Beliefs

Theological Statement

As an organization, Upstream Sending affirms the Nicene Creed, the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy, the Lausanne Covenant, as well as the theological statement below. Our organization, its staff, and our church partners are evangelical* in conviction and belief, gospel-centered, missionally driven, and committed to the gospel reaching every people group and place on earth. Upstream Sending is not denominationally-affiliated and encompasses a diversity of churches and cultures in its sending network — all aligned under the aforementioned creeds and statements and the following theological statement.**

  • We believe in one God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, who exists eternally in Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:1; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

    We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who became a man through virgin birth, lived a sinless life, performed divine miracles, died on a cross, was buried, and physically rose from the grave to redeem sinful humanity. He ascended to heaven, is mediating on our behalf, and will one day return in power and glory. (John 1:14; 1 Peter 2:21-22; Acts 4:10; Philippians 2:7-11; Luke 23:26-24: 53; Acts 1:6-11)

    We believe the Holy Spirit is the eternal Lord who applies salvation to sinful people: regenerating, indwelling, sanctifying, empowering, and sealing them until the day of Christ’s return. (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:18)

  • The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself, consisting of 66 books found in the Old and New Testaments. It is infallible, trustworthy, supremely authoritative, and effective in all matters of faith and practice. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Psalm 19:7; Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 7:24-29)

  • The first man and woman, Adam and Eve, sinfully rebelled against God, became spiritually dead, and incurred God’s just wrath. Their sin nature and its consequences has thus been passed down to every human being, rendering them in need of salvation. Apart from a person’s conscious repentance and faith in Jesus and his work on the Cross, there can be no salvation from sin and eternal death. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3:1-13; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:23, Matthew 7:13-14)​​

  • We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to humanity by grace alone, and received through personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It was accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ to pay the penalty for sin, satisfy the wrath of God, and regenerate to new life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:4-9; Acts 2:38; John 6:37-40; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 5:1-11; Romans 8:1; Ephesians 2:1-8)

  • We believe the church is a spiritual family made up of all those who follow Jesus everywhere for all time. The church consists of diverse members—different nationalities, ethnicities, languages, walks of life, and spiritual giftedness–who joyfully live and serve under the headship of their Chief Shepherd.

    The establishment of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. Local churches are visible flocks of those reconciled to God, and to one another, by Jesus Christ. Healthy churches gather together for regular worship and community; teach God’s authoritative word; are under the leadership of God’s undershepherds, pastors/elders; served by deacons (lead servants); practicing the ordinances of baptism and communion; and living out the mission given to them in the Great Commission. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 2:11-22; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9)

  • We believe that God created human beings in his own image. All people possess intrinsic dignity and worth. We also believe that God created human beings male and female. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of God’s particular gift of human embodiment. Moreover, we believe that God created humanity for relationship, relationship with God and relationship with one another. (Genesis 1:26-31; 1 John 1:1-4)

    We believe that marriage—the union of one man and woman in a covenant union—ultimately serves as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. The Bible limits sexual intimacy to the marriage relationship between one husband and one wife. All other forms of sexual desire and intimacy are a result of the fall and contrary to God’s good design. (Ephesians 5:21-33; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Romans 1:26-27)

  • We believe that God has given his church a mission to fulfill in the world as seen in the Great Commission and the grand narrative of Scripture — to fill the earth with God’s glory by making disciples and planting churches among all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded (Habakkuk 2:14; Malachi 1:11; Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8).

    The mission God has given his church is rooted in God himself. Because God is a sending God, we as his children, are a sent people. The Father, in union with the Spirit, sent Jesus into the world to redeem it. The Father and Son sent the Spirit to bring conviction of sin and provide life to the church. Finally, the Triune God (Father, Son, and Spirit) sends the church out on mission to the world. Therefore, all followers of Jesus are sent ones, compelled and empowered to take the gospel out to others, and some are called and affirmed to be cross-cultural missionaries. (John 20:19-21; Acts 13:1-4; Acts 14:26-28).

  • We believe Jesus Christ will return to earth in power and glory. At Christ’s return, all people will be resurrected to give account of their lives before God. Followers of Jesus will be resurrected to everlasting life and joy in the presence of God. Those who have not turned from their sins to follow Jesus in this life will be resurrected to judgment and everlasting punishment in hell. When Jesus comes again he will make all things right, he will fully establish his kingdom, and his followers will live forever with the triune God in the new heaven and new earth. (Matthew 24:36; Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 21:1-8; Revelation 22:20)

  • Upstream Sending is an organization focused on empowering gospel-centered, evangelical churches in global missions. Our desire is to work in harmony with our partner sending churches and receiving teams on the basis of essential doctrines as found in our Theological Statements and agreed upon creeds. We seek to bring more clarity through the partner agreement (memorandum of understanding) signed with each sending church and through a team covenant (memorandum of understanding) between missionaries and their receiving teams. Although we serve a diversity of evangelical, gospel-centered churches, we do believe that theological clarity and agreement are vital at the field level.

    In matters not addressed by our theological statement and agreed upon creeds, Upstream Sending acknowledges differing points of view provided they are based on the Bible as supreme authority, and that no interpretation or practice will undermine the work of the gospel or the unity among those with whom we serve. In matters of conflict or concern, we refer back to our church partner agreement, specific team covenant, theological statements, and missiological values. We seek to live, work, and relate to one another in a spirit of love, humility, and kindness, as outlined in Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 13, among other passages.***

*By “evangelical” we are referring to a broad movement of churches holding to salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, an authoritative and infallible view of the Bible, and the proclamation of the gospel.

**This theological statement has been written with the help of Gregg Allison, Brad Bell, Nathan Sloan, and Hari Chhetri. A host of others provided insight and editing. The framework and language have been modeled after and at times adapted from other organizations’ statements of faith including The Gospel Coalition, Harbor Network, Pioneers, Serge, TEAM, and Sojourn Church Midtown.

***Adapted from Pioneers’ “Position on Secondary Issues”. pioneers.org/statement-of-faith

Missiological Values

 As an organization, our desire is not to dictate a specific missiology or missions practice to our churches and missionaries. We believe there are many healthy models of sharing Jesus, making disciples, and planting new churches. Our goal in providing missiological values is to celebrate what we deem as good missiology and practice, to influence our churches and missionaries through training and coaching, and to continue to learn ourselves in the ever changing world that is global missions.

The following are the values that shape how we train pre-field missionaries, coach church leaders, and engage the nations:

  • Our theological statement does not just inform our understanding of God’s mission, but speaks to the means by which it is accomplished. Sent ones have nothing in and of themselves to multiply disciples and churches, and yet the gospel they proclaim “is the power of God for salvation to all who believe” (Romans 1:18). The certainty of their proclamation and the resulting effects depends on God’s word and God’s Spirit.

    This applies not only to the proclamation of the gospel, but to all aspects of missions practice. The living and active word of God (Hebrews 4:12) is sufficient to thoroughly equip sent ones both for wise living (2 Timothy 3:15) and also every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17) on the road to multiplying disciples and churches. This work belongs to the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), and his power and presence is to be sought at all times (Zechariah 4:6).

    Therefore we ask our churches and sent ones to be rooted and saturated in the Scriptures and dependent on the Holy Spirit in the ways they live and carry out the Great Commission.

  • Based on the authority of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18), the mission of the church is defined according to his commands and purposes. Thus, in response to his commission at the conclusion of his first coming, we are sent to multiply disciples of all nations until the day of his second coming.

    This means global missions engagement is the proclamation of the gospel and the multiplication of disciples and churches among every nation, tribe, and tongue. While healthy missions practice consists of more elements, all of them should ultimately serve the tasks of evangelism, discipleship, and church planting (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:47, and Acts 1:8).

    Therefore we ask that the churches and teams with whom we partner be involved in one or more aspects of Great Commission activity: evangelism, discipleship, and church planting.

  • Healthy missions practice cares about people wholly, including their spiritual, physical, and relational needs. To separate the proclamation of the gospel from meeting people’s tangible needs is a false dichotomy. When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus and his followers, including the early church, we see a community on mission in holistic ways, often among the poor and marginalized. Jesus and his disciples were constantly meeting people’s physical needs as they shared the life-giving message of the gospel. Healthy missions practice integrates our words (proclaiming the gospel and making disciples) and our deeds (good works, acts of mercy, and meeting needs) in ways that help others see Jesus more clearly and experience his transforming message more directly. (Matthew 9:35-37; Matthew 15:32-39; Isaiah 61:1-7; Acts 11:27-30; Romans 15:25-27)

    Therefore we ask our churches and sent ones to value and practice some level of holistic ministry (word and deed). This will take on different forms and have different levels of emphasis in churches and field teams but should be a value in strategy and practice.

  • Missions is about multiplication. As we make Jesus known in word and deed, disciple new believers, and plant churches that reproduce; we are taking part in seeing the Kingdom of God expand here on earth. However, missions is also about maturity and ongoing transformation. Healthy missions practice must be committed to the ongoing discipleship of new believers, the development of church leaders, and the establishment of local churches that grow in knowledge and in truth. Valuing either multiplication or maturity at the expense of the other in missions is an error.

    As an organization we are committed to robust theology, the development of leaders and churches that reflect the Scriptures, and the proclamation of the gospel resulting in new disciples and new churches that multiply.

    Therefore we encourage our churches and sent ones to work toward a balance of maturity and multiplication in their missions strategy and practice.

  • Neither the gospel nor its fruit - Christians and churches - are tied to any one culture, people, or language. Instead, the global church is just that: global. She is intended to be multi-ethnic and diverse. To elevate a specific culture or way of following Jesus above other cultures is ethnocentric and dishonors the Lord.

    The task of sent ones is to contextualize the gospel to allow hearers to understand, receive, respond, and apply the gospel message. A healthy level of contextualization honors both God’s word and the host culture, avoiding the two ditches of over-contextualization and under-contextualization.

    Over-contextualizing the gospel means allowing the host culture or religion to not just inform how the gospel is communicated and applied but to actually distort the gospel message, leading to syncretism. Under-contextualizing the gospel means allowing a sent one’s own cultural values to keep the gospel from being understood and applied appropriately, thus distorting the gospel and leading to an ethnocentric and stunted form of Christianity.

    Therefore we ask that sent ones be committed to evaluating their own cultural bias, entering their host culture with a posture of a learner, doing the hard work of learning language and culture, and seeking to do gospel ministry that properly applies the gospel message within the host culture.

    This also means doing ministry in ways that promote the indigenization of the local church. Indigenization in global missions means commitment to helping the local church, and its leaders, be self-governing, self-propagating, self-sustaining, and self-theologizing.

  • Relationship is at the core of human existence — relationship with God and relationship with others. God has created us to be with and enjoy him as the primary focus of our lives. Too often, however, we place the emphasis on doing for God and less on being with God. But God’s call on our lives is to serve and live on mission out of the overflow of our renewing life with him. Renewal and missions drive each other. As the gospel takes hold in our own hearts, we are naturally drawn into God’s work in the world. And God’s work in the world naturally calls us back to our own deep need for him and his deep love for us. Ongoing spiritual renewal keeps leading to more missions, and missions keeps leading to more renewal.

    As an organization and community of local churches, we are committed to both the progress of the mission (the gospel taking root among the nations) and the ongoing spiritual renewal of the sent one (the continued renewal that comes from communion with God).

    Therefore we ask that the churches and the sent ones we partner with hold this same value and take practical steps to make the spiritual renewal of sent ones a primary focus.

  • From the Book of Acts and the letters of Paul, we see that Paul placed a priority on doing cross-cultural ministry within the context of a team. In Acts 13, we see Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark sent out as a team. In Acts 15:39-41, we see two different teams form to go out and do ministry. Acts 16:6-10 shows us that when Paul was given the Macedonian call, he used the term “we” and “us” when talking about God’s leading for ministry. We also see from Acts 18:18, 19:22, and 20:4 that Paul was on a large team that served in Ephesus. These are just a few examples that show throughout Paul’s ministry he placed a huge priority on doing ministry in community with others, within the context of a team.

    As an organization we see teaming as a biblically rooted idea, a model for community and accountability, and a clear best practice in missions.

    Therefore, we ask every partner church to value teaming in the way they send and care for their sent ones. We ask sent ones to either join or form a team when being sent and to continue to fight for healthy teaming while serving cross-culturally. We also recognize that teaming can take on a variety of forms (formal organizational team, joining national works, etc) and that teams often shift and change over time.

  • The church is the bride of Christ and the local incarnation of God’s bride is found in local churches. Local churches are the primary places where God’s people grow, love and serve one another, and move out on mission to the world. The local church is central to God’s plan for reaching the world with his gospel message and the centrality of the local church must be valued when sending missionaries and when planting the gospel cross-culturally.

    As an organization, our structure allows local sending churches and their leaders to play an active role in missionary sending and field engagement. On the field, this means that national Christians and local churches in each host context are essential to field strategy and in the life of the sent one.

    Therefore, we expect every sent one to maintain an active and ongoing relationship with their sending church and also be committed to, active in, and submitted to a local church in their context to whatever degree possible. We ask every sending church to take an active role in both the sending of their missionary and in the work of ministry on the field.

  • God’s church is a global church and he is using his diverse and multicultural people to reach the nations with the gospel. Evangelical missions has changed over time from a primarily, but not exclusively, western endeavor, to a global movement. Countries that were once primarily receivers of missionaries are now significant senders and make up a growing missions force. Much of this growing missions force is coming from countries within the Global South: the regions of Asia, Africa, and South America.

    As an organization we celebrate this shift in missions and seek to play our part. Although we are a missionary sending organization from the West, we are committed to sending in a way that honors the global church through maintaining the posture of a learner, holding our sent ones accountable to be active in a local church context (where possible and wise), and committing to work alongside and under the counsel of national leaders (when this is possible and where there is an existing church).

    We lament the often arrogant posture and approach that some missionaries and mission strategies haven taken in the past. Although we know that we will fall short of this goal at times, we are committed to learning, serving, and collaborating with our brothers and sisters around the world in a spirit of humility and unity for the sake of seeing the Kingdom of God expand.

    Therefore, we ask our churches and sent ones to learn from, honor, and serve alongside the global church, and its leaders. We will seek to serve with and under the counsel of national Christian leaders. When theological or missiological alignment is not possible, we ask sent ones to maintain a posture of love and respect for local churches and their leaders.

  • Jesus, being fully God and fully man, having all power and authority, chose to take on flesh and live among a broken and sinful people, to serve them in humility, and then to suffer, die, and rise again so that they could have eternal life. Jesus’ life and ministry provide for us a model of sacrifice, humility, and service that should be emulated as we live on mission to others. (Philippians 2:1-11; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 10:37-39; Matthew 20:20-28)

    We recognize that to follow Jesus is to embrace a life of suffering. Suffering is a reality for every Christian, but even more so for those who live their lives on mission. When we suffer in this life, our call is not to avoid it or let it overwhelm us. Instead, it should drive us to a deeper life with Jesus, form us to be more like him, and make us useful for his Kingdom work. (1 Corinthians 12:6-10; Romans 8:18-30; Philippians 1:29; Matthew 5:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:12)

    Therefore, we ask our churches and sent ones to develop and embrace a theology of suffering and sacrifice in their life and ministry. We ask sent ones to serve others in a posture of humility, willingly sacrificing their own preferences and privileges, in order to serve the nations in a way that is modeled after and honors their Savior, Jesus Christ.