In my years of ministry, I’ve seen quite a bit of variety of opinion (and angst) regarding the concept of “target audiences” for churches. The very idea gets a lot of pushback, because – in no small part – of 1 Corinthians 9:22. I do, in fact, strongly agree that we must do all that we can to reach as many people as possible with an introduction to the only Source of hope in our world.
In reality, however, every church does have a target audience by default. It’s simply impossible to connect with or please everyone, and you can’t do everything – choices have to be made regarding worship style (and volume), kids curriculum, outreach and missions strategies – everything down to the proverbial color of the carpet.
The churches that I have seen navigate these issues successfully are those that have made proactive decisions. Rather than simply responding to current culture fads, long-held (and potentially ineffective) traditions, or the loudest voices in their ears, they determine what’s possible within their spheres of influence and then go after that with all the excellence that they muster.
They focus. In fact, I’d suggest that “focus” is a better term than “target audience.” The latter term implies that anything that doesn’t hit the target is a “miss.” God will with virtual certainty bring at least a few people with widely varying backgrounds to your church, and geography often has a sizable influence on where people end up going to church. Follow your focus, but model Christ-likeness to all that God places in your care.
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