Meet The Team

Larry McCrary

Co-founder and President, CEO

Larry is the co-founder and President, CEO of The Upstream Collective. He and his family have lived in Europe for nearly 20 years, where he has served in a variety of strategy and leadership roles. Prior to moving to Europe he was a church planter and pastor in the US. He is a co-author of Tradecraft: For the Church on Mission, The First 30 Daze: Practical Encouragement for Living Abroad Intentionally, and The MarketSpace: Essential Relationships Between the Sending Church, Marketplace Worker, and Missionary Team.

Bradley Bell

Executive Director of Upstream Equipping

Bradley Bell is the Executive Director of Upstream Equipping. He has over twenty years of experience as a missionary, missions pastor, lead pastor, and missiologist. He is also the author of multiple Upstream books, including The Sending Church Defined and Lent and Missions: A 40-Day Devotional. Bradley writes for numerous publications, which are compiled at beautifulmissiology.com. He is married to Katie, and they have four daughters, all named after missionaries: Elisabeth, Charlotte, Anneliese, and Madeleine. They live in Louisville, Kentucky.

Nathan G. Sloan

Executive Director of Upstream Sending

Nathan is the Executive Director of Upstream Sending. Nathan has a Doctor of Missiology from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Previously, Nathan and his wife Sarah served as missionaries in Kathmandu, Nepal, training national pastors and working with an unreached people group.

Mike Easton

Director of Content

Mike Ironside is Upstream's Director of Content. He is also the International Program Manager for Reliant Mission. Prior to that Mike was on staff at Cornerstone Church in Ames, IA rom 2006 to 2022 in varying roles in college ministry, as a sent overseas missionary, international ministry, and for eight years was the Missions Pastor. Mike, his wife, Emily, and their four kids continue to live in Ames, IA, and serve at Cornerstone.

15259651_10154643817616063_6990794810596

Hayley Moss

Graphic Designer

Hayley is Upstream's go-to graphic designer. She has been at the Upstream since 2017. She also leads Moss Photo & Design, where she specializes in family portraits and sermon illustrations. Hayley lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and two daughters.

Jamie Chaplin

Marketing Manager

Jamie lives in Rhode Island where her husband Corey helps pastor a church plant, Mount Hope Church. Jamie has worked in the advertising, marketing, and the publishing world since 2016.

David McWhite

Content Editor

David McWhite lives in Greenville, SC, with his wife and four children and serves as Pastor of Missions, Outreach, and Young Couples at Edwards Road Baptist Church. Prior to joining the staff at ERBC, he and his family lived and ministered in Czechia and Ireland.

Abigail Ramsey

Administrative Assistant

Abigail is Upstream's administrative assistant. After graduating Union University with a degree in English and Public Relations, she has been working at Shoreline Church and Hope Fellowship in Knoxville, TN as the communications director. In addition to bookkeeping and administrative work, she works to create community and communication with our Upstream team and partners.

Jodie Sigrest

Upstream Publishing Administrative Assistant

Jodie currently lives in Southern Indiana. She and her husband, Brian, are working on their Masters degrees at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to moving to Southern Indiana, they served in Thailand with an anti-human trafficking organization. Jodie has worked in the project management/administration world since 2019.

Jared Burwell

Sending Church Online Training Manager

Jared and his wife, Corrie, lived and planted a church in Seattle before moving to Virginia to serve as a Missions Pastor for a church in Richmond. On their long cross-country drive to relocate, they read Upstream’s Tradecraft, and upon arrival Jared dove into the resources and mentoring Upstream offered. Jared oversees his church’s efforts to advance the kingdom of God, represent Jesus’ compassionate heart, and plants churches both locally and globally. His desire is to identify, equip, send, and provide care for people who say “yes” to God’s mission. You might find him in the book store reading about world cultures, taking a walk in the city, or spending time with his six children.

Shirley Ralston

Global Marketplace Missions Training Manager

Shirley Ralston (MA Christian Education, Dallas Theological Seminary) is a Helipad Training Manager for The Upstream Collective. She is a founding member of the Missionary Care Team at Houston’s First Baptist Church where she also serves on the Pastor’s Research Team. Shirley and her husband Jeff now reside in Houston after several years living as Marketplace Workers in the Middle East and the South Pacific.

Caleb Crider

Co-founder, Consultant, Trainer

Caleb is the co-founder of The Upstream Collective. In 2002 he and his family moved to Spain, leading a team of church planters focused on art, social action, and culture exchange. He is also a co-author of Tradecraft: For the Church on Mission. Caleb is Director of Program Innovation at Mission Increase. With the Upstream Collective, he now serves as a trainer, innovator, and chairperson of the Upstream board.

Ray and Vicki Adams

Administrative Assistants

Ray is a retired engineer, and Vicki is a retired administrative assistant (and engineer several decades ago). Since 2005 they have participated in, and often led, more than 30 short-term mission trips on four continents. One of their motivations for these trips is getting people to take the first step out of their church pew and experience the rest of God's world and people. They live in Lenoir City, just outside of Knoxville, and have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and two young grandsons, but only one cat.