The Sending Shepherd: Pastors and The Great Commission

In this episode of The Mission Matters podcast, Ted Esler welcomes guests Matthew Ellison and Denny Spitters from Sixteen:Fifteen to discuss their new book, The Sending Shepherd: Leading Churches to Disciple All Nations. The book emerges from a Barna study commissioned in partnership with Pioneers, which surveyed over 400 U.S. Protestant pastors about their understanding of missions. The results reveal concerning trends: missions is rarely taught or preached, the definition of missions is widely diluted, and there’s a significant disconnect between pastoral passion for the Great Commission and actual church engagement in global missions. The authors argue that pastoral leadership is critical to reversing this decline and sparking a new missions mobilization movement in the American Church.Despite the challenges, the research also points to encouraging opportunities. While only 27% of pastors report strong passion for global missions, 74% affirm the importance of the Great Commission, and 98% see missions as a biblical mandate. Matthew and Denny emphasize that this gap is a strategic opportunity. We can start to address it with clear definitions, scriptural teaching, and equipping pastors to become "sending shepherds." They encourage church leaders to connect local outreach passions with global needs and to shift from consumer-driven topical teaching to narrative-rich biblical exposition. The book offers a compelling, data-driven call to action for pastors, missions leaders, and mobilizers alike.The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.thesendingshepherd.com1615.org/sendingshepherd