending churches. The Cohorts consist of training sessions and group discussion alongside other missions leaders. Followed by individual coaching sessions. All designed to take the Sending Church Elements and apply them to your unique church. Our goal is to see your church grow in its capacity to send well to the nations. 

We offer 3 types of Cohorts

FOUNDATIONS

COHORT

Getting Started

The Foundations Cohort will focus on the Establishing Phase, Elements 1-5 of the Sending Church Elements. Participants will develop their Missions Convictions, Missions Vision & Strategy, tweak or overhaul their Missions Budget, and begin to developing a Sending Pipeline. 

ADVANCED

COHORT

Sending Well

The Advanced Cohort will build upon the Foundations Cohort and focus on the Developing & Engaging Phases, Elements 6-13 of the Sending Church Elements. Participants will more fully develop their Sending Pipeline, focusing on Identification, Assessment and Development of Sent-Ones.  

SPECIALIZED

COHORTS

Diving Deep

Specialized Cohorts will focus more deeply on specific topics and Sending Church Elements  introduced in Foundations and Advanced Cohorts. These topics include: Missionary Care, Developing Partnerships, Short-term trips, Multi-site Missions Leadership, Local Missions, International Ministry, and much more.

BLESSING

"The Foundations Cohort was such a blessing to me! I took this within my 1st year of being on the job and it has helped me have a better foundation of the why I am doing what I am doing and who am I doing it for. There is a Biblical element to this cohort and understanding better what my role is and how that blessings and challenges the church. I am grateful that I participated and would highly recommend this to others as well."

Katy Creasman

Faith Promise Church

Knoxville, TN

PRACTICAL

"Out of 100+ hours of classes I have taken to get my theological degree, none were more beneficial to me in my missions ministry than The Foundations Missions Leader cohort. This cohort was only two days long but has given us enough information to work on for a year as we try to set the foundations of what our ministry is going to be and look like for the next 10 years. Rather your are trying to build your missions ministry from the ground up or looking for ways to improve, reshape or refocus it, this cohort is the best place to find out how."

Trevor Brackeen

Doxology Church

Fort Worth, TX

COMRADERIE

"Being in the Foundations Missions Leader Cohort helped me develop the theological and practical foundations for missions that our church needed but didn't yet have in place. I've only been on staff for about 9 months, so it was really helpful to learn from Upstream's experience and from the experiences of the other missions leaders in our group. I feel much more equipped to fulfill my role as missions pastor and lead our people to live on mission now that I've completed the cohort."

David McWhite

Edwards Road Baptist Church

Greenville, SC

inSIGHTFUL

"No matter where you are in the process of becoming a sending church, this cohort will give you helpful insights and resources to implement a strategy to accomplish your churches mission to send laborers to the nations."

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Steve Elworth

The Chapel

Baton Rouge, LA