Professing

Professing to be a Christian, but little or no desire to grow spiritually.

“I’ve identified as a Christian for as long as I can remember, but I haven’t been pursuing a closer connection to God recently.”

People in the Professing stage identify as Christian only, but they show no intentionality toward growing a relationship with God. In fact, they likely do not think that Christianity is about knowing God. Though they might have been to the Growing stage before and may practice Christianity outwardly, such as praying about their health or attending a Christmas service at church, motivation is very low when it comes to being in Christian community, reading the Bible, or seeking in other ways to grow spiritually.

Four variants of the Professing stage also presented themselves in the data: Professing-Cultural, Professing-Moralist, Professing-Non-Practicing, and Professing-Guarded. There are a few distinctives to each of these subgroups that you may find referenced in the insights below.

Those in Professing-Cultural see Christianity mainly as a part of their cultural or family identity. Their participation in faith is most often through traditions and holidays. They have a desire to be good people but have not recently focused on spiritual growth.

Professing-Moralists hold strong moral beliefs and want to do what is right. They may have an interest in growing but lack the motivation. People who are in Professing-Moralist feel a responsibility to be good examples and often express stronger spiritual interests than others in Professing.

The Professing-Non-Practicing subgroup consists of those who still identify as Christian but their religious identity is not connected to church or faith life. They may view religion as something from their past or childhood and tend to feel disconnected from God or frustrated with the church.

People in Professing-Guarded have very low spiritual interests. They sometimes attend church or faith activities to please family and friends, but they feel generally negative toward church and view it as unnecessary. Compared to the other subgroups, Professing-Guarded people more consciously avoid growing spiritually.

What people in Professing say

“I try to live as a good person with good morals and instill those morals in my children.”

“If I would want to grow spiritually, I perfectly could. Nothing stops me, apart from not being interested.”

“I used to practice more my faith before because of my catholic school. My faith didn’t reduce, just my participation.”

“I do good things for people and I am always willing to help people. I feel that is the way I practice my religion.”

“[Being a Christian] does have to do with treating others with respect. Jesus did that.”

“I don’t want to push religion on anyone… Religion is a personal thing for me and my family only.”

“I feel like culturally my age group doesn’t make church a big part of their lives. It seemed like everyone growing up attended church, but these same types of peers now don’t. I’m not sure exactly why- stale, boring, more interesting commitments. No deep and intense faith stuck from the early days of just sitting through church.”

At-a-glance

Identify as Christian but are not actively involved in a church or Christian community.
Desire to be a good person and do what is right.
May have outward faith activity, but not recent spiritual growth.
Not particularly interested in interacting with other Christians.

Insights & attributes

Being Good

View Christianity as a help to being a good, moral person who is respectful of others.

Evangelism & Discipleship

The vast majority of those in Professing have never shared their faith or discipled another Christian. Many cannot define evangelism or discipleship, and most believe evangelism is wrong and that trying to disciple someone would not go well.

Interests

The top two interests for Professing people are personal growth and improved mental health.

Identity

"I have always been a Christian" is a common viewpoint. Most Professing people do not have a specific point in time when they decided to become a Christian. Those from certain faith traditions may point to baptism or confirmation as a starting point or milestone in their faith. Christianity is a part of their identity rather than a belief or practice.

Faith Activity

A majority of Professing people do practice their faith in some way. They might pray or help less fortunate people, and a few read the Bible or attend church. But it is not clear that these activities affect their lives.

Past Growth

For those in Professing, previous moves to Growing are very common. Professing-Moralists are the subgroup most likely to have been in Growing before. The majority of Professing-Non-Practicing have never moved to Growing.

Currently Feeling Stressed

Stress is the most common emotion currently felt across all Professing subgroups. It is most common in Non-Practicing.

Where and why people move

Likely to Remain

Very likely to stay here long-term due to apathy unless something shakes them out of it and helps them grow.

Move toward Growing

Movement toward Growing can happen through increased ministry involvement with heart change, making their faith their own, and/or gaining a new perspective on their Christian life.

Move back from Growing

Many who are Professing have previously spent time in Growing but returned to Professing due to negative life circumstances, loss of relational support, or because they chose to start prioritizing other things over spiritual practices.

Move to Unclear

People in the Professing group might shift to Unclear when they stop engaging with spiritual practices, often because they are feeling disconnected from God. They may also move to Unclear if they fail to find meaning or purpose in their belief.

Move toward Grounded

Can move toward Grounded if they start seeking God on their own and moving toward a life surrendered to Jesus.

The best starting point for engaging with a Professing person, after you find out they identify as a Christian, is to empathetically ask, “What are the main reasons you identify as a Christian?” If their answer primarily deals with being born into a Christian family, be curious and seek to learn more about how their faith experience has impacted them personally.
The main thing that sets this group apart is their lack of desire to grow spiritually. Take the time to find out why. Is it due to boredom, a wrong view of Christianity/God, personal issues, problems with churches, or something else?
Create strategies that help overcome different barriers you uncover.

Remember, this map is how people identify themselves, which may mean that people in this stage do not fully understand the gospel and do not recall a specific point in time when they decided to start a personal relationship with Jesus.
On a similar note, you may find that you use similar words but might not be saying the same thing. Many in Professing grew up in a church setting, so they know the right words or the right things to say. This can be misleading as you seek to understand them.
Emphasize grace and faith over works. We are not trying to get people to simply change their behaviors; we are trying to engage them at a heart level, which will motivate true life change.
Those in Professing may be really open to you if they see you as a “fellow believer” who can help them. Or they could be hostile if they see you as a threat to their version of “Christianity.” The way you approach and talk to them can make a difference between the two.

Experiments, Tactics & Studies

Solutions and resources that have been created or used to understand better or reach this audience.
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