EXPLANATION OF WORLDS A, B & C

The World A/B/C trichotomy was first created by Dr. David Barrett while serving as a research consultant to the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board. The trichotomy can be applied to any segment of population (e.g. people group, province, city, country, or region).

In regard to individuals, a World A individual is unevangelised. He or she has never heard the name of Christ, has never heard the Gospel, has never been presented Christianity in such a way that they can make a decision for or against Christ. A World B individual is evangelised, in that they have heard the Gospel; but they have, for whatever reason, not yet committed to Christ. A World C individual is a Christian of some tradition, denomination, confession, and to some degree of commitment. Obviously, while people in World C need discipleship, and people in World B need to hear preaching until they are convicted and converted, the fact that only 1% of present effort is devoted to World A means we ought to give more of our priority to the unevangelised who have never had a chance to accept Christ at all.

In regards to segments (e.g. cities, countries, peoples, languages), World A is defined as any segment where more than 50% have never heard the Gospel; World B is defined as any segment where more than 50% HAVE heard the Gospel, but less than 60% have become Christians; and World C is defined as any segment where more than 60% are Christians, affiliated with some church, denomination, tradition or confession.