Chapter 9: Who is Your Target?

This chapter deals with finding your target audience. I found this very insightful for my future plans and goals for ministry. I would want to know my mission field completely after I have figured my purposes and before I delve into the evangelizing technique that would be best.  Pastors I have seen come in with their own agenda not even realizing the demographics or the purposes of the church when they come in and that is where church splits occur and attendance drops. Those fatal mistakes are brutal to the evangelism of the local church because people will be turned off quickly and may not even go to another church thinking that they are all like that.

My goal is to let them know that they are welcome to my church but be aware that it might be different than what they are used to because I want to connect with people differently.
Research is the key for finding a target audience in regards to ministry or in any facet of life (business, fundraising, building a new building, etc.). Many do not do enough research on what they are focusing on or they research the demographics or target audience without focusing first on the purposes of the church.  You can have a church on a major highway that has tens of thousands of cars on it a day but if your focus is not on fulfilling the purpose of the church in the biblical sense, then your "mission" is scrubbed.  You can have the focus initially in fulfilling that purpose but if you lose the focus with the public eye on you with programs and such, then the blame is on you because it is imperative to keep the initial focus of purpose, then target, then aim for the bulls-eye and beyond.
I know some people may get offended by some of the stuff I write.  I give insight based off of my experiences so I can better myself in reaching my goals and dreams of ministry and so I can help better and encourage others to avoid the revolving door syndrome where elder parishioners (those who have been in the church for numerous years) leave and new attendees come in who have never set foot in a church.  Granted it's good to have new people but it's imperative to keep the elder congregants to assist in nourishing the new Christians within the church.  That is my goal...to have a church of "elder" Christians and "baby" Christians for the nurturing to ensue not just from the pulpit but from within the body because that is what reaching people is about no matter who you are or what age you are.