Unaware

No awareness of the gospel or of Christianity

"Who is God? Where does he live? Why can't we see him? From where we came, and where do we have to go?"

All people are born Unaware, but those who are in Unaware as adults were likely brought up with a non-Christian worldview (e.g., Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist) and may have never heard the terms “Jesus” or “Christianity.” They may have never met a Christian. If they have spiritual questions, the questions are not based on a Christian understanding. “What animal was I in a previous life?” or “Why do we worship dead saints?” are the kinds of questions they might ask.

What people in Unaware say

“It [Christianity] might be another religion that worships a common wise man or saint with their own religious text.”

“What is Jesus?”

“Everything in the universe is God…”

“‘Christian’ might be a belief system, like Sikh. They also might have a God or many Gods to worship.”

“I’d say the universe has some energy that sustains us. I call that energy, GOD.”

“I had never had an identity within religion, I try not to think about it too much as it makes me sad knowing there is no known end. it makes me even more scared to ask and checkout what is really out there. This feeling is quite bad… Can you please explain why this is important to you? I am interested! :)”

At-a-glance

Have never knowingly met a Christian
Have not heard of Christianity
May follow another religion/worldview
May be open to Christianity but have no context

Insights & attributes

Little Online Presence

It was challenging to find truly Unaware people. Hypothesis: this stage may not be highly represented in online spaces.

Unfamiliarity

Christian terms are foreign and questions about religion will not come from any familiarity with a Christian worldview or belief system.

Involved elsewhere

May identify as Sikh, Hindu, or Buddhist. May or may not "practice" as religious.

Where and why people move

No Exposure

Exposure to Jesus and Christianity never happens so they stay in this stage.

Negative Exposure

First exposure to Christianity does not put it in a positive light. Likely movement to Uninterested if this happens, which could eventually lead to a movement to Hostile.

Unintentional Movement

Most Unaware people have an initial, unintentional move to Uninterested, Open, or Professing early in life.

Meaningful Understanding

People in Unaware need to learn something meaningful or positive about Jesus or Christianity to move in a growth direction.

We all start here. Knowing that can help us grow our empathy for those in the Unaware stage. How does this description help you pray for those in this stage?
What Bible verses come to mind when you think of those in Unaware? Take a minute to pause and pray through those verses.
Some people believe that God put signposts about Himself and the Gospel into every culture - pray that you would see what they can be in your context. As you listen to a person in Unaware, ask God to show you ways He has been revealing himself to them in their own culture.

The need to "go" to those in Unaware is huge. An Unaware adult is most likely not going to come to a Christian organization because they don’t even know what Christianity is. The Unaware highlight what a missional gap is, perhaps more clearly than any other stage.
Christian terms will be completely unfamiliar to someone in Unaware. How can you introduce them to Jesus in a common language that doesn’t make them feel like an outsider?
What might you need to learn about their worldview to know how to build bridges between what they might already know and to introducing the Gospel to them?
What might you need to learn about their culture to relate well and love them, so that you can have open doors for talking about Jesus?
Look at the ministry resources and materials you already have. Do you have resources that are geared for this audience based on the data and insights above? Or are your resources written assuming a level of understanding about Christianity? What might you need to change or adapt so that you can meet the Unaware where they are?
Consider: is it possible that you think someone is uninterested when they are really unaware?

Kindness and good experiences with Christians can go a lot farther than information or arguments with Unaware. They can be quite receptive if they have had a good experience.
Use common language that doesn’t make them feel like an outsider.
Be aware of the fact that you may think that you are talking about the same thing when in reality you use the same words to describe spiritual reality but mean something totally different.
You might be the first or only Christian the Unaware person has ever met! This is a huge privilege and opportunity to invest in their life.

Experiments, Tactics & Studies

Solutions and resources that have been created or used to better understand or reach this audience.
Add your own item below by submitting a proposal