A major finding from our Translating the Great Commission report, produced in partnership with Seed Company, is that more than half of U.S. churchgoers have not heard of the Great Commission. Additionally, even when presented with a list of passages, 37 percent don’t recognize which well-known passage typically goes by this name.

Since releasing this data, Barna has heard from members and leaders of the Church who were surprised or even concerned by this statistic, wondering what it might also reveal about the nature of sermon teaching, biblical literacy and engagement or Christian missions today. Below, experts and practitioners weigh in on how the dynamics of spreading the gospel and making disciples are playing out in their respective contexts.

“Ignorance of this term can be attributed to churches not teaching this concept enough anymore.”

Allen Yeh is associate professor of intercultural studies and missiology at Biola University and the author of Polycentric Missiology.