Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Several years ago, a colleague and I worked with a congregation to develop a communications plan. One of the challenges for the group was to define its target audience. Who were they trying to reach?

The easy answer was everyone. They wanted everyone in their community to walk through the red doors and transform into spiritually mature members, generous in time and money, and preferably with two kids and a dog.

We pushed back. While it’s true that we hold our doors open for everyone, we also need to prayerfully identify two or three target audiences. This is important so that we can direct our limited resources, energy, and money to places where there we might better have traction. Big companies know this is important – that’s why they do endless market research.

Figuring out the target audience doesn’t have to require a team from Procter & Gamble’s marketing division. But it does require some clear-headed, honest evaluation.

The first component is introspection: What types of people will be attracted to our church, our liturgy, and, frankly, our politics? What types of people already are here? (It’s hard to identify young families as a target audience if the youngest person in the congregation remembers Johnny Carson’s TV debut). What are we willing to change to accommodate new people?

This process also requires extrospection: What is the composition of the community? Is it an aging population or a farm community? Are new families flocking to the outer suburban ring or is an urban core ripe for renewal? What are the other choices for potential members: Mega-church. Evangelical. United Methodist? What else is competing for the time and attention of potential members?

Here’s a link to some information about target audiences – and a list of questions for your congregations to consider. It won’t give you all the answers but it’s a start.