Archive for the ‘Partnerships’ Category
Posted on September 7, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
About Asia
This week I am on the west coast talking about Asia. We will be moving from place to place quite rapidly if all goes well so not a lot of time for posts. I will keep post some updates on The Upstream Collective Facebook page.
We are excited about working with some of our friends on this mini tour to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson. I am sure I will learn a lot about this part of the world. I talked with some of the guys who are coming along with us today and it is incredible to hear some of the God stories from these guys.
I am also looking forward to talking to pastors from the churches who will be attending and learning more about what they are doing in their own communities and how they are engaging the peoples of the world in their own cities. I learned today that there are about 240 different languages spoken in Los Angeles. There are over 3.5 million foreign born peoples in LA. Mind boggling. What an opportunity to reach the peoples of the world here in North America.
Posted on August 10, 2010 - by Larry - 1 Comment
Destinations
I spend quite a bit of time talking with people overseas who are looking for some unique partnerships. Here is a sample list. It is by no means complete. I am sure I am leaving off some key requests from friends so I want to say I am sorry in advance. If you have interest in any of these please send me an email at larry@theupstreamcollective.org. Would love to help if I can.
1. Playing American Football in Portugal
2. A church adopting a neighborhood in Amsterdam
3. A church adopting a burrough in London
4. A business internship in Paris
5. Serving in Montreal
6. A church adopting a city in Spain
7. Partnering with work in Tula, Russia
8. Partnering with work for Russian speakers of Latvia and Estonia
9. An internship with a ministry in Madrid
10. Adopting a Skybridge worker in Western Europe
Posted on July 7, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
Your FOCUS on the World
One thing I like to do on my blog from time to time is to introduce people or networks that I like to work or whom I think have good mission resources.
Recently I have been reading some materials from www.CatalystServices.org. They have very practical posts regarding partnerships.
If you get a chance you should check out Your FOCUS on the World. It may be the right resource for your church.
Your FOCUS on the World is a step-by-step manual that will guide your church to DISCOVER your global potential, SELECT and build relationships with the right partners, and then IMPLEMENT a high-impact, cross-cultural initiative involving the entire congregation. For those already engaged in a global partnership, the book will help you build leaders, avoid costly mistakes, and expand networks.
An intensely practical resource, Your FOCUS on the World highlights the real-life stories of congregations which are engaged in successful global initiatives and shares their best-practice suggestions. The manual and extensive online resources provide samples and worksheets you can customize to fit your needs.
Posted on June 7, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
A BIG reason why
I must admit one of my favorite videos from our trip is this one.
Why?
This is one of the BIG reasons why I do what I do at Upstream Collective.
If I had one “DO OVER” in my church planting time in the states during the 90s it would be that I did not do enough to help our new churches think and act globally from day one. It was not in the DNA as Joesph says here in this video. Take a look at why I love this video.
Jet Set London // Paris – Joseph and Johnny from The Upstream Collective on Vimeo.
Being involved in God’s global vision for me was always in the future tense.
We become involved in missions once we …..
We need to find ways to encourage church planters to be involved globally from day one. If you have an interest in finding out some ways you can help us do this then contact me at larry@theupstreamcollective.org.
Posted on June 4, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
Next Steps
I am often asked “what are our next steps in global missions as a church”?
Before I give a quick easy as 1,2,3 answer (smile) take a look at this short video. One of the first things that needs to happen as a church is to figure out “to whom is God sending you?” This video is a good recap of London. Is God preparing you or your church to go to London ? If you have interest please email me at larry@theupstreamcollective.org
Stay tuned below for some next steps?
Jetset London // Debrief #1 from The Upstream Collective on Vimeo.
What are some next steps to engage globally? Here are some possibilities!
Never assuming but prayer and being obedient to the Holy Spirit top the list. Google, conversations with strategic people on the field, Divine appointments, scanning various opportunities abroad, etc… can all be important in gathering information to pray over and consider.
Your Church is also important - What is the make-up of your church? How has God uniquely equipped your church to engage in a place. God gave the Great Commission to the church so I believe he has also equipped your church to do just that. Taking a good look at who your congregation is and what are some experiences they may have would also be an important next step. The Upstream Collective is developing an online survey for churches to take that will help in this area. It is in beta testing at this time.
Adoption - They can adopt a cross cultural missionary or a national church planter or pastor already on the ground on the field. I have written some about this on this blog in earlier posts.
Partnership - They can create a partnership with a mission organization or network in the city or amongst a people they feel led towards. They can come along side of them in a variety of ways. One of the things we can do is make some strategic introductions if you need help in doing this.
The Sending Church – Others may feel they have the people and resources to mobilize efforts to become a sending church to that city. They may adopt a particular neighborhood as Branchlife Church is doing. A place to look if you have interest in adopting a neighborhood in London is this site.
I think a key question your church needs to answer here is how do we have an incarnational presence on the field? Is it by sending teams on short term trips, partnering with an existing strategy, planting a church, sending over a team of people to live, etc… Another possibility is to find people in your church who may simply find a way to transfer to a global city in their regular job and be salt and light in the marketplace and community that they live in cross-culturally. For more information on some ideas and resources on this see The Skybridge Community.
Whatever your next step may be I would be more than willing to talk with you and help you in any way that I can.
More soon on Jet Set London / Paris!
Posted on May 14, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
More than Money!
I am adopted. Some of you may know this about me. I was adopted when I was almost 2 years old though my adoptive parents took care of me much earlier. I am a huge advocate for adoption. I am thankful that my parents chose me and gave me a home. When I was a pastor in the states I actually served on a local board for Bethany Christian Services in our city. It was a very meaningful time for me and a way I could honor my parents who adopted me. I am so thankful for people who adopt children. They are my heroes. Every child deserves loving and caring parents no matter where they live. Now that I think about it I may even start writing some posts about adoption.
BUT since this is part of my series on developing partnerships with churches I need to transition to this topic. Here it goes!
I also think that every missionary deserves a loving and caring church that they can call home. Some of my readers may think this is a no-brainer. However, you would be surprised how many workers do not have a place they can truly call home. They do not have a church that supports them by:
Praying for them in specific ways
Giving care to them
Holding them accountable spiritually and strategically
Supporting them
Being involved in their ministry on the field
Simply talking to them and being interested in their work.
These six things can make such a difference in the life and total health of a missionary and his / her family. In many ways these workers need a church who will adopt them and call them their own. I know this may sound silly but I do not think so. This is my big question to every potential worker coming on the field: “Do you have a sending church and how are they involved in sending you?” My question to churches who are sending out someone is “how do you plan on staying in touch and how to you plan on supporting them in ways other than financial assistance?” Churches please do not simply outsource this to mission agencies. Most missionaries want your involvement even after they are on the field. I would add that we all need your involvement.
As I have written before about Acts 13 and beyond there was a connection to Paul and the sending church Antioch. There was an on-going relationship. This is vital to the life of the worker in my opinion. Missionaries need more than money!
I am not going to start an adoption agency for workers but if you need help with this let me know. If you are a church looking for a person to adopt or if you are a worker needing a church to adopt you please let someone know.
I will do all I can. Feel free to email me at larry@theupstreamcollective.org
Posted on April 27, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
How do you say it? Part Three
Let’s be honest.
When you hear that a missionary is coming to speak at your church what is the first thing that comes to your mind? “It would be a good day to volunteer in the nursery?”
Do you have mental images from your childhood of missionaries wearing interesting clothing and bringing their slides and some unusual food?
Do you automatically tune out?
Do you get excited to hear what God is doing in another part of the world?
One challenge that we face as missionaries is that we are not living in the states anymore. It does not take long to be out of touch? It is also quite possible when we re-enter a church that we are in extreme culture shock ourselves. For better or for worse our lives are different.
In most cases the churches that we are involved in internationally look and feel quite different than the churches we come from in North America.
So how do we communicate once we get a chance?
Here are 10 things that we can do that may help us prepare to speak.
- Spend some time online researching the church where you are speaking.
- Listen to a few of their sermons online or via podcast. Get to know them.
- Talk with some people or the pastor of the church to get an idea of where they are regarding missions and partnerships.
- Talk with the person who set up your talk regarding clear expectations of your time and talk.
- Use less time than you are given.
- Do not feel that you need to razzle and dazzle them with your power points and stuff. Keep it simple.
- If you do have something that you can hand them at the end it can serve as a good reminder for them to pray for you.
- Use current stories of your work.
- I think that slides and videos can be great ways to communicate your story but be sure to get there in enough time to give it a test run and make sure it all works. How many times have I seen it fall a part on this one!
- Ask some of your supporters whom you communicate with on a regular basis about ideas of what they would want to hear.
Feel free to add to this list.
Posted on April 15, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
What to Say? Part Two
On my last post I noted some examples from scripture about conversations that seemed to have happened between the worker and the church.
- Telling stories of the work
- To let the church know how the workers are doing
- Encouragement to the worker
- To give encouragement to the church
- Received them in joy and honor
- To give praise for what God had done
The church and missionary should have an on-going relationship. If the worker is sent through a mission organization all three entities need to know how to relate to one another regarding the work. The church should never simply hand over the missionary to the sending agency and feel like their work is done.
The church needs to stay connected with the worker even after they are on the field and even if they are part of a mission organization. The mission organization cannot take the place of their church. The Great Commission was given to the church. The workers need the on-going prayer, care, nurture, strategic involvement and accountability from the church.
So if there is regular communication between the worker and his / her church then it is quite natural for the worker to report as he returns home. You would not believe how often I hear those who say they rarely hear from their home church unless they (the worker) initiate the conversation.
Another caution that I want to address is that since it takes money to live on the field then often the missionary lives in a tension between reporting about their work and raising support for their work. If the only time the church hears from their missionaries is during a point of financial need then that message can get old to the church. It also can put the missionary in a position of needing to have some thing spectacular to report on. Quite frankly this can hard if you are serving in a new area, a non-harvest area or if you serve in more of a “support” role. We sometimes tend to elevate certain types of workers above others.
So..
What do you say to your church if you have
5 min?
10 min?
30 min?
What do you say if you have one hour in a Small Group Setting?
What do you say if you have put together a Special Event such as a concert, dinner, art exhibit?
What is your story?
What do you think they need to hear?
What do you think they want to hear?
Next week we will look at “How do you say it?”
As always would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Posted on April 13, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
What to say? Part One
Last week I wrote about “How do you report back home?”
This week I want to take a quick look at “What do you say once you are there?”
David Hesselgrave in Planting Churches Cross-Culturally wrote regardless of how you deliver the message (we will get to that one the next post) we need to communicate two things. Dr. Hesselgrave has studied and written much about Pauline Mission so I underlined these points in his book.
He says that these two objectives need to be kept in mind (p.427)
- To achieve a thorough understanding of what God has accomplished through the missionary evangelist and how this fits into His purpose for the church.
- To achieve a full participation of all Christians in the missionary efforts of the local church.
I started looking up places in scripture where we see the church gathered.
Paul after the second missionary journey
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. Acts 18:22
Paul after the third missionary journey
17When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. Acts 21:17-19
Epaphroditus to the church at Philippi
28I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, Philippians 2:28-29
Tychicus and Onesimus to Colossae
7Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Colossians 4:7-9
Can you see a common pattern in these verses?
Here is what I see.
It seems that their gatherings consisted of
- Telling stories of the work
- To let the church know how the workers are doing
- Encouragement to the worker
- To give encouragement to the church
- Received them in joy and honor
- To give praise for what God had done
The church and missionary should have an on-going relationship. The second part of this post will come out on Thursday. Until then…
Posted on April 7, 2010 - by Larry - 2 Comments
Returning Home
A few weekends ago I was sitting in a church service and a couple of missionaries gave a report about their work in a far off land.
They had normal clothes on. I remember going to church as a kid and seeing how they dressed when they came back to report to the church. Well in 2010 these guys had their PowerPoint or Keynote slide show and some videos embedded into their slide show. They told about some of the neat ways God was working among their people.
If you know me well you will know that I am quite keen on Acts 13 and the Antioch church or better known in some circles as a good model for a sending church. I love talking about how a church sends out their missionaries. But what happens after they leave for the field?
Do you forget about them? How do you learn about what they are doing and how can that be useful for the church?
So as I sat there I had this question.
How did Paul and Barnabas report back to their church?
I found this in Acts.
Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria
24Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been( commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28And they remained no little time with the disciples. Acts 14:24-28
They had been traveling. They had seen people come to faith. They had made disciples. They had seen churches planted.
They had fulfilled the work for that trip.
They had witnessed God move in some amazing and powerful ways.
They had stories to tell.
So they gathered the church and told them all that God had done with them.
I like how Paul and Barnabas took the initiative with that meeting. I sometimes laugh to myself at the thought of a worker calling home to their church saying “scratch the programming ideas for this week we are going to meet this Sunday and talk about my mission work. Smile.
Honestly I think it can be a challenge today to report back to your church or churches! It makes me wonder.
How do you invite yourself?
Do you wait to be invited?
What if your home church has no interest or lost interest in your work?
How do you work with a church to a point where you can talk with them once you return home for furlough or stateside mobilization?
How do you report back to your church?
- Is it better to give a talk / presentation to the entire church?
- Is it better to talk with a small group or bible study within the church?
- Do you plan a some special event (dinner or café) ?
I would like to hear your thoughts, ideas, feedback or pushback on this?
Next up? What do you say when you actually have an audience?
