The Sending Shepherd, to publish on September 24, encourages Church leadership to align with The Great Commission
Has the Great Commission Fallen to a Low Priority in American Churches?
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Sixteen:Fifteen
Sept. 23, 2025
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Sept. 23, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ — Murky definitions, rare sermons and low prioritization of global missions may help explain why the world still has more than 7,200 people groups who have never heard the Gospel, based on findings from a recent Barna Group survey of American pastors. In the new book, The Sending Shepherd: Leading Churches to Disciple All Nations, authors Denny Spitters and Matthew Ellison examine this global missions dilemma, and related opportunities, learned from the study which was commissioned by Sixteen:Fifteen and Pioneers.
The survey, titled U.S. Protestant Pastors and Missions: A Look into the Expectations and Priorities of Pastors in the American Church Today, explores the status of current barriers, attitudes, and beliefs among the 426 pastors who participated, pertaining to the missions mobilization of their churches. Additionally, the research insights serve to help missions organizations better equip their efforts in partnering with local churches.
“We wanted to know if global missions was either a ‘part’ or at the ‘heart’ of today’s Church,” said Matthew Ellison, co-author and co-Founder of Sixteen:Fifteen. “As challenging as some of the data looks, we also saw several strengths and opportunities for the Church to build on so that one day all nations, tribes and tongues will have heard the good news of Jesus Christ.”
The book, to publish on September 24, includes several real-world stories from pastors and missions leaders who have witnessed miraculous church-wide transformation after aligning with God’s plan for the world. The entire survey results are available for free, and pre-ordering is available at thesendingshepherd.com.
“We estimate there are 550 churches for every unreached people group, and financial resources is not a valid excuse,” Ellison said. “Ultimately, we hope more pastors and churches are inspired to become sending shepherds for the glory of God.”
Sixteen:Fifteen exists to help local churches and mission organizations discover and walk out their unique role in God’s global mission. Named after Mark 16:15—“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation”—we serve the body of Christ by equipping leaders to pursue and fulfill the Great Commission with clarity and conviction (1615.org).
Pioneers mobilizes gospel-driven Christians to make disciples and plant churches among the unreached. With over three thousand members serving in 101 countries, Pioneers teams serve among peoples and in places with little or no access to the gospel. To find out how we can help you or your church get involved, visit pioneers.org.
In its 40-year history, Barna Group has conducted more than two million interviews over the course of thousands of studies and has become a go-to source for insights about faith and culture, leadership and vocation, and generations. Barna Group has worked with thousands of businesses, non-profit organizations and churches across the U.S. and around the world. Barna is an independent, privately-held, nonpartisan organization based in Dallas, Texas.
SOURCE Sixteen:Fifteen
CONTACT: David Jahr, 805-452-4180, davidjahr@mac.com