Transforming Congregations: Changing Attitudes
Discovering Our Target Demographics
Imagine this common scenario.
Your congregational leaders are meeting with representatives from your regional body or with paid consultants. You are part of the “congregational study” process.
Part of congregational studies is to examine demographic data.
Now, listen for the words that will be used. It will be something like this: “Which group of people should we target.”
Our relationship with our community is defined with predatory language. TARGET.
The most common — almost universal — outcome of this discussion is “Let’s target families.” All churches want families. Our Ambassador visits reveal that few are achieving that goal.
In our mind’s eye, we still see families as Mom, Dad and a bunch of children to populate our Sunday Schools. We see income, we see longevity of relationship. These are the things the Church wants for its own survival. When we think in terms of targets, we reveal our self-interest.
Today, families are in disarray on one hand and inclusive beyond any old-fashioned measure on the other. Families are not a well-defined target!
What church goes through the congregational study and decides to TARGET the elderly, the poor, the immigrants, the homeless, the unemployed, or people with special needs? These are not populations with expendable income. Most are members of families but that’s not exactly what we are thinking when we define our goals.
There are congregations with inclusive ministries worth mentioning. Prince of Peace in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., for example, is developing programming for families who have members with autism and developmental delays. Their ministry did not grow out of the “congregational study.” It stemmed from a teaching/preaching series.
When we start to think of segments of our community as “prey,” we cloud our vision of God’s total Kingdom.
When we narrow the focus of ministry, we become, unconsciously unwelcoming to everyone else.
Redeemer experienced this once some 30 years ago. We asked our regional body for advice on dealing with people who were finding their way to our door from the state psychiatric hospital in our neighborhood. The answer we received was, “That’s not the synod’s emphasis (target) right now.”
Church people see ourselves as welcoming. If we are to be truly welcoming, we must adjust our attitudes and stop approaching our neighborhoods for what they can do for us, but for how we can serve them.
When they walk through our doors, they should not get the “once over” to see if they fit our ministry’s target demographic.
Every person who enters a church has a story. Every church should make some effort to learn something about that story before they leave. Then we will understand the demographics of our neighborhoods!
photo credit: emiliokuffer via photo pin cc