Over the past decade, we at Exponential have relentlessly pursued a distinctive goal referred to as the 16% Mission. Our mission is to witness an increasing number of examples of church multiplication taking shape in diverse forms and expressions. This mission is for all of us to work together as a community with a cause to ignite a movement for Jesus within our lifetime.

The 16% Mission takes learnings from sociology, behavioral science, and organizational leadership on movements, and aims to accelerate church multiplication and planting. The intriguing figure of 16% is derived from an understanding of how ideas, behaviors, and movements penetrate societies and groups, thus influencing culture on a grand scale.

We are excited to release our second Becoming Five Multiplication Study in collaboration with Lifeway Research, and sponsored by Thrivent, giving us an update on our 16% Mission. While there’s some not so good news to share, there’s also good news—and even more good news—as we explore how to reach a tipping point where 16% of churches in the United States are Reproducing and Multiplying churches.

When we reach this tipping point—and this will take all of us working together—it will signify a transformative shift in how success is measured within the American church. Even more exciting, completing the 16% Mission will result in tens of thousands of new churches and millions of new disciples who are actively living out Jesus’ Mission where they work, live, learn, and play.