The Missions Disconnect
Sobering Numbers For Missions
In their 2021 Research Report, the Barna Group and Mission India found that 69% of Christians interviewed could not tell them what the Great Commission is.
Only 20% of American churchgoers truly knew what the Great Commission is and could identify it.
In their 2022 article titled, The Great Disconnect, Mission India and Barna Group noted that 85% of pastors believe that missions is a mandate for all Christians while only 25% of their congregants felt the same way.
These results are sobering.
The Disconnect
Somehow, what the Bible and the majority of "Church Leadership" say about missions is not taking root in the hearts of the average congregant.
A direct result of this disconnect: Only 1 of every 174,463 Christians will become a missionary to the Unreached. (The Traveling Team, 2024)
Combine this low "going" rate with the fact almost 50% of missionaries leave the field in their first few years (Radius International) and it becomes easy to see why we have an ongoing crisis in manpower for missions.
The Problem
At One Village Group, we believe the average churchgoer's lack of understanding of the Great Commission, the low rate of "going", and the high turnover rate among missionaries in the field are all deeply connected.
We further believe these problems cannot be solved from the pulpit.
We believe the biggest parts of these problems have to be solved FROM THE MISSION FIELD ITSELF.
Communications
Common sense says: No one will support what they don’t believe in, no one will believe in something they don’t understand, and no one can understand something they barely know exists.
There are over 450,000 Christian missionaries around the globe doing AMAZING work and yet for all intents and purposes, the majority of these workers are invisible to the average churchgoer (See: The Invisible Missionary).
And remember: no one is going to support something they barely even know exists.
Our Takeaway: Most of today’s mission crises stem from a lack of clear, compelling communication from the mission field.
This lack of communication leads to low interest and engagement rates from Christians as a whole, resulting in isolated and unsupported missionaries in the field, leading to short mission's lifecycles by the majority of missionaries.
The Good News?
The good news is, Churches and Missionaries are starting to figure this out.
Their use of social platforms, websites, and blogs to connect their missions directly to individual church members is on the rise.
Our missionaries are learning how to make themselves Visible where people are today - digital and online.
And when people understand the compelling stories of our missionaries in the field, EVERYTHING changes!
What You Can Do
GET ENGAGED! Go online and find out who your church is supporting in the mission field and SUBSCRIBE to follow them AND encourage your friends to do the same.
If your church’s missionaries aren’t online, ask your missions director why. Because if they aren't online, actively engaging with their supporters, the statistics say they may not be in the field for much longer.
Reclaiming the Great Commission
We need to reclaim the Great Commission in the hearts of Christians everywhere.
First steps: Get connected, get informed, and get engaged!
Because the Great Commission belongs to all of us.
